Assessing The 90: Hartford Shut Out At Home Again

The Green and Blue conceded early and struggled to direct chances goalward, falling to their fourth-straight loss in a 2-0 defeat to El Paso Locomotive FC.

Photo courtesy of Hartford Athletic

By all accounts, 2023 has been a bad year for Hartford Athletic, and Saturday was no different. A 2-0 loss to El Paso Locomotive FC — their fourth straight defeat — concluded another case of the Green and Blue breaking in a make-or-break home stretch.

Following what was their third consecutive home defeat in the space of seven days on Saturday, Hartford finished what they called a “must-win” home stretch with no points out of a possible nine, shutout for the third time in four games, and victim of their league-high seventeenth loss of the season.

Despite showing signs of life in the first half, Hartford conceded yet another early goal, combined with a lack of finishing touch in front of goal that ultimately doomed the Green and Blue to a fate they have become all-too-familiar with through the season.

After scoring the second and third goals in a three-goal comeback effort that fell just short on Wednesday, Danny Barrera and Antoine Hoppenot both returned to Omid Namazi’s starting XI on Saturday. Juan Pablo Torres also got the nod in the midfield in an otherwise unchanged lineup after assisting Matt Sheldon’s goal in the midweek thriller.

As usual, Namazi’s 5-3-2 featured a central back three of Connor McGlynn, Triston Hodge, and Robin Lapert, while Edgardo Rito (right) and Matt Sheldon (left) filled out the wingback roles. Prince Saydee dropped back into the midfield on his preferred left side alongside Barrera and Torres, while Elvis Amoh and Hoppenot led the line as the striker pairing for Hartford.

Despite an energetic start from the Green and Blue that saw them craft two of the only real opportunities of the game through the opening ten minutes, their defensive struggles would continue to haunt them as they once again conceded first inside a quarter of an hour.

It only took El Paso one shot, and it was once again an aerial cross that spelled trouble for the Green and Blue. The visitors found the back of the net when Peter Petrović’s cross took a deflection and floated toward to back post, where Josué Gómez got in behind Triston Hodge to poke the header home from inside the six. The early goal marked the fifth-straight game in which the Green and Blue conceded first inside 25 minutes, and they were once again forced to chase the game from the early goings.

Despite the early setback, Hartford went on to control the majority of the attacking play through the first 45, keeping their foot on the gas as the half went on. Despite testing the El Paso goal with 12 total shots and 15 crosses to El Paso’s three, Benny Díaz was forced into only one save for Locomotive as the Green and Blue struggled to direct their chances goalward through the duration of the first 45.

The lone shot on goal came midway through the half when Prince Saydee crafted a give-and-go with Danny Barrera to cut through the El Paso midfield, before getting the ball back with green space just outside of the box. The resulting left-footed shot forced a low save from Benny Díaz, before Hoppenot sent the rebound north of the crossbar from inside the box.

With the exception of the single shot on target, the majority of Hartford’s buildup play resulted in dangerous crosses helplessly drifting through the box with nobody to deliver a finishing touch.

Straight out of the gate in the second half, Hartford picked up where they left off. In the 46th minute, Danny Barrera got in behind off a deflected ball in the box, an attempted clearance that knocked off the leg of Matt Sheldon in the box before falling to Barrera from close range. The captain made a first-time connection, but could not control the ball out of the air as he sent the shot well over the bar from inside the six.

Following what was one the best chances Hartford would craft for the remainder of the match, the attacking momentum the hosts enjoyed through much of the first half began to slow down as El Paso grew into the game. Ultimately, the Green and Blue would pay for their missed chances just before the 70 minute mark, when Petrović stepped up and converted a central free kick from just outside the 18 to double Locomotive’s lead.

The low, powerful strike nestled around the five-man wall and into the bottom left corner of Rice’s goal, who was caught in a standstill as the ball flew past him and into the back of the net.

From there, despite a number of changes from Omid Namazi that included a second senior appearance for 17-year-old academy product Dren Drobruna in the 70th minute, Hartford struggled to recreate any of their attacking prowess and create many real chances for the remainder of the game. Ultimately, they fell victim to their seventh home shutout of the season, giving El Paso their first league win since June 14 and snapping what was a five-game losing skid for the visitors.

With the loss, an already very slim chance of a late-season revival is almost surely over for the Green and Blue. Hartford has now gone winless in two separate three-game home stands this summer, and with only four wins to date, face completing one of the worst seasons of their five-year history.

In a season where everything that can go wrong has gone wrong, the light at the end of the tunnel for this struggling Hartford team seems to be the offseason, which is now less than two months away.

For now, though, Hartford trudges on. They return to league action next Saturday, hitting the road for yet another tough matchup vs. the second-place Tampa Bay Rowdies before returning home against the Rio Grande Valley FC Toros the following weekend.

Kickoff on Saturday’s match on Saturday is set for 7:30 p.m. on ESPN+.