Hartford Athletic Slowly Gaining Traction Ahead of Rivalry Clash
Hartford Athletic Slowly Gaining Traction Ahead of Rivalry Clash
After a shaky start to life under Brendan Burke, forward progress is slow, but it exists. The question is whether or not it's enough.
After a 2-2 draw at Birmingham Legion saw Hartford Athletic come home with their first point on the road in almost five months, the Green and Blue find themselves heading into an all-New England clash with Rhode Island FC unbeaten in their last three matches — the longest such stretch since the beginning of Tab Ramos’ tenure in 2022.
“That could be the point that gets us in to the playoffs, that’s how we have to think now,” Burke said. "Anything we get on the road is an improvement on our earlier road form, so it was really important.”
The short-term momentum certainty spells progress — two clean sheets and and an unbeaten record in three games — but with 13 matches left to play in 2024 and seven points separating Hartford and the playoff line, the question remains whether or not that is enough to overshadow what has been a largely disappointing start to life under Brendan Burke in 2024 long-term.
Prior to Saturday’s match at Birmingham, Hartford’s last result on the road dates all the way back to their season opener on March 9, in a 1-0 win over an El Paso Locomotive side who finds themselves trapped in the basement of the Western Conference. The Green and Blue went on to lose eight straight away from Trinity Health Stadium over a period of almost five months — a dreadful record that hardly seems like it can be remedied by one 2-2 draw.
However, it also must be said that the point in Birmingham, while relatively insignificant in the grand scheme of things, showcased Hartford Athletic performance that had been so desperately missing in 2024. Down 2-0 against a playoff side on the road, Hartford fought back in the space of 14 minutes to rescue a result, overcoming a multi-goal deficit for the first time in almost two years.
“To go in down 2-0 at halftime and come out and play the way we did in the second half is just another sign of growth,“ Burke said. “Away from home, at a playoff team…and to come out and put two goals on them at their place, that was excellent.”
The significance of the performance wasn’t lost on Burke, who recognized that many players hadn’t been in a position where they were fighting for their playoff lives at this point in the season in their careers. The measure of his team comes down to how they respond in this vital stretch, and he was pleased with the response in the final 20 minutes in Birmingham.
“We said [it] at halftime, there’s a real sense of urgency,” Burke said. “We’re backs to the wall now, we can’t let points slip, we gotta grab points on the road wherever we can…We didn’t want to be in that position at midseason, but that’s where we are, so we have to accept that and give it a little extra energy…and I think that came through in the second half.”
Individually, the result was clearly a big one for the squad’s confidence and momentum. But when measuring long-term progress, it’s important to remember just how bad last season was for Hartford. With just four wins on the year, the Green and Blue spent the entire season at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, coming within touching distance of the worst season in league history.
In that sense, being better than that mark seems almost more of an expectation than an achievement. With a bar so low, it can be hard to measure progress by comparison. While six wins is an improvement from last season, a 6W-11L-4D record and second-to-last place position in the East more than halfway through the season is harder to be positive about.
Despite the slow start, the question of whether or not a the last three games should give fans any real long-term hope comes down to what exactly has changed. Burke certainly seems like he has deviated from his high-octane, exhaustive pressing style that he professed to fans after his hiring in the offseason, instead opting for a slower, more defensive-minded buildup style in an attempt to better work around the pieces he has in a roster that has seen a lot of change during the season.
A main catalyst of this change has been the increased presence of five-year Hartford veteran Danny Barrera, who has found himself gaining more significant minutes in midfield after not seeing the field for 10 of Hartford’s first 11 matches in 2024. The 34-year-old veteran’s speed and agility may not offer what it used to, which didn’t seem to fit the bill of Burke’s preferred style at the start of the season, but his creative presence in the middle has given Hartford a necessary spark where one has been missing.
Along with a start and an assist in the club’s 1-0 midweek win over Detroit last week, Barrera was involved in the direct buildup of both goals in Birmingham in a 33-minute shift off the bench, and has shown that he still has more to give in a Hartford shirt.
“The final third actions are where he makes a huge difference on the field, and he’s intelligent,“ Burke said. “He puts himself in the right spaces, the weight of passes are good, he’s creative, so I think he adds an element that we’ve needed.”
While far from the only thing that has turned Hartford’s fortunes of late, Barrera’s presence have allowed 20-year-old talent Mamadou Dieng, who has earned himself a starting role up top as the club’s main striker, the ability to shine, as well as Michee Ngalina, who is on pace for another double-figure scoring season. Ngalina leads the team with seven goals, while Dieng has netted three in his last five games.
Finally, Hartford have been turning in better performances on the defensive end as well, led primarily by a handful of vital late-game saves from Renan Ribeiro. The 34-year-old veteran shot-stopper missed six games at the start of the year due to injury after not appearing in a competitive match for almost five years, but still finds himself tied for sixth-most saves amongst USL Championship keepers with 56 — including nine saves in the last three games.
Ribeiro also leads the Championship with a 79.7 save percentage, turning away 56 of 69 total shots that have tested his frame. Through the last two weeks, he has shown the ability to read tough shots through traffic, coming up with a set of sharp late saves that have helped save a result for Hartford and keep two consecutive clean sheets.
All in all, the performances are stratify to click on an individual level, and that is finally transferring into results for Hartford. While complete 90-minute performances are still few and far between for Burke’s side, the fact that there at least is some momentum behind them now in terms of results isn’t nothing.
The real test comes on Saturday — perhaps one of the most hostile road environments all season awaits the Green and Blue as they head across state lines for a second meeting with their New England counterparts. Hartford are currently seven points out of a playoff spot, with Rhode Island FC occupying the final spot, and a result over the weekend will not only be more telling of what Hartford’s recent progress actually means, but also is an absolute must to keep themselves in the playoff conversation.
“These derby games become about, can you hit first, can you hit often,” Burke said. “You can’t take your foot off the gas, there’s no [calmer periods] in these games, there’s no 15-minute period where things will slow down and be under control, that’s just not the way these games set up, especially the way [RIFC] are playing now.”
Kickoff in the second leg between Hartford and Rhode Island FC in what fans have dubbed the “El Clamico” derby is set for 7:30 p.m. from what is expected to be a sold-out Beirne Stadium on NESN and ESPN+, and Hartford will need a performance rivaling their best of the season to keep themselves afloat.