Hartford Athletic Struggle With Injuries, Suspensions, As They Host Indy Eleven
The Latics will be missing at least four players as they welcome the Eleven to Trinity Health Stadium
Update: The match has been postponed but still read Oliver’s preview
Hartford Athletic are set to host Indy Eleven on Saturday afternoon with a depleted squad, as the club continues to search for its first points of the 2024 USL Championship season. The Latics are coming off a three-loss week, in which league defeats by El Paso Locomotive and Loudoun United sandwiched a U.S. Open Cup exit on penalties at the hands of USL League One newcomers Portland Hearts of Pine.
Those three games showcased the broad array of problems facing the club this season. Against El Paso, Hartford managed only two shots on goal. In the Cup against Portland, the Latics attempted 20 shots over regulation and extra time, but only put six on target, and fluffed a number of gilt-edged chances. And in Loudoun, Hartford completed only 53 passes in the opposition half over the entire game. Every game featured defensive miscues as well, with the side oscillating between being poor defending set pieces, being vulnerable in transition, or simply making elementary errors.
These are problems that will likely be compounded on Saturday, as the Latics — who carried a roster into the season that was on the small side by the standards of USL Championship teams — will be without at least four players on Saturday. When speaking to the media on Friday, manager Brendan Burke confirmed that Michee Ngalina and Marlon Hairston — both of whom were taken out of last weekend’s fixture against Loudoun United — are unavailable. Additionally, Adrián Diz Pe and Beverly Makangila will both serve suspensions, having been sent off in the 2-0 defeat at Segra Field. The status of midfielder Samuel Careaga is also unclear; he has not appeared in a game since the season opener in Lexington, but he traveled with the team last weekend and was named to the bench, but he could potentially figure into Burke’s plans this Saturday.
Against this backdrop — with potentially as few as 14 players available for Hartford — Burke once again emphasized the need for additional signings.
“I think that we can add in any area the field,” he said. “We haven’t proved efficient enough in any area of the field for us not to be looking to make additions.”
Hartford did add former Indy Eleven and Las Vegas Lights midfielder Justin Ingram on a 25-day contract, but the temporary nature of the signing underscores the lack of a long-term solution. The squad is already thin, and whenever any player has to miss time — through injury, suspension, or international call-up — it immediately becomes threadbare. Short-term contracts can help in a pinch, but won’t solve the larger problem.
Indy Eleven have had somewhat mixed results so far in 2025. After defeating The Miami FC 3-1 in its first game, the club have drawn two and lost one of their subsequent fixtures, including coughing up a late goal to dop points last time out vs. North Carolina FC. While their attack, which has recorded eight goals, is averaging 12 shots a game and ranks among the league leaders in metrics like expected goals for has been clicking, their defense has been less consistent. Indy has conceded seven goals and by the expected goals against metric have actually been worse than Hartford, a reality that might be more concerning for the Eleven if their hosts didn’t have one of the most punchless attacks in the league in the opening weeks.
There’s a long way yet to go in the 2025 season — 26 league games remain, as well as the Jägermeister Cup — but Hartford desperately need to find not just results but an improved performance. Saturday’s weather, which promises to be frigid, and potentially raining, snowing, or sleeting, is not exactly promising conditions in which to begin a turnaround, especially with a reduced squad, but a Latics squad that needs a spark will perhaps look to last season’s game against Birmingham Legion, played in the early season in perhaps even worse conditions for inspiration as they try to finally kickstart their 2025 campaign.