Hartford Athletic Target Three Points In Tampa Bay
The Latics have won six straight road games in the USL Championship as they roll into Al Lang Stadium
Hartford Athletic head south to take on Tampa Bay Rowdies on Saturday night, targeting a result that will guarantee them a home playoff game in the first round of the USL Championship playoffs next month. A win will do it although results elsewhere could lower the barrier, with Pittsburgh’s visit to Monterey Bay of particular interest.
Last time out, Hartford Athletic edged out Sacramento Republic in a rematch of this season’s USL Jägermeister Cup final — also won by the Latics — with Jonathan Jimenez’s goal in second-half stoppage time proving the difference. It was a thrilling game for a neutral, as Hartford took a 2-0 lead in the first half through Sebastian Anderson and Michee Ngalina, before goals for Jack Gurr and Dominik Wanner pegged them back. With the score level, Hadji Barry backheeled the box to Jimenez in the Sacramento box, and he made no mistake, finding the bottom corner to give his side all three points.
It was only the second goal Jimenez has scored for Hartford this season — he does also have five assists — and after the game, he acknowledged that the season has maybe not quite reached the goals he set personally. Manager Brendan Burke echoed that sentiment, but complimented Jimenez for persevering.
“[S]o happy for JJ. [I] mean he was half-time sub in Oakland and that’s never easy,” Burke said. “But he’s a man and he showed up and you know, we thought he…could bring a certain energy to the game and I thought [he] did.”
That’s been a theme for Hartford, particularly since the departure of Mamadou Dieng: keep persevering, and someone will find a way through. Dieng’s departure was announced on August 22. Since then, 13 different Latics have found the back of the net, collectively scoring 24 goals in 11 games. Essentially, it’s all going right.
Pushing the right buttons has lifted Hartford to its best season in club history. In addition to the trophy, it has now also already equaled its best points total in a single season, 44, set in 2024. Additionally, it has done it in fewer games, hitting that mark in 28 league games so far this season.
It also has Hartford in reach of a home playoff game. 44 points have the club in third place in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of Loudoun, three points ahead of North Carolina, and four points ahead of Pittsburgh.
In the penultimate weekend of the season, all four teams are in action on Saturday night. Loudoun travel to take on Indy Eleven, who need a win to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. North Carolina hosts RIFC, who are trying to secure their own playoff place, and have an outside chance at a home playoff game of their own. Pittsburgh travels to Monterey Bay, who were eliminated from playoff contention by virtue of Orange County’s late winner over San Antonio FC on Wednesday night. And of course, Hartford will be at Al Lang Stadium to take on Tampa Bay Rowdies.
For Tampa, the season has not really gone according to plan. A slow start to the season cost manager Robbie Neilson his job in April, but Dominic Casciato — poached from League One side Union Omaha — has been unable to find consistency. Since his appointment in July, the Rowdies have won five, lost five, and drawn four in the league, giving them the sixth-best point total in the Eastern Conference over that stretch.
But good results have been mixed with bad losses, culminating in a 5-0 drubbing by RIFC last weekend, the Rowdies’ worst loss in the league since they were beaten by the same scoreline by New York Red Bulls II on April 14, 2018.
Burke was balanced about that scoreline, emphasizing that a lopsided scoreline can sometimes obscure as much as it reveals.
“[Y]eah, they had a fair number of good chances in that game that were high or wide or whatever,” Burke said. “You know the score is never quite indicative of how the game played out. Rhode Island hit some bangers as well. JJ [Williams]’ goal was phenomenal so I don’t discount the score, but I know that we’re going to play a team that has to push, has to has to win the game. They can’t draw, they can’t lose, so I think they’re going to come out of the traps with everything they have.”
Hartford have not historically had success against Rowdies, winning just two of 13 games since 2019. Nonetheless, Hartford is the favorite at Al Lang for the first time in club history.
“It [the USL Cup trophy] is the first piece of that weight behind you that can push you forward,” said Burke “Trophies that you can put behind you, that you can put on the ground and leave it in your city and it’s never going anywhere. That pushes you forward in a way that’s hard to describe.”