Hartford Athletic Welcome Indy Eleven For Wednesday Match
The Latics, unbeaten in nine straight games are playing their second of five games in 15 days on Wednesday night
Hartford Athletic put their nine-game unbeaten streak on the line on Wednesday night, as they welcome Indy Eleven for a game that was originally scheduled to be played earlier this year but had to be postponed due to the conditions on the pitch. It’s the 11th meeting all-time between the two clubs, and Hartford have not claimed all three points since the 2022 season, when first half goals from Danny Barrera and Ariel Martinez were enough for a 2-1 victory.
The last time the two teams met, Hartford conceded in stoppage time in both halves with former Latic Romario Williams the man in the right place at the right time on both occasions.
Indy followed that draw up with wins over Birmingham and Pittsburgh, and while it stuttered in losses to Las Vegas and Tampa Bay, the club began July with wins over Monterey and Rhode Island that took them all the way up to sixth in the table. Since then? Indy has one win in six league games and have been bounced out of the Jägermeister Cup by Greenville Triumph. Additionally the club has been outscored 14-6 in those league losses, with the lone win a 3-2 victory over a collapsing Miami FC side.
The contrast with Hartford — at least in terms of recent form — is considerable. Since a loss to Tampa Bay that dropped the Latics to the bottom of the table during the same week that Indy moved up to sixth, they’ve claimed 17 points from seven league games to move all the way up to fifth place.
No team has accumulated more points on a per-game basis over the same span. They’ve outscored they’re opponents 17-4 along the way, and recorded four clean sheets into the bargain. And while Indy were eliminated from the Jägermeister Cup, Hartford advanced to the semifinals with a confident 2-0 road win over San Antonio.
Hartford is now also doing it without all-time leading scorer Mamadou Dieng, who was sold to Minnesota United ahead of El Clamico two weeks ago. The Latics have simply not missed a beat, recording six goals in two games. It’s not simply luck: every team in the league has played two games over the last two weekends, and Hartford have the third-highest expected goals per for in those games, to go along with the fourth-lowest expected goals against. Yes, the chances are falling for Hartford but everything looks good under the hood as well.
The story for Indy is a little different. Whereas Hartford has maybe had a little bit of good luck defensively — although the Latics are legitimately improving in that area — the opponents on Wednesday are in exactly the opposite position. By expected goals, for example, Indy's defense is sort of mid-table but in terms of actually conceding, it’s the most porous defense in the leagu and might also be getting even worse. Where Hartford’s opponents have been spurning some good looks, Indy’s have been taking every chance offered and then some.
At the same time, while Hartford has an elite attack — by expected goals it is the most lethal in the league — Indy has a mid-table attack that has fallen off in recent weeks. Indy has shown punch out of the gate, as evidenced by Romario WIlliams’ early strike against Louisville last weekend, but have struggled to capitalize on any kind of consistent basis.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday morning, Brendan Burke emphasized that Indy are a veteran side that should not be underestimated.
“Yeah, results haven't gone their way, but they're a really talented team,” he said. “I mean, it's all veteran players across the board. There's no young guys mixed in at all. You know, on any given night…They can execute at the highest level that our league knows.”
Indy will certainly need all of that veteran experience and know-how on Wednesday against a Hartford team that, for perhaps the first time in club history, is not just getting results, but actively looks like one of the best teams in the league.