Last-Minute Free Kick Sends Hartford Athletic Home in Heartbreaking Fashion
Last-Minute Free Kick Sends Hartford Athletic Home in Heartbreaking Fashion
Hartford fought through rainy, windy conditions on Saturday, but were ultimately sent home empty-handed.
A hard-fought battle on a rainy night in Charleston ended in heartbreak for Hartford Athletic on Saturday, who conceded a 92nd-minute free kick in a 3-2 loss that sent the Green and Blue home empty-handed.
Hartford came into the match fresh off of their first win of 2023 on Tuesday, a 3-0 thumping of Eastern Premier Soccer League (EPSL) amateur side Lansdowne Yonkers FC in the second round of the US Open Cup. The trip to Charleston kicked off a three-match road trip for Hartford, who will not return home until May 6th.
The match got off to a positive start for the visitors, who found the back of the net just 13 minutes into the contest thanks to a composed Prince Saydee finish. Jeciel Cedeño picked up his second assist of the season as he slotted a ball through the central defenders and into the feet of Saydee in the box, who calmly slotted the ball home past the onrushing Trey Muse to give Hartford the 1-0 lead.
Hartford was able to weather the storm for the better part of the next 25 minutes despite being out-possessed and outshot, but Charleston would eventually find their equalizer in the 35th minute. Derek Dodson put in an in-swinging cross from the left wing, finding the head of Nick Markanich in the box who put away the equalizer with ten minutes to play in the first half.
The teams would head into the locker room knotted at one through 45 minutes, but it wouldn’t take long for the home side to take the lead out of the break. Just five minutes into the second half, Fidel Barajas redirected a cross to the top of the box, and Augustine Williams drove a shot into the lower right corner past Richard Sánchez in goal to give Charleston the 2-1 come-from-behind advantage.
Hartford refused to back down after falling behind, eventually taking advantage of a chaotic defensive effort from the home side to find the equalizer in the 60th minute. Antoine Hoppenot’s cross caused havoc in the box for Charleston, who could not clear the ball in the midst of a goalmouth scramble. A half-clearance from the far post eventually found its way to the head of Niall Logue in the box, who found the feet of Connor McGlynn. Falling backward onto the turf, McGlynn was able to guide a left-footed effort out of the air and through traffic, sneaking into the bottom right corner for his first goal of the season to knot the game at two.
Just six minutes later, a lengthy stoppage in play saw Elvis Amoh go down with an injury that eventually forced him off of the field. The leading scorer this season for Hartford eventually limped off the field holding the back of his right leg, less than a week after scoring the second-ever hat trick in Hartford Athletic history. He would be replaced by Kyle Edwards.
Despite the blow, Hartford would see a number of dangerous goal-scoring opportunities in the final 20 minutes of play but was unable to find the back of the net for the winner. Hartford would go up a man in the 76th minute when Charleston’s Dante Polvara would receive a second yellow card in the space of 20 minutes that saw the home side go down to 10 for the business end of the game.
Just two minutes later, the Green and Blue did find the back of the net for a third time, but the goal was called back. Kyle Edwards would redirect a cross home from close range but was caught in an offsides position in the process and the resulting goal was disallowed.
Hartford’s most dangerous opportunity of the match once again came through Edwards just minutes later, in the 84th minute. The second-half substitute cut through the defense to get on the end of another Cedeño pass that saw him through on goal with a one-on-one opportunity. He rushed past Trey Muse, who initially lost his footing well off of his line, but the Charleston keeper was able to recover in time to save the right-footed shot from Edwards.
Battling through heavy wind and rain in the late stages of the game, it was eventually the home side who would have the last laugh. Two minutes into the three added minutes of stoppage time, Hartford gave away a free kick outside the box. Arturo Rodriguez stepped up, sending a curling ball above everyone in the box. The bouncing ball eventually found the inside of the far post, sneaking past Sánchez from almost 30 yards out to win the game at the death for Charleston and break Hartford's hearts.
With the loss, Hartford remains winless on the season with an 0-2-3 record. They find themselves sitting in 11th place in the Eastern Conference on only two points, just one point ahead of last-place Memphis 901 FC.
The Green and Blue will continue the search for their first win of the season next Saturday, as they continue their three-game road stretch with another trip out west to Oakland Roots FC for a 10 p.m. kickoff.