Searching For Answers, Hartford Athletic Play Host to Monterey Bay FC
Searching For Answers, Hartford Athletic Play Host to Monterey Bay FC
Latics still trying to find a spark as the welcome another Western Conference foe on Friday night
Mired in a six-game slump, the Latics open the Memorial Day weekend on Friday night at Trinity Health Stadium against Monterey Bay FC, searching for their first points since the first weekend in April. The game opens a two-game home stand, with Hartford also hosting Rhode Island FC in the first-ever match-up between the two sides the following weekend.
Since a 3-2 win over Miami FC on April 6th, Hartford has dropped six straight games in all competitions by a combined score of 19-4, and before Michee Ngalina’s 80th-minute consolation goal against Indy Eleven; they’d also gone more than 400 minutes without scoring. The power outage stands in stark contrast to expectations for this side, which features multiple players who have previously recorded 10+ goals in a Championship season and in the early games of the season looked poised to explode in attack.
One thing that has contributed to the lack of scoring has been the disappearance of the pressing style that characterized the early moments of the season and has been a hallmark of previous Brendan Burke teams in Colorado Springs and elsewhere. Originally suffocating, the press has been nonexistent of late and as a result, the Latics have not been able to win the ball in dangerous areas or create transitional opportunities that take advantage of their attacking strengths.
Burke has tried some tactical variations to recover the magic - including rolling out a largely unsuccessful 3-4-3 in a couple of games - and a spate of injuries have certainly presented challenges but with essentially his full squad now fit and available, evidence of movement in a positive direction is desperately needed.
Friday’s opposition are another side headed in the wrong direction. Monterey started the season strong — earning results in seven of their first eight games — and counting among their five wins a 1-0 victory over defending champions Phoenix Rising. Since then, they’ve dropped four of five, with the only result a 2-2 draw against Memphis 901 FC earned by way of a stoppage-time equalizer from Tristan Trager.
Like Hartford, Monterey Bay are struggling to find the back of the net. During their five-game winless streak, they’ve been shut out four times and are now potentially missing their most influential attacker as Tristan Trager (5 goals) missed the 3-0 defeat to Loudoun with an injury. Even if Trager remains unavailable, Hartford’s leaky defense may mean that the other attackers in the side - including former Latics Alex Dixon and Walmer Martinez - may fancy their chances.
On the other hand, with both teams so punchless of late, a low-scoring affair might be in the offing. While big steps for the home side might be too much to expect, the Hartford faithful will be hoping for a livelier performance that indicates the early promise was not entirely a mirage.