Ten-Man Hartford Athletic Downed by Late North Carolina FC Winner
The Latics dropped points in stoppage time for the second time in ten days as their unbeaten run came to an end on Friday night
Hartford Athletic’s four-game unbeaten run came to an end on Friday night, as a late goal from Pedro Dolabella gave North Carolina FC all three points at Trinity Health Stadium. The Latics once again struggled for attacking opportunities, leaving last week’s power surge seeming like a blip rather than a turning of the corner.
Kick off was delayed by thunderstorms in the Hartford area. Although Trinity Health Stadium saw no more than a few spots of rain, lightning strikes in the area caused kickoff to be delayed by more than an hour.
Once the game did kick off it was a fairly cagey affair, with both teams’ attacking edge seemingly dulled by the delayed start. Hartford did have some half-chances on the counter, but they came to nothing and the best chance for either team in the opening 10 minutes fell to North Carolina but Adam Luckhurst could only fire well wide.
The remainder of the first half hour played out in a similarly desultory fashion, with both teams struggling to trouble the opposing keeper. Things continued in much the same fashion in and it seemed like there was perhaps some frustration for Hartford Athletic, given the lack of meaningful opportunities. Over the last 15 minutes of the first half, they took some really poor shots from distance, with Adewale Obalola and Mamadou Dieng both guilty of attempting difficult shots that came nowhere near the target when there were perhaps other options on the table.
When the halftime whistle blew, there was little to distinguish the two teams, neither of whom had played particularly well, although the visitors were probably marginally happier. For Hartford Athletic, they were desperately in need of a spark, as despite some opportunities they had failed to settle the ball or generate a meaningful shot on target after a Samuel Carreaga’s attempt in the 12th minute.
Unfortunately for the hosts, the second half kicked off in much the same way - and when Hartford did get into a promising position, they were denied by some suspect officiating. Substitute Deshane Beckford burst into the box and went down under a heavy challenge that from all angles seemed to be a clear penalty, but the official declined to point to the spot and the chance came to nothing. It was one of a number of calls in the game that led Brendan Burke to once again complain about the quality of the officiating in the league.
Things got much harder for Hartford athletic in the 68th minute when Joe Farrell was sent off; a somewhat reckless challenge earning him a second yellow. It was the seventh red card the Latics have received in all competitions this season. Following Farrell’s sending off, the balance of the game tilted towards the visitors, but as the clock ticked down the Latics had probably done enough to earn another point with a solid defensive effort. It was not to be, as deep in stoppage time a looping header from Dolabella evaded Anthony Siaha to nestle in the corner and give NCFC all three points.
The quality of the officiating aside, it was an uneven performance for Hartford, who looked frustrated and disjointed in attack. While it played reasonably well in defence, the Latics were once again undone by what is becoming a trademark lack of focus at critical junctures. Some soul-searching is perhaps in order this week as they face tough visits from Charleston Battery and Loudoun United, and will need to find a better performance than this one if they are to claim something from those games.