Hartford tie Rhode Island 1-1 in first draw of the season
After Rhode Island FC and Hartford Athletic each put a goal on the board in the first half, a scoreless second half forced the New England rivals to leave Trinity Health Stadium in a draw. Tonight marked Hartford’s 11th match of the USL Championship season and the first to result in a draw.
Rhode Island started the scoring early, putting the first goal of the match on the board just four minutes into play. The visiting team raised the score to 1-0 after Rhode Island’s Mark Doyle fired a volley into the bottom right corner of the net, capitalizing off of a weighted pass across the box from Jerome Williams.
Battling from behind, Hartford fought for possession throughout the first half, with Michee Ngalina and Marcus Epps making multiple advances toward the goal each contributing two shots for the home team. In the 24th minute of the match, Hartford leveled Rhode Island’s lead with a goal from Joe Farrell off a corner to tie up the score 1-1. The Green and Blue broke Rhode Island’s edge when Farrell got a piece off a perfectly placed ball sent soaring into the box from Triston Hodge.
An onslaught of Hartford scoring chances followed Farrell’s goal. In the 40th minute of the match, the Green and Blue came close to taking the lead on Rhode Island when Michee Ngalina sent a fantastic header into the bottom left corner of the visiting team’s goal. Ngalina’s header forced a diving save from Koke Vegas to prevent the forward’s attempt to end the half in the lead. Hartford dominated in distribution across the board, maintaining 53% possession to Rhode Island’s 47% throughout the first half. The halftime whistle blew and the score remained the same.
Both Hartford and Rhode Island came hot out of the second-half gate, each looking for their teams on top. The visiting club made their first attempt to score just minutes into the half when Jerome Williams drove in a powerful shot from outside the box, forcing Ribeiro’s 3rd save of the match.
Hartford’s first shot of the second half came in the 85th minute of play after Marcus Epps intercepted an attempted clearance from Rhode Island defender, Karifa Yao. The forward won back possession for the Green and Blue and Epps took the ball up the field before playing a dangerous ball into Rhode Island’s box. Michee Ngalina received Epps’s pass and fired in a shot that soared just over Rhode Island’s top post. The two rival clubs traded scoring chances as the game advanced into the late stages, but neither could break the tie. The match ended 1-1.
Marcus Epps had an active night offensively for Hartford, leading the team in shots on goal (4) and passes (39). Renan Ribeiro made four saves in goal and Hartford created nine total chances throughout the night.
Tonight’s match marks Hartford’s first draw of the season, moving the team to a record of 4-6-1. The Green and Blue will travel across the country to continue their USL Championship schedule at Rio Grande Credit Union Field to take on the top team in the Western Conference, New Mexico United, on Saturday, June 8th. Kickoff is set for 9:00 pm.
Fast Stats
Shots(On-Target): Hartford 11(2) Rhode Island 14(5)
Corners: Hartford 7 Rhode Island 5
Fouls: Hartford 9 Rhode Island 16
Offsides: Hartford 3 Rhode Island 1
Possession: Hartford 43.5% Rhode Island 56.5%
Passing: Hartford 330 Rhode Island 426
Saves: Hartford 4 Rhode Island 1
Scoring Summary
Rhode Island: 4’ – Mark Doyle (14)
Hartford: 24’ – Joe Farrell (15)
Disciplinary Summary
Rhode Island: 86’ – Mark Doyle (Yellow)
Hartford Athletic Starting Lineup
40 (GK) Renan Ribeiro, 4 (DF) Jordan Scarlett, 15 (DF) Joe Farrell, 5 (DF) Triston Hodge, 19 (DF) Rece Buckmaster, 6 (DF) Beverly Makangila, 8 (MF) Jay Chapman, 12 (MF) Asiedu Anderson, 7 (MF) Marcus Epps (Mamadou Dieng, 85’), 31 (F) Deshane Beckford (Romario Willaims, 67’), 11 (F) Michee Ngalina
Rhode Island FC Starting Lineup
1 (GK) Koke Vegas, 4 (DF) Collin Smith ( Conor McGlynn, 45’), 15 (DF) Frank Nodarse, 24 (DF) Karifa Yao, 3 (DF) Stephen Turnbull, 23 (MF) Marc Ybarra, 12 (MF) Clay Holstad, 8 (MF) Jack Panayotou (Noah Fuson, 72’), 9 (F) JJ Williams, 10 (F) Albert Dikwa (Joe Brito, 81’), 14 (F) Mark Doyle (Prince Saydee, 88’)
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