Hartford Fall 3-1 to Oakland in Home Finale
October 8, 2022 – United Soccer League Championship (USL) – Hartford Athletic News Release
After going down a goal early and fighting their way back into tonight’s match, Hartford Athletic’s comeback effort was not enough to earn points against Oakland Roots SC.
Oakland found the Hartford back line on their heels immediately after the opening whistle, recording a shot just 20 seconds in from Magnus Óttar Karlsson. They broke through in just the fourth minute, when Juan Azócar dispossessed Andre Lewis from a few yards outside of Hartford’s box. Oakland’s second-leading scorer took one touch and beat Yannik Oettl to the bottom right corner of the net, giving his side an early 1-0 lead and quieting the Hartford crowd.
After the early sucker punch from Roots SC, the Green and Blue responded with a few scoring chances of their own. Danny Barrera played a lovely ball ahead for Younes Boudadi into Oakland’s box, but keeper Paul Blanchette did well to come off his line and block Boudadi’s shot. Four minutes later, Prince Saydee entered Oakland’s third and fired a well-struck shot from the top right corner of the box that sailed just above the crossbar.
There was little action near goal for either team the rest of the half. Oakland would record eight shots total, forcing Yannik Oettl to make two saves. Hartford totaled five shots in the half, and put one on target.
Hartford threatened in the Oakland third directly off the second half kickoff and were rewarded right away with an equalizer in the 48th minute. After a Danny Barrera cross was headed far into the right corner, Prince Saydee recovered the ball near the end line and booted a cross of his own. In traffic, Tulu rose above three Oakland defenders and headed his shot just over the goal line before Blanchette got two hands on it. It was Tulu’s second goal of the year, and Saydee’s team-leading eighth assist.
Hartford’s new life was quickly taken away at the hands of Magnus Óttar Karlsson in the 59th minute. The USL Championship’s third-leading goal scorer added a 19th goal to his campaign when he fought off two defenders, and slotted a left-footed shot into the bottom corner of the net. Hartford, back on the comeback trail, broke through Oakland’s defense just two minutes after the ensuing kickoff. Ariel Martínez skilfully dribbled into the visitors’ box and was tackled by Tarek Morad with contact, but no penalty was called.
Both teams created multiple quality chances the rest of the way. The Green and Blue peppered Oakland’s back line with crosses into their box, totaling 25 on the match and nearly scoring off a Juan Carlos Obregón header. The home side’s best chance to tie the game came in the 78th minute on a Danny Barrera free kick. The team captain, in his 100th match with the club, tried his luck from a few yards outside of the box, and forced a diving save from Blanchette.
Roots SC sealed the victory at the beginning of stoppage time, when Jonathan Rodriguez chipped a long-distance shot over the head of Yannik Oettl. The German keeper was out past the six yard box, and the forward took advantage by chipping his shot from about 30 yards out and into the net. The two goal lead held for the rest of stoppage time, resulting in a 3-1 final.
Hartford Athletic will finish their season at Louisville City next Saturday, October 15th, at 7:30 PM.
FAST STATS
Shots (On-Target): Hartford 13 (3) Oakland 16 (5)
Corners: Hartford 5 Oakland 2
Fouls: Hartford 11 Oakland 10
Offsides: Hartford 2 Oakland 0
Possession: Hartford 55.2% Oakland 44.8%
Passing Accuracy: Hartford 85.4% Oakland 84.1%
Saves: Hartford 2 Oakland 2
SCORING SUMMARY:
4â² – Azócar
48′ – Tulu (Saydee)
59′ – Karlsson (Mfeka)
90+3′ – Rodriguez (Fuenmayor)
DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY:
17â² – Ash Apollon (Yellow)
45â² – Juan Azócar (Yellow)
61′ – Ariel Martinez (Yellow)
73′ – Joel Johnson (Yellow)
HARTFORD ATHLETIC STARTING LINEUP
13 (GK) Yannik Oettl, 30 (DF) Joel Johnson 23 (DF) Modou Jadama, 4 (DF) Tulu, 2 (DF) Younes Boudadi, 10 (MF) Danny Barrera, 14 (MF) Ash Apollon, 7 (MF) Prince Saydee, 9 (MF) Juan Carlos Obregón Jr. (Cedeno, 81′); 77 (MF) Andre Lewis (Prpa, 73′); 6 (FW) Ariel Martínez
OAKLAND ROOTS SC STARTING LINEUP
20 (GK) Paul Blanchette, 14 (DF) Daniel Barbir, 30 (DF) Alejandro Fuenmayor, 6 (DF) Tarek Morad, 23 (DF) Guillermo Diaz, 8 (MF) José Hernández, 18 (MF) Juan Azócar (Klimenta, 90+1′); 12 (MF) Charlie Dennis, 9 (MF) Dariusz Formella (Rito, 58′); 10 (FW) Lindo Mfeka (Nane, 77′) 22 (FW) Óttar Karlsson (Rodriguez, 90+1′)
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