Hartford Athletic extended their unbeaten streak to nine straight games with a crucial 3-2 win against North Carolina FC on the road.
The Boys in Green started off strong with a goal only four minutes and 29 seconds into the game, marking Hartford’s fastest goal in USL Championship play so far this season. Michee Ngalina received the ball out wide and pulled off some fancy footwork to get past his defender and put a cross into the box. Samuel Careaga was there to get his head on the end of it. His attempt hit the crossbar, but the Argentinian midfielder was there to follow up on his own rebound and bury the ball in the back of the net, also with his head.
Hartford kept hammering at the North Carolina goal, with six shots to the home team’s one attempt over the next 30 minutes.
Despite this attacking momentum, NCFC found a way through the Green & Blue backline in the 35th minute. Oalex Anderson Jr. was able to get on the end of a Patrick Burner cross with a sliding effort, equalizing the score at one goal each.
Athletic had a few more looks on goal, but none found the back of the net, before the two teams went into the locker room for halftime.
Most of the second half saw both teams battle for another goal, with possession swinging from one team to the other.
Nearing the end of the second half, North Carolina FC netted their second goal of the match. NCFC’s first goalscorer Anderson got on the end of a long ball, controlling it with one touch and firing off a shot. Antony Siaha came up huge with a save, but the rebound bounced back out for Raheem Somersall to power it into the back of the net with a one touch strike.
Just over five minutes later, the Boys in Green equalized on an Ngalina attempt. The backflipping forward turned his defender at the midfield and took off towards goal. He fired off a shot from just inside the 18-yard-box which deflected off NCFC defender Tristan Hodge and into the back of the goal.
In search of the three points, Athletic pulled ahead with one more goal in stoppage time. Emmanuel Samadia served a perfect in-swinging corner into the box in the 93rd minute. Adrían Diz Pe soared above everyone else to get a head on it and redirect the ball into the far corner, well out of reach of NCFC goalkeeper Oliver Semmle. This marks his first goal and Samadia’s fourth assist of the USL Championship season.
Samadia now leads the team in assists so far this season.
With this match, Hartford has avoided defeat in their last seven games of USL Championship play when scoring first. Overall the Green & Blue have a record of 7-1-0 when netting the first goal, proving that coming out strong and shaking up the opponent has been a pivotal part of the Athletic game plan this season.
The Boys in Green take the field next at home against Indy Eleven on Wednesday, September 3rd at 7:30 PM. Tickets are available here.
FAST STATS
| HARTFORD | NORTH CAROLINA | |
|---|---|---|
| Shots | 16 | 8 |
| Shots On Target | 6 | 4 |
| Corners | 5 | 3 |
| Fouls | 12 | 13 |
| Offsides | 3 | 2 |
| Possession | 46.6% | 53.4% |
| Passing Accuracy | 76.4% | 80.1% |
| Saves | 2 | 4 |
SCORING SUMMARY
| HARTFORD | NORTH CAROLINA |
|---|---|
| 5′ – Samuel Careaga | 34′ – Oalex Anderson (Patrick Burner) |
| 86′ – Trsitan Hodge Own Goal (Michee Ngalina) | 80′ – Raheem Somersall |
| 90+3′ – Adrían Diz Pe (Emmanuel Samadia) |
DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY
| HARTFORD | NORTH CAROLINA |
|---|---|
| 90+4′ – Samuel Careaga (Yellow) | 29′ – Louis Perez (Yellow) |
| 90+6′ – Emmanuel Samadia (Yellow) | 64′ – Finn Sundstrom (Yellow) |
LINEUPS
| HARTFORD | NORTH CAROLINA |
|---|---|
| 77 (GK) Antony Siaha | 22 (GK) Oliver Semmle |
| 4 (DF) Jordan Scarlett (C) | 55 (DF) Tristan Hodge |
| 22 (DF) TJ Presthus | 27 (DF) Bryce Washington |
| 30 (DF) Adrián Diz Pe | 66 (DF) Finn Sundstrom |
| 19 (MF) Emmanuel Samadia | 10 (MF) Jaden Servania |
| 94 (MF) Marlon Hairston (Beverly Makangila, 75′) | 15 (MF) Mikey Maldonado |
| 10 (MF) Samuel Careaga (Jack Panayotou, 75′) | 44 (MF) Raheem Somersall |
| 23 (MF) Owen Presthus (Joe Farrell, 90+6′) | 11 (MF) Patrick Burner |
| 11 (MF) Michee Ngalina | 13 (FW) Louis Perez (C) (Thomas Roberts, 67′) |
| 8 (MF) Junior Moreira (Adewale Obalola, 60′) | 9 (FW) Oalex Anderson Jr (Rodrigo de Costa, 84′) |
| 71 (FW) Kyle Edwards (Jonathan Jiménez, 75′) | 8 (FW) Pedro Dolabella (Evan Conway, 60′) |
