In front of a sold out home crowd, Corey Hertzog’s game winner in stoppage time capped off a wild night at Trinity Health Stadium.
The Red Bulls came out of the gate on the front foot, doing their best to quiet the home crowd. They attempted two shots in the first six minutes and 46.5% of the action was played in Hartfordβs third in the first 15 minutes of the match. The Green and Blue began to turn the tide in the 30th minute after Prince Saydee made a blistering run into New York’s third and fed a ball to the middle of the park that was headed by Tom Brewitt, then by Luka Prpa. The ball fell to the feet of Corey Hertzog, who flicked a brilliant shot over the Reb Bull keeper Giannis Nikopolidis, but the goal was waved off after a discussion from the officials deemed Hertzog offsides. Despite the call not going in their favor, Hartford responded professionally, scoring a goal just six minutes later, and this one would count. Brewitt and Hertzog were involved again, as Hertzog fired a throw-in that was headed by Brewitt and then kicked in by Luka Prpa. Hartford were set to head to the locker room with a 1-0 lead until O’vante Mullins played a long ball to Jordan Adebayo-Smith in first half stoppage time, who got behind a charging Austin Pack and rolled a shot into the open net.
Hartford responded well yet again at the start of the second half, creating scoring chances quickly. In the 52nd minute, Hertzog led Prince Saydee with a pass that gave him space to enter New York’s box, but his shot attempt was blocked after a strong tackle from Juan Castillo. Two minutes later, Hartford found a goal off a brilliantly executed corner kick. Danny Barrera placed a ball at the feet of Conor McGlynn, who lobbed a ball into the box that was deflected and booted in by Joel Johnson, giving the USL Championship veteran a goal in his 150th career appearance.
The Red Bulls did not fold after going down a goal for the second time. In the 70th minute, Illia Tyrkus received a pass at the top of Hartford’s box and lofted a left-footed strike into the top corner of the net, tying the score at 2-2.
Hartford were tested to find a game winner, and they delivered. After 20 minutes of battling to create chances that included five shots, the Green and Blue were given a corner kick in stoppage time. Again, it was Barrera delivering a quality ball into the box that was headed by Conor McGlynn and touched into the net by Corey Hertzog from just a few feet in front of the goal. It would be a game winner that sent Trinity Health Stadium into a frenzy.
Hartford Athletic will carry this momentum into a road match at Tulsa FC next Saturday at 8:30PM.
FAST STATS:
Shots (On-Target): Hartford 18 (7) β New York 6 (4)
Corners: Hartford 7 β New York 1
Fouls: Hartford 8 β New York 14
Offsides: Hartford 6 β New York 2
Possession: Hartford 51.9% β New York 48.1%
Passing Accuracy: Hartford 69.9% β New York 63.5%
Saves: Hartford 2 β New York 3
SCORING SUMMARY:
36β – Prpa (Brewitt)
46β – Adebayo-Smith (Mullings)
54β – Johnson
70β – Tyrkus (Mullings)
90 + 2β – Hertzog (Jadama)
DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY:
10β – Younes Boudadi (Yellow)
67β – Steven Sserwadda (Yellow)
76β – Ashkanov Apollon (Yellow)
81β – Sam Williams (Yellow)
82β – Danny Barrera (Yellow)
85β – Michael Knapp (Yellow)
90 + 3β – Corey Hertzog (Yellow)
90 + 5β – Austin Pack (Yellow)
HARTFORD ATHLETIC STARTING LINEUP:
1 (GK) Austin Pack, 2 (DF) Younes Boudadi (L. Gdula, 90β); 5 (DF) Tom Brewitt, 7 (FW) Prince Saydee (R. Dally, 70β); 11 (MF) Luka Prpa (A. Lewis, 74β); 10 (MF) Danny Barrera, 12 (FW) Corey Hertzog 14 (DF) Ash Apollon, 23 (DF) Modou Jadama, 28 (MF) Conor McGlynn, 30 (DF) Joel Johnson (M. Curry, 90β)
NEW YORK RED BULLS II STARTING LINEUP:
71 (GK) Giannis Nikopolidis, 88 (DF) O’vante Mullin, 55 (DF) Lamine Conte, 80 (DF) Juan Castillo, 32 (DF) Chris Cragwell (D. De Leon, 36β); 60 (MF) Curtis Ofori (M. Knapp, 73β); 65 (MF) Steven Sserwadda, 49 (MF) Sam Williams, 36 (MF) Jeremy Rafanello, 30 (DF) Jordan Adebayo-Smith (I. Tyrkus, 66β); 77 (FW) Jonathan Filipe