Hartford Athletic to Begin Season in July

[Waquoit]

Ignorance is bliss.

What's more boring than a soccer snob continuing to bash a win? They are so tiring, more interested in getting their boring 2 cents in than being a fan and enjoying a W. Why do they do this? Because they think they know soccer better than you and they want you to know that. I bet this guy will be watching Monday hoping for a loss so he can say "I told you so!"

 

[kibblesnbits]

What's more boring than a soccer snob continuing to bash a win? They are so tiring, more interested in getting their boring 2 cents in than being a fan and enjoying a W. Why do they do this? Because they think they know soccer better than you and they want you to know that. I bet this guy will be watching Monday hoping for a loss so he can say "I told you so!"

You have no clue. I want to see this team win and I probably know less about soccer than you. However, I don't live in a fantasy world that what you saw on Friday was an impressive effort. They got a lucky bounce and then packed it in. I recognize the emphasis on defense is sound strategy, but you can play defense while still moving to space and stringing together more than 1-2 passes before just launching the ball downfield. I'll bet if you were asked to give an honest scouting report of the game and you broke it down play by play you'd admit it wasn't a counter-attacking style, it was a totally passive style. You don't have to be an expert in the game to see that.

 

[ZooCougar]

You have no clue. I want to see this team win and I probably know less about soccer than you. However, I don't live in a fantasy world that what you saw on Friday was an impressive effort. They got a lucky bounce and then packed it in. I recognize the emphasis on defense is sound strategy, but you can play defense while still moving to space and stringing together more than 1-2 passes before just launching the ball downfield. I'll bet if you were asked to give an honest scouting report of the game and you broke it down play by play you'd admit it wasn't a counter-attacking style, it was a totally passive style. You don't have to be an expert in the game to see that.

It’s USL. It’s basically preseason, crappy play is kind of expected.

 

[kibblesnbits]

It’s USL. It’s basically preseason, crappy play is kind of expected.

Point taken.

 

[TheDoggPound]

 

[kibblesnbits]

LIstened to the ESPN feed on my way up to Boston. It sounded like HA played a much more aggressive style and turned in an impressive effort at Dillon on the way to a 3-1 victory in the home opener over Loudoun (DC United's reserve team). They have another home game against Philadelphia Union II on Saturday. It should be a good opportunity for another win as the reserve clubs are playing with a short roster due to some players being in Orlando for the MLS tournament. Next week they play at Indy, which is expected to be one of the better teams in the league, in a major test of this new Athletic roster.

 

[TheDoggPound]

 

[Waquoit]

Beautiful goal by the Southampton loanee at the 1:30 mark.

 

[TheDoggPound]

 

[ZooCougar]

Ignorance is bliss. If you think what we saw on Friday was comparable to Leicester City then I'm not sure what to tell you. They actually take advantage of space and move forward with an order to their counter. Just playing defense and doing long clears with little intent to organize a counter is not the same thing. Leicester City actually finished as one of the top goal scoring teams that year because the counter attack is a critical 90 minute strategy for them. I'm curious if ZooCougar actually saw the HA game or is just basing it on a presumption of a counter-attacking style that really didn't exist.

They looked dominant in the second match.

 

[Waquoit]

They looked dominant in the second match.

And the team HA beat on the road crushed the team they are playing tonight. I'm worried.

 

[kibblesnbits]

We had visitors so I only had a distracted view of the game, but HA rebounded from a couple of early defensive blunders that left the keeper out to dry by scoring 3 straight and solidly controlling the remainder of the game to win 3-2. If I heard the announcers correctly the Union II squad was only playing one guy over the age of 20 (could that be correct?), so Athletic will have to up their game when they take on Indianapolis in the next contest.

 

[Palatine]

Video highlights. This looks pretty ugly.

Hartford Athletic vs. Philadelphia Union II - July 25, 2020 | USLChampionship.com

The latest updates from the Week 8 match between Hartford Athletic and Philadelphia Union II on July 25, 2020, including lineups, recaps, stats and videos.

www.uslchampionship.com

 

[Waquoit]

You are what your record says you are.

 

[TheDoggPound]

 

[Waquoit]

Hartford has the only perfect record in the USL.

 

[TheDoggPound]

 

[Waquoit]

It's easy enough for me to draw a line through Wednesday's game. HA has just one out-of-division away game and it came against a team that hasn't lost at home in over 2 years. But they played on the front foot and didn't park the bus. Looks like it will be nice night for futbol once the rain clears out.

 

[kibblesnbits]

I didn't comment on Wednesday's game because I didn't see the first half. The second half was mostly controlled by Indy after an early HA goal and the home team put home 3 for a relatively easy win. The Indy announcers were quite clear, however, that they thought Hartford just ran out of gas after playing a very strong first half. That made sense as Indy was able to use superior speed up front to pop home several late goals against a tiring defense to make the margin more than the game really justified.

 

[LIuconn]

Who’s Alphonso Vasquez?

 

[kibblesnbits]

Tonight's game was basically Wednesday's game but this time Hartford was the home team with the winning hand. On Wednesday they lost 4-1 at Indy but the overall game was closer than the final score. This time Hartford was the superior team in another 4-1 final but late goals also made the game appear more one-sided than it actually was. It was particularly exciting to see the 18 year old home grown Connecticut player Vasquez score a very professional goal in stoppage time. HA is now leading their group with 4 wins in 5 starts. The announcers pointed out that it took them 23 games to reach 4 wins last season.

The only downer in this game was an potentially serious injury to rookie midfielder McGlynn in the 2nd half. He was taken off on a stretcher.

 

[TheDoggPound]

Who’s Alphonso Vasquez?

Hartford Athletic Signs Connecticut Native Alfonso Vazquez

Hartford Athletic announced today that Alfonso Vazquez (Windham, CT) has been signed for the 2020 season, pending league and federation approval.

www.oursportscentral.com

 

[TheDoggPound]

 

[Waquoit]

Tonight's game was basically Wednesday's game but this time Hartford was the home team with the winning hand. On Wednesday they lost 4-1 at Indy but the overall game was closer than the final score. This time Hartford was the superior team in another 4-1 final but late goals also made the game appear more one-sided than it actually was.

I'm not sure I agree with this. On Wednesday, Indy scored early in the game but Hartford stayed on the front foot and battled to a standstill for the rest of the half. Early in the 2nd, HA scored a goal from the field of play to tie. In this game, Hartford scored early. Then scored again. They kept the pressure on until they earned a PK which the keeper saved nicely. Loudon got their only goal on a PK. The second half was slower, probably due to the heat and humidity. But after Athletic put on some fresh legs they pulled away. Our keeper was hardly tested. After typing this, now I want to say that only the score was similar.

 

[kibblesnbits]

I'm not sure I agree with this. On Wednesday, Indy scored early in the game but Hartford stayed on the front foot and battled to a standstill for the rest of the half. Early in the 2nd, HA scored a goal from the field of play to tie. In this game, Hartford scored early. Then scored again. They kept the pressure on until they earned a PK which the keeper saved nicely. Loudon got their only goal on a PK. The second half was slower, probably due to the heat and humidity. But after Athletic put on some fresh legs they pulled away. Our keeper was hardly tested. After typing this, now I want to say that only the score was similar.

Well, both games were 2-1 for the home club at the 60 minute mark. In each case the play was competitive to that point but the home team tacked on 2 more as the pace of picked up again after subs were added. If you think "after Athletic put on some fresh legs they pulled away" you really should watch how Indy's fresh legs ran a tiring Hartford defense into the ground late in the game. Finally, in both cases an impressive late goal by a sub generated the final 3 goal margin that really was not indicative of the overall pace of play. So, yeah, the games were completely different.