United can’t finish in 2-1 loss to Hartford
New Mexico coach says team took its foot off the gas
This one left New Mexico nursing a nasty bruise.
New Mexico United surrendered two goals in a four-minute span in the second half Saturday and ended up on the losing end of a 2-1 score in Hartford, Connecticut.
United dominated most of the contest, outshooting host Hartford Athletic 17-6 and sending the ball into prime scoring territory on a regular basis. It wasn’t enough to avoid a painful loss to the last-place club in the USL Championship’s Eastern Conference, which won despite playing a man down through nearly 10 minutes of stoppage time.
Nicky Hernandez knocked home the lone tally for United (8-9-4), which dropped its second straight decision after a five-game unbeaten streak. But the visitors had numerous chances to expand a 1-0 lead and either could not get a shot past Hartford goalkeeper Joseph Rice or passed up shot opportunities that came back to haunt them.
“We had the game in our hands for most of the night,” United coach Eric Quill said in a postgame phone interview, “but we let (Hartford) hang around and we got punished for it. Our efficiency and quality in the final third was poor tonight and I thought we lost focus in the second half.”
Things looked promising for New Mexico early. Hernandez capitalized on an open chance just inside the penalty area, chipping a shot past Rice’s outstretched arms after a Justin Portillo serve was headed away by a defender. United grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute.
Meanwhile, Hartford had two apparent goals by Antoine Hoppenot waved off due to offside calls.
NMU took a 1-0 lead to halftime but it easily could have been larger. Rice managed to turn aside a flurry of United shots late in the half, stopping attempts by Amando Moreno and Santi Moar from close range that could have provided a needed cushion.
“We had one nice goal in the first half but we should’ve had two or three,” Quill said. “In the second half, I thought we took our foot off the gas.”
United passed up several potential shots in the first 20 minutes after intermission, looking instead for wide-open opportunities that never
materialized.
Hartford (4-14-4) turned the momentum when Beverly Makangila unleashed a 30-yard blast that appeared to catch New Mexico’s defense flat-footed. The shot sailed past goalkeeper Alex Tambakis and evened the score at 1-1 in the 69th minute.
Energized Hartford struck again four minutes later, when Hoppenot scored on a transition chance, rolling a shot past Tambakis off a pass from Conor McGlynn.
“We gave them life with some defensive breakdowns,” Quill said. “Some awful defending for those few minutes. I was disappointed in our lack of focus.”
Trailing for the first time, United turned up the pressure over the final 15 minutes of regulation plus stoppage time. NMU sent numerous balls into the Hartford box and very nearly got an equalizer on a Sergio Rivas shot in the 89th minute. Rice made a stellar diving save to keep Hartford in front.
The visitors’ chances improved in the final minute of regulation when Hartford’s Andre Lewis picked up a second caution and was sent off with the resulting red card. New Mexico continued to press during an extended stoppage period but could not get the ball behind Rice, who finished with six saves.
United returns home to host defending USLC champion San Antonio FC on Saturday. Five of NMU’s next six games will be played in Albuquerque.
HARTFORD ATHLETIC 2, NEW MEXICO UNITED 1 New Mexico 1 0 — 1
Hartford 0 2 — 2
Scoring: NM, 13th, Nicky Hernandez; H, 69th, Beverly Makangila (A. Lewis); H, 73rd, Antoine Hoppenot (C. McGlynn). Shots: NM 17, H 6. Shots on goal: NM 7, H 3. Corner kicks: NM 7, H 7. Goalkeeper saves: NM (Alex Tambakis) 1, H (Joseph Rice) 6. Records: NM 8-9-4, H 4-14-4.