Charlotte rallies to top Hartford at home

The Charlotte Independence scored two second-half goals to come from behind and defeat Hartford Athletic 2-1 on Friday night at Dillon Stadium in Hartford.

Hartford took the lead in the 38th minute when the Athletic found some space on the wing. Charlotte’s Hugh Roberts made a sliding attempt to send a cross out of play, but the ball found the

back of the net to give Hartford an own goal.

Charlotte looked far more aggressive in the attacking third after a string of passes resulted in

a dangerous cross into the box.

Dane Kelly placed a header backward toward Gabriel Obertan, who scored left-footed.

The Independence kept pressing and it all came down to midfielder Joel Johnson to finish the game.

He dribbled down the righthand side of the pitch, cut back once and, bending the shot around Robbie Crawford, secured the come-from-behind win.

“I feel happy for the victory and obviously scoring the winning goal is a blessing,” Johnson said. “This time it’s my turn, but I want to highlight the attitude of the team once again for getting the courage and taking the three points in a difficult game.”