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Matchday Preview: Hartford Athletic vs. Charlotte Independence

By USLChampionship.com Staff, 09/29/21, 9:07AM EDT

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Hartford need victory to close gap on playoff contender Charlotte as sides meet on ESPN Deportes


The Charlotte Independence's Sylvain Marveaux scored both goals in a 2-0 victory when the side last faced Hartford Athletic at Memorial Stadium on September 11. | Photo courtesy Charlotte Independence

HARTFORD, Conn. – Hartford Athletic play host to the Charlotte Independence in the USL on ESPN Game of the Week on ESPN Deportes on Thursday night at Dillon Stadium with the hosts in need of victory to close the gap to the fourth-placed Independence, who will be looking to rebound from defeat last time out. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.

@HFDAthletic (9-12-4, 30pts) fell 2-1 to the Tampa Bay Rowdies last Saturday night at Dillon Stadium as a late goal by Danny Barrera proved only a consolation as the hosts ended the Rowdies’ shutout streak at 891 minutes. Barrera’s goal was his seventh of the season, moving him level with Juan Carlos Obregon Jr. for the team lead alongside nine assists, which are tied for the league-lead with the Charleston Battery’s Zeiko Lewis. The game also saw Jeff Caldwell record his fifth penalty kick save of the season, marking a new season-high in the Championship since the 2017 campaign. The result kept Hartford 10 points behind Charlotte in sixth place in the standings, and with only eight games to go in the regular season the third meeting of the season is essentially a must-win for the Athletic’s postseason hopes. That will be challenging against an Independence side that the Athletic have suffered a pair of defeats to previously this season, both away from home, and has yet to defeat in four games overall since joining the league in 2019.

The @Independence (12-9-4, 40pts) also fell 2-1 on Sunday evening against Birmingham Legion FC at BBVA Field as the club’s four-game winning streak came to an end despite the visitors opening the scoring through Christian Fuchs. The goal was the former Austrian international’s first goal in league play since scoring for Leicester City in the Premier League on March 4, 2017 against Hull City FC and his first in Charlotte’s colors. Charlotte is now five points behind Miami FC in third place and eight points behind Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC in second place in the Atlantic Division but holds a game in hand on Miami and two on the Hounds as it tries to make a push up the standings with seven games to play. A third win this season would provide a major boost to those chances, with Sylvain Marveaux having scored both goals when the sides last met in a 2-0 win at Memorial Stadium on September 11.

FiveThirtyEight.com Match Predictor: Hartford Athletic 30%, Charlotte Independence 43%, Draw 26%

Most Recent Lineups

Hartford Athletic (4-3-3): Jeff Caldwell; Nicolas Cardona, Tulu, Thomas Janjigian, Younes Boudadi; Conor McGlynn, Justin Haak, Danny Barrera; Darwin Lom, Juan Carlos Obregon Jr., Preston Tabort Etaka

Charlotte Independence (3-4-3): Austin Pack; Kevin Riascos, Hugh Roberts, Christian Fuchs; Jose Bizama, Brandt Bronico, Marcelo Palomino, Jake Areman; Joel Johnson, Irvin Parra, Enzo Martinez

Discipline

Hartford Athletic – None

Charlotte Independence – None

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