It began as a night of reunion, with Hartford Athletic Head Coach Brendan Burke and five of his current players returning to Weidner Field to face former club Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC in a pivotal game for both in the postseason race.

It ended as an approximation of where each of these clubs currently find themselves, with Hartford coming away with a 2-0 victory that came via good fortune and good quality on its part and another night of missed opportunities and frustration for the hosts.

• CLOSE, BUT…: By most measures, Colorado Springs deserved to take something from the game. The hosts recorded their season high with 25 shots, seven of which were on target, and dominated the game both in possession (65.7%) and territory, with 36.6% of the game being played in the Switchbacks’ attacking third compared to 21.3 percent in its defensive end.

• LAST LINE: The Switchbacks were thwarted by an unlikely hero for Athletic in goalkeeper John Berner, who recorded his first shutout in the USL-C since October 15, 2022 after spending the past two seasons as a back-up for Huntsville City FC and Atlanta United 2 and a short stint earlier this season with FC Tulsa. Berner’s seven saves were only two off his career-high and included some crucial stops in either half to both keep the game scoreless and then preserve Hartford’s lead.

• OFF THE MARK: Berner’s play was added to by a series of missed opportunities by the Switchbacks themselves, primarily by Kyle Vassell. The image of the Northern Ireland striker with his shirt over his head after sending a clear one-on-one over the crossbar late in the first half might be the image the summed up the night for the hosts as they let opportunities slip away.

“It's the exact same for the last three games,” said Switchbacks Head Coach James Chambers. “We don't capitalize on the moments, and the guys are doing a lot of things right. But it’s the business end of it. And look, it’s ultimately on me. It’s all on me, and I can’t fault the players.”

By contrast, things couldn’t seemingly go wrong for Hartford. The side’s first goal came via a remarkable sequence that saw both Michee Ngalina and Adewale Obalola have opportunities before an attempt to clear caromed off Obalola and looped into the right side of the net just before the Switchbacks’ defense could scramble it to safety.

If the opener was fortunate, Athletic’s second goal was a mark of the quality the side has produced of late. Sebastian Anderson’s simple pass to Jack Panayotou at the top of the penalty area saw the young playmaker power home a shot six minutes into the second half.

As Hartford looks ahead to next Saturday’s USL Jägermeister Cup Final at Sacramento Republic FC, the victory summed up for Burke the character the side has developed this season.

“It was a special night for a bunch of us coming back to this beautiful stadium and city,” said Burke. “We were certainly not at our best tonight, but we showed tremendous grit and that is a mark of highly successful teams.

“Colorado [Springs] were excellent and deserved a better result, but this Hartford team is an absolute privilege to be around, they never stop fighting for each other no matter who is called upon to play and we are proud as a staff to be working with them right now.”  

Sitting in the top four of the Eastern Conference, Hartford is closing in on the postseason.

Sitting in eighth in the West, the Switchbacks, meanwhile, are simply looking for something that can spark a return to the playoffs and defense of their title.

“We've got two more home games,” said Switchbacks midfielder Cole Mrowka. “We've got to end it on a good note, and hopefully, we get a result at the end of the day. We're in a position right now where we're in eighth place, and the results have to come because we're fighting for the playoffs.”