August 3, 2024 – United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Hartford Athletic News Release
After falling down 2-0 in the first half, a determined comeback effort and a boost from second half substitutes propelled Hartford to a 2-2 draw against Birmingham Legion FC on the road tonight.
It took until the 25th minute for tonight’s match to open up, with Enzo Martinez sparking the first goal scoring threat for Birmingham when he rocketed a shot off the crossbar from the top of the box. Three minutes later, Joey Akpunonu played a quality long ball from Hartford’s half into the attacking third. Deshane Beckford chased down the pass and played the ball across the box to Michee Ngalina, but the winger’s shot went wide.
Enzo Martinez continued to loom in Hartford’s attacking third, and he gave his team the lead on his second shot of the night in the 32nd minute. He was able to get behind Athletic’s back line to track down a lofted ball from Kobe Hernández-Foster, and the veteran midfielder powered his shot low and past Renan Ribeiro.
Up 1-0, Birmingham doubled their lead six minutes after their first tally. Tyler Pasher delivered a corner kick into the box, and Dawson McCartney touched the ball into the bottom left corner of the net with his left foot through traffic. The final minutes of the half ticked off, and Hartford went into the locker room down 2-0.
The Green and Blue grew into the match in the second half, putting more pressure on Birmingham’s defense and eventually breaking through in the 72nd minute. Danny Barrera looped an in-swinging corner into the box that was headed towards the right post by Joey Akpunonu, and Mamadou Dieng was there to head the ball into the net. With just under 20 minutes to play, Athletic had cut the lead in half.
Hartford remained on the front foot in their search for an equalizer, continuing to spend time in the attacking third and earning a crucial penalty in the 86th minute. Barrera and Dieng were involved again, as it was Barrera who fired a shot from distance, and Dieng getting fouled by Moses Mensah in a scramble to possess the rebound off of Van Oekel. Ngalina stepped up to take the PK, and buried it to the bottom left corner calmly to tie the match 2-2. With stoppage time on the horizon, Hartford had completed the comeback from two goals down.
The point was not secured just yet, as the clock struck 90 and three minutes were added to the match. Anderson Asiedu put a shot on target for Hartford that challenged Van Oekel, then…