Opponent: Hartford Athletic
Match Date: May 11
Location: Trinity Health Stadium, Hartford, Connecticut
Kickoff: 5pm MT
Last Meeting with Opponent: Switchbacks 1, Hartford Athletic 1. March 18 th , 2023, at Weidner Field in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Goals by Elvis Amoh (70’) and Zach Zandi (88’).
How to Listen: XTRA Sports 1300am with the Voices of the Switchbacks, Ryan Kaufman and Roland Vargish – coverage starts at 4:30pm MT.
Coach Chamber’s Comments: “I don’t think [Hartford having six former Switchbacks on their roster] changes things too much. There’s a lot of that in our game – a lot of players in this league have played for previous clubs, so it’s nothing too extreme. We all change who we are and what we do.“I think the pace of the game [on Wednesday night in Queens, New York] was a little bit slowerand we probably didn’t bring enough to the game got that was going to see us over the line. People got opportunities; some took them [and] some didn’t, and that’s the reality of where we are. It’s a case of us learning from it – one as a group, and two as individuals. “[Hartford] are a well-drilled team, especially with [Head Coach] Brendan [Burke] at the helm. They’ll bring an attacking prowess similar to what we do ourselves, so I’m looking forward to an open game. I think there should be goals in it and it’s certainly going to be one that I think the fans will enjoy. We’re going out to put on a performance. For us [Saturday will be about] looking after the ball and making sure that we play smart and effective football. We don’t need to over-complicate the game, and we [need to] try to be a threat in the final third. We’ve obviously scored a couple of goals as of late in the league and we’d love that to continue. And we’ve kept two clean sheets back-to-back, and we’d obviously like that to continue [too]. We haven’t been too far away from what we really want to achieve – obviously Wednesday night was a bit of a setback, but we need to make sure we get back on the horse this weekend. Everyone is 100% fit and healthy.”
Vargish’s View: This match is loaded with intrigue. There’s the obvious; with the Switchbacks traveling to the Nutmeg State to face six of their erstwhile players who are led by the Switchbacks’ former Head Coach Brendan Burke. Also of importance is the fact Hartford have not won at home since April 6 th , while the Switchbacks’ most recent league road trip saw them pick up an impressive 2-0 win in the Bay Area against Oakland Roots on April 27 th . Both of Saturday’s combatants lost to New York City FC II in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup by one goal margins: Hartford Athletic 3-2 on April 17 th at Trinity Health Stadium, and the Switchbacks by a goal to nil in the Round of 32 on Wednesday night at Belson Stadium in Queens, New York. Hartford Athletic have been outscored 10-1 in their last three league games – albeit it with that statistic radically skewed by a 6-0 hammering at the hands of Louisville City in the Bluegrass State. A defensive lockdown is necessary for Hartford, but a leopard can’t change its spots. Hartford play a brand of open, easy-on-the-eye, attacking soccer that’s easy to commend. The Switchbacks live to counterattack and transition with pace. The odds of Saturday’s match finishing goalless are infinitesimal, with the fans the beneficiaries of a game that’s going to be end-to-end.
