Magic Of The US Open Cup On Show In Hartford Despite Defeat To New York Red Bulls

US Open Cup third round week is when the magic of the cup really starts to happen. It’s the stage where the Major League Soccer sides from America’s top tier enter the competition, facing teams from the lower leagues and thus providing potential for upsets.

The competition produced a couple of these results on Wednesday night when popular USL Championship side, Detroit City FC, made their presence felt in this 107-edition old competition by defeating Columbus Crew in Hamtramck.

Elsewhere, Union Omaha of USL League 1 were able to knock out Chicago Fire after the game went to a penalty shootout at Soldier Field.

Hartford Athletic fans were hoping their side would become the next to cause an upset on Thursday night when they faced New York Red Bulls at the Trinity Health Stadium.

Their fans were in full voice right from kick off, as were the pocket of Red Bulls fans who’d made the trip to Connecticut and stationed themselves in the opposite corner.

It was the Hartford supporters who saw most of the action in this game, though.

In the opening 45 minutes, their side barely got out of their own half as the Red Bulls attacked their end of the stadium.

The press from Gerhard Struber’s visitors hemmed Hartford in as they tried to play out from the back.

The home side’s goalkeeper James Slayton was the busiest of their players, making several good stops as the onslaught regularly entered his penalty area.

The Wethersfield, CT native between the posts was arguably the Man of the Match, but despite his interventions, Hartford went in 2-0 down at half-time.

Lewis Morgan managed to sneak one inside the post from outside the area, and Aaron Long pounced on a rebound to make it two, but the second half saw a much improved Hartford side.

They pulled a goal back when Daniel Barrera, rather than crossing as might be expected from a free-kick, slid the ball back to the onrushing Conor McGlynn who powered a shot home.

Younes Boudadi almost added a second, crashing a shot off the woodwork as the home fans saw their team create a number of openings in the second period.

It was a moment that showed everyone in the stadium that this tie might not be over just yet.

A red card for New York Red Bulls’ Cristian Cassares came too late in added time for Hartford to make anything of the extra man, but as the final whistle went and the Connecticut side were knocked out of the cup, this didn’t feel like a defeat.

“We were playing against a really, really good MLS team that are in the top part of their league and we competed with them,” Hartford head coach Harry Watling told the Hartford Courant after the game.

“We made a game of it. Our fans really got behind us again. It’s really important we compete in every game like that.

“We are talking about a club that has just been a start-up and now filling out a stadium, exciting people and exciting the city.”

Save for Atlanta’s 6-0 win against Chattanooga FC, and San Jose putting five past Bay Cities FC, the ties have generally been close even where the MLS side has come out on top.

New York Red Bulls knew they’d been in a game, and they were almost taken to extra time.

The MLS team will be happy to come away with a win following this tough 90 minutes, regardless of how it came about.

Hartford will hope to build on the added interest around their team as a result of their showing in a cup competition that’s increasingly getting the recognition it deserves in the US soccer calendar.