Memphis 901 FC vs. Hartford Athletic Preview: Busy May Begins on the Road

The month of March was a rocky one for Memphis 901 FC. They dropped their season opener 3-1 at home against Loudoun United. They followed that up the next week with another 3-1 home loss, this time against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds and then had their next game against the Oakland Roots postponed due to the late installation of the Roots turf field. To stem the tide and stop the bleeding, they made the biggest signing in team history by bringing in former USMNT goalkeeper Bill Hamid. They haven’t lost since.

A rocky March gave way to a much better April. The addition of Hamid paid immediate dividends as they had their best defensive performance of the season, conceding only one goal in a draw away to Miami FC. A switch of gears to the US Open Cup saw a dramatic last-minute winner on the road against One Knoxville SC. Moving back to league play saw them battle to a 2-2 draw with the Las Vegas Lights that didn’t conclude until almost 2am due to severe weather. The following week saw them earn their first win of the league season, a resounding 3-0 road win against the Rio Grande Valley Toros. They followed that up with a massive win in the US Open Cup against Atlanta United of MLS. And finally, the return to league play saw them get a point in a 1-1 draw with perennial title-contender Louisville City at home.

The two losses to start the season set alarm bells ringing for many Memphis 901 FC fans who had seen a similar movie before in both 2019 and 2020. But the addition of Hamid and more time to learn Stephen Glass’ system seems to have steadied the ship. To be sure, they still only have one league win this season and have yet to capture all three points in any of their four home games, but they are riding a six game unbeaten streak across all competitions. Momentum is a funny thing and right now the Beale Street Boys seem to be gathering some.

For Hartford Athletic, things aren’t radically different than they are for Memphis 901 FC but the mood around each team feels different. For one, 901 FC pulled off a Cupset against an MLS team while Hartford fell in the Third Round to the New England Revolution. And while they have the same number of wins as 901 FC they have three losses and only two draws compared to two losses and three draws for Memphis. They are managed by former USMNT’er Tab Ramos in his second season with the club. Ramos scored 8 goals for the US in 81 appearances and played at three World Cups. He had a managerial stop with the US U-20 team (where he launched the careers of players like Christian Pulisic and Tyler Adams) before taking the Houston Dynamo job in MLS. His time there was a disaster as they won just 10 out of his 57 games in charge. His time in Hartford has been a mixed bag as they were decent last year but still missed the playoffs. This year the man to watch for them is Antoine Hoppenot. Additionally, they also signed former Memphis 901 FC defender Niall Logue.

When, Where

Date: Saturday, May 6, 2023

Venue: Trinity Health Stadium

City: Hartford, Connecticut

Time: 6pm CT

TV: WMC 5.2, ESPN+

All-Time Series

Memphis 901 FC leads 4-0-1

Last Meeting

Date: Saturday, August 6, 2022

Venue: AutoZone Park

City: Memphis, Tennessee

Attendance: 3,876

Result: Memphis 901 FC 3-1 Hartford Athletic

Conference Standing

Memphis 901 FC: 9th in East (6pts)

Hartford Athletic: 11th in East (5pts)

Next Game

Date: Wednesday, May 10, 2023

Competition: US Open Cup

Match-Up: Memphis 901 FC @ Birmingham Legion

Venue: Protective Stadium

City: Birmingham, Alabama

TV: YouTube