Prime-time flop: Hartford rolls over sluggish United

New Mexico United got a moment in the national spotlight Wednesday night and probably wished it hadn’t.

Hartford Athletic effectively pushed visiting United around for most of the evening and was never seriously threatened in a 4-0 romp at Trinity Health Stadium. New Mexico was on its heels through most of a nationally televised match that couldn’t end soon enough for coach Dennis Sanchez.

“Nowhere near good enough,” Sanchez said. “I’m really disappointed with the energy and effort. We let down right from the kickoff and it’s time to look at giving opportunities to some different guys. That performance was not up to our standard.”

Mamadou Dieng was the star of the night for Hartford (4-8-4), which entered the night in last place in the USL Championship’s Eastern Conference. Dieng scored twice and narrowly missed a hat trick, sending two additional shots bounding off the post.

Hartford, which was plagued by early injuries this season, improved to 3-1-1 in its last five games and looked like a team on the rise. The opposite was true for United (8-7-1), which dropped to 1-4-0 in its last five league contests and played a key role in its own demise on Wednesday.

New Mexico’s lone highlight came early, when goalkeeper Alex Tambakis turned away a shot to become the first USLC player to reach 650 career saves. But sloppy passes in the defensive third soon turned the tide for good.

United turnovers set up both of Dieng’s first-half goals. He made the score 1-0 by blasting a low shot into the left corner in the 17th minute.

Dieng’s next tally will undoubtedly qualify as his easiest of the season. It came when NMU defender Ousman Jabang rolled a backward pass toward Tambakis, who was far outside of United’s penalty area. Dieng got to the ball first, tapped it past Tambakis and jogged in alone for an uncontested tap-in.

“Hartford was quicker and better on both sides of the ball,” Sanchez said. “Some of the turnovers and defensive letdowns we had were criminal.”

Hartford capitalized again in the 27th minute, when a poor clearance resulted in an open shot for Michee Ngalina from just inside the box. He curled the ball inside the right post to make it 3-0 and largely settle the outcome.

United, which had just one shot on target in the first half, did a better job creating opportunities after intermission. But Jaylin Lindsey, Thomas Amang, Zico Bailey and Marlon Vargas all missed the frame on relatively long attempts. Hartford goalkeeper Antony Siaha also leaped to turn away a Chris Gloster blast that was arguably New Mexico’s closest call of the evening.

Keeping with the tone of the evening, Hartford cashed in on another NMU turnover to net its final goal. Kyle Edwards stepped in front of a wayward pass near midfield and beat United’s defense on a long run before firing the ball home in the 82nd minute.

The game’s statistics were entirely deceiving as United finished with 74% of possession and outshot Hartford 22-14. But much of New Mexico’s possession seemed to have little purpose, while Hartford’s direct approach paid dividends.

United will have an extended break to lick its wounds before visiting FC Tulsa — the current USLC Western Conference leader — on August 9. Sanchez suggested the time off may not be enjoyable.

“In a way I’d rather play sooner,” he said, “but the reality is we’ve got to look at some changes. No one’s safe. I reminded the guys that we’re playing for something bigger than this game. We have to have a higher standard. This did not meet that standard. That’s where we are right now.”