Rhode Island FC and Hartford Athletic are set for their second meeting in as many weekends at Centreville Bank Stadium.  The two teams will take the field for a 7pm kickoff for the final round of the group stage of the Jägermeister Cup on Saturday night.  Hartford Athletic will be looking for a win in order to finish first in the group and be guaranteed to advance. A win or a draw (no matter the result on penalties) will secure RIFC first in the group. It’s all to play for at Tidewater.

This is normally the part of the blog where I talk about both teams and what to expect from them on the field.  And although this projects to be an exciting game between the lines, there are other things going on that need to be addressed.  Before getting into it, I need to make a couple things clear. First, I do not speak for Defiance 1636 in any way.  I’m just a member and a fan like anyone else.  I just happen to like writing blogs and obsessing over the team. And second, my feelings on the everything that is going on are based on things that I have seen and heard in the aftermath of last weekend’s game. Being that I’m just a member, I am not involved in any conversations between the Defiance board and the club.

Beat Hartford

Heading into last weekend’s matchup, RIFC’s singular focus from the top down was to beat Hartford. It showed up in all of the club’s marketing: from social media videos, to shirts being sold depicting our beloved Chip throwing Hartford’s bizarre mascot Dillon into a trash can, to using that image on the corner flags during the game, and referring to our opponents as “Hartford Pathetic”. I actually thought all of this was great. It helps to build the rivalry between the two sides.

Unfortunately, this didn’t translate onto the field and the match ended in a 0-0 draw. And after the game, we heard from Hartford’s veteran defender Joe Farrell that the social media videos motivated him and his teammates. That certainly comes with the territory when you’re talking about a derby that is quickly growing in hatred. However, what happened directly after the game absolutely should not come with the territory.

Taking Things Too Far

I’m all for a certain level of hatred and vitriol in the stands. Of course there are things that should never be said and lines that should never be crossed. And once things go from jeering, taunting, booing etc. to physical/violent acts, it becomes completely unacceptable. And sadly, from everything that I’ve heard, that is where things went. A few people allegedly threw things onto the field and in particular, in Hartford goalkeeper Antony Siaha’s direction. This is absolutely embarrassing behavior, regardless of the offensive and lewd gesture that came from Siaha on the field after the game. Anyone involved in that should be banned by the team and the supporter’s group.

Consequences

When things like that happen in the stadium, actions need to be taken. Unfortunately, part of the action taken was for the club to ban smokes, megaphones, banners, flags, signs and the infamous train horn from the supporter’s section for this upcoming game. Punishing the group collectively instead of just the alleged few people responsible (who I’m sure are also going to get their individual punishments), it very hard to take. It honestly takes a lot away from the gameday experience. That will be exacerbated by the fact that La Banda, although their drums are being allowed, have stated they will not be playing the drums Saturday night (something I respect them for). Overall, the excitement that I had right after the game last weekend is largely gone. I was really looking forward to seeing a raucous environment, and that simply won’t be there on Saturday night.

Supporters Culture

One of the biggest differentiators between soccer and most other sports is the supporters culture. You get people putting in their hard earned money and valuable time into creating the best possible experience in the stands. It’s something that the player’s feed off of. It’s something that benefits the club as a whole. The general sense that I get is that within the USL bubble, RIFC is rated pretty highly. Part of that is of course due to the success on the field in year 1, making it all the way to the final. And part of that is the work that was put in to get Centreville Bank Stadium up and running this year. But another major part, that has been there from even before this team ever kicked a ball, is Defiance 1636.

Defiance have been highlighted in marketing both by the club and by the league. The USL even put out a great 15 minute video on their channel highlighting D36 and everything they do. There was particular focus on the travel during the playoffs last season, especially to Louisville, Charleston, and Colorado Springs. I was at all 3 of those games and what we did as a group was remarkable. To see a team in their inaugural season have that much support and the organization required to get everyone on the same page is special.

I hope that the group continues to grow and that leadership can continue doing the great job they’ve done so far. I hope that anyone who is capable of crossing the line doesn’t show up at all. And I hope after this week, we can return to some normalcy. Defiance is a massive part of what makes this club great and it would be a damn shame if anything interferes with that.

On The Field

As for the game on the field, there isn’t actually too much to say. Still, there are a couple of brief things I want to mention about each team.

• The just breaking news with RIFC is that fan favorite Isaac Angking has been loaned out to Forward Madison of USL League One. It’s a good move for him personally and I wish him all the best.
• The word on the street is JJ Williams is feeling good and is ready to go on Saturday. He was a huge difference-maker, along with Hugo Bacharach, when he subbed on in the 2nd half last time out. Hopefully his presence, especially if he starts, will give this team the boost it needs.
• Khano Smith will not be on the touchline for this one, nor on the roof. His sending off against Portland Hearts of Pine has caused him to be suspended for this one. It’ll be interesting to see how the team plays with assistant Dave McKay on the bench.

• Hartford Athletic will need to come out of their shell a bit more in this game. They played conservatively last weekend and were looking for a draw. That will likely change somewhat on Saturday.
• Jack Panayotou, who spent two separate stints on loan in Rhode Island last season, has been out injured for Hartford. After checking the RIFC starting 11, the next thing I’m going to do is see if he is on the bench.
• It’ll be very interesting to see how physical this game is allowed to be. After the physicality of last week, I’m curious if the referee will try to get a handle on things by being stricter with his or her whistle. We should get a sense of that pretty early on.

I think RIFC are going to be fired up for this game. What happened on the field after the last game shows that there is real animosity between the teams. Hartford will surely be up for this one too, but I don’t think they have it in them to get a result. I’m counting on a strong performance from JJ Williams out of the gate and am hopeful RIFC can jump out to an early lead. If that happens, Hartford will need to try to push for a goal and RIFC can take advantage of spaces left in behind.

Up Next

As always, I will be here with the Riptide Report immediately following the game. Timmy’s player ratings will follow and the pod will be back Sunday night. With everything that’s been going on, we all desperately want 3 points. It makes the blogging and podcasting much easier. So hopefully when we see you all again, it’ll be with some good things to talk about. Until next time, UP THE TIDE!