RIFC drew Hartford Athletic 2-2 but lost 5-4 on penalties. The result was good enough for RIFC to secure first place in the group. They will host a quarterfinal at Centreville Bank Stadium. For Hartford, the result gives them a good chance of getting one of the two Wild Card spots. No matter what, they will not play RIFC in the next round if they do advance. As always, I’m going to give my quick takeaways on what was a fiery game.
Subdued Atmosphere
I’ve already said my piece on the sanctions regarding Defiance 1636 and section 116. But talking about it tonight is unavoidable. The lack of an atmosphere from 116 was noticeable right from kickoff. And this in no way is a shot at defiance. They were restricted from bringing their usual flags, banners, and smokes. La Banda rightfully chose not to drum in solidarity. I had multiple people in just the first half ask me up in 205 what was going on with section 116. After explaining what was going on, one of them expressed disappointment and stated that seeing the atmosphere in 116 was half of the fun of coming to games. The whole situation was honestly a really bad look. And it just felt strange. It sucked the life out of things and really highlighted what you miss not having the supporter’s section in their fullest.
Immediate Response
Hartford went a man down in the 28th after Beverly Makangila got his second yellow card in a matter of 6 minutes. And despite being a man down, Hartford took their first ever lead against RIFC in stoppage time of the first half. RIFC would respond quickly in the 2nd half though, via this Amos Shapiro-Thompson goal in the 49th minute:
It was a fantastic effort by Marc Ybarra to keep the ball in and then get it to Amos, who finished brilliantly with his weaker foot. It was great to see the team respond after a frustrating first half.
Second Half Fireworks
It started with the Amos goal but things only got more intense from there. RIFC went ahead 2-1 in the 79th minute through a Maxi Rodriguez PK. Albert Dikwa was pushed to the ground in the box with no attempt to play the ball. It looked like a clear penalty to me and Maxi buried it:
Unfortunately, the lead wouldn’t hold and Hartford got their equalizer:
It was a really poor goal to concede from a defensive standpoint and it kept Hartford alive in the competition. They would go on to win on penalties, bringing them to 9 points and with a good chance of advancing with a Wild Card spot. RIFC may have won the group, but there were mixed emotions at the end of this one.
Siaha Circus
Hartford goalkeeper Antony Siaha made a clown out of himself yet again after this one. He was taunting the crowd the entire game and ran the length of the field after each Hartford goal. Worst of all, he shushed the crowd and celebrated like his team won a final, when in fact they’re likely to advance as a Wild Card. Those penalty kicks meant very little to RIFC, outside of just sticking it to Hartford and reducing their chances of advancing. I maintain that Siaha is the most classless player I’ve ever seen in this league since I started following last season. Luckily, the word on the street is that there were no incidents in the stands. That’s certainly a positive to take away from this one.
Up Next
The podcast will be back Sunday night, as we unpack an eventful evening. Timmy will have his player ratings, and I’m expecting a rare 10/10 for JJ Williams for drinking all of Siaha’s water in an elite example of shithousery. All in all, this is a difficult result to judge. I know most fans will be very upset that this didn’t end up a 2-1 RIFC win. And I can definitely see that. But I’m choosing to just accept the result for what it was: a group winning result. I still don’t have a lot of faith that things are going to magically turn around. But no matter what, I will be here. As always, UP THE TIDE!
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