Kevin Johnston

Special for IndyStar

INDIANAPOLIS – The Eleven Park development is a hot-button issue in central Indiana right now. If the Indy Eleven hoped to make a good impression on those within the local public and private sector regarding the future of soccer in the city, their first impression of 2019 was just that.

The Eleven set the all-time franchise attendance record with an announced 20,251 tickets sold for their 1-0 victory over the Hartford Athletic on Saturday night at Lucas Oil Stadium. Poor weather seemed to affect the actual gate attendance, but Indy had already confirmed the record in a Friday release based on the overwhelming number of advanced ticket sales.

“I was happy with the win,” Rennie said. “It was great to be part of the atmosphere and also the record crowd that we had tonight.”

An own goal by Hartford defender Nikolaj Lyngo in the first half put Indy up early and ended up being the difference. But the result could’ve been much wider had the Eleven taken better advantage of some of their chances. Dane Kelly finished without a goal but could’ve had a hat trick had he been sharper in the final third. He hit the woodwork multiple times and missed a sitter right in front of the mouth of the goal on a service from Ayoze.

“It was very frustrating,” Kelly confessed. “But the good about it is we get the three points.”

“I felt like I could’ve scored a couple goals myself today,” Rennie joked. “Had a lot of really good chances. And the players who didn’t score are guys who can score a lot and proven that they can score a lot. So, on another day those are going to go in.”

Indy was without regular central midfield starter Kenney Walker, who recently had surgery on his appendix. Nico Matern, who played heavy minutes last year but hasn’t been in the mix much this season, drew the start in his place.

Another mild surprise was center back Alex Crognale, who’s on loan from Columbus Crew SC, starting over Karl Ouimette. Usual captain Matt Watson also got a reprieve from the starting 11, which allowed defender Paddy Barrett to wear the captain’s armband for the hosts.

Despite rotating some players in the lineup, the Indy defense held steady for most of the match.

“The guys in front of me made my job pretty easy tonight,” said Indy goalkeeper Evan Newton. “At the end of the day, it’s a win. We’ll keep improving and we’ll keep getting better.”

Hartford (0-4-0) looked every bit the part of an expansion side in the defeat. Winless and draw-less through four matches, the Athletic have been slow to adjust to life in the USL Championship.

As for Indy’s finishing woes, Newton is confident that the trend won’t continue.

“We have full confidence in our guys up top and the goals will start flowing soon, for sure,” Newton added.

Next up, Indy (2-1-0) will get a weekend off before visiting the Swope Park Rangers on April 15.