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Dennis Sanchez certainly wasn鈥檛 disappointed by the time he got back to the visiting dressing room in Hartford.

Sometimes, the small victories 鈥� whatever they may look like 鈥� matter, too.

鈥淭his is my third time coming here in three years and this is not an easy trip by any means,鈥� the New Mexico United manager said after Saturday鈥檚 0-0 draw with Athletic. 鈥溾�� It鈥檚 a good point on the road. Of course, you always want more, but we鈥檒l take it.鈥�

Might as well.

The trip to Hartford not only represented United鈥檚 longest of seven road matches covering at least 1,000 miles this season at 2,125, but the club鈥檚 best result there.

Connecticut hasn鈥檛 been a good host for New Mexico (4-4-2) or Sanchez鈥檚 teams in general.

During his one-year stint with Las Vegas Lights FC in 2024, Sanchez鈥檚 team lost 2-1. With New Mexico last season, it was a 4-0 defeat. (United鈥檚 previous experience in Hartford in 2023 minus Sanchez ended in a 1-0 loss.)

鈥淚 thought just over the last couple of days in terms of travel and making sure the guys keep things light (Friday) with our training session, just do everything possible to make sure we鈥檙e in a good play physically, mentally, emotionally when the game starts,鈥� Sanchez said. 鈥淚 thought we did that well.

鈥淲e had an early opportunity that maybe we put that away, it definitely changes the complexity of the game, but I thought the guys put in a good shift tonight.鈥�

It certainly would have.

In the seventh minute, Greg Hurst crossed inside the box to Dayonn Harris who stumbled over his own feet and lost control of the ball. It ended up back with Hurst, who sent a pass to Ousman Jabang outside the box. Jabang sailed his attempt above the crossbar.

It was perhaps United鈥檚 best opportunity to put away Athletic (3-2-5), which came into the match having trouble scoring. Hartford began Saturday having scored just nine times in USL Championship play, tied for the second-lowest in the league.

But New Mexico had a few other chances, too.

Jabang sent another shot past the crossbar just before the 11-minute mark. Hurst delivered a pass to Nial Ried-Stephen just outside the box in the 15th minute. It went wide right. Reid-Stephen appeared to have another look in the 56th minute on a pass from Chris Gloster. It went into the keeper鈥檚 chest.

It was the same circumstances United had last Saturday in its win over Charleston Battery during the middle of its three-match stretch against Eastern Conference opponents. New Mexico started with a loss to the Tampa Bay Rowdies last Wednesday.

鈥淥bviously, the more opportunities that you can create, the better,鈥� Sanchez said. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 always want to rely on one or two, but I think the one in the first half with Dayonn where we just missed him was a good one. I鈥檒l have to look back and see if there鈥檚 more, but I think that鈥檚 part of our evolution.

鈥淚鈥檓 glad we鈥檙e arriving in spaces and now it鈥檚 just, can we do that more often and when those opportunities come, can we take them?鈥�

United will see when it returns to Western Conference play against Phoenix Rising FC on June 6.

All things considered, one point in Hartford isn鈥檛 all that bad.

鈥淚 think that we鈥檝e adapted,鈥� Sanchez said. 鈥淚 think coming from the road and doing it from our longest trip of the year, it鈥檚 going to be a valuable point that we鈥檒l take home and, again, continue to evolve and improve.鈥�

David Glovach covers New Mexico United and other sports for the Journal. Reach him at dglovach@abqjournal.com or via X .