Birmingham Draws Against Memphis In Rival Match
September 21, 2023 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Birmingham Legion FC News Release
Birmingham, Ala. - Birmingham Legion FC split points against Memphis in part one of this year's Southern Harm derby. Legion took the lead first in the 48th minute, only for Memphis to find its goal four minutes later in the 52nd minute.
The first half of play ended 0-0, and Memphis dominated play. Goalkeeper Trevor Spangenberg came in huge for the Black & Gold with four saves in the first 45 minutes.
"I think first half we didn't do very well," said Head Coach Tommy Soehn. "They really manned us up, didn't keep much of the ball, and I thought we made some adjustments. And early in the second half, it worked. We created a really good opportunity and then we got away from it a little bit again. But this time of year, every point is a grind. And when you lose any at home, obviously you're disappointed."
Prosper Kasim, Legion FC's first-ever goalscorer, opened the scorebook right after halftime in the 48th minute. Working on a counter-attack after Juan Agudelo subbed in for Neco Brett in the 45th minute, Enzo Martinez found himself with Kasim to his right at the top of the box. Martinez laid it off for Kasim and the Ghanaian finished it first time, putting it clinically in the bottom-right corner with his left foot.
Birmingham's lead did not last long. Four minutes later Memphis' Aiden McFadden found the back of Legion's net in the 52nd minute. Spangenberg saved a shot and McFadden got on the end of the deflection.
"Yeah, I feel like especially going up a goal, we should have been able to close the game down," said goalscorer Kasim. "I feel like we will work very hard to get a goal. And letting you slip away is something that hurts a little bit and I feel like we just have to work defensively and then make sure that whenever we go up, we can win again. Especially playing at home, it's very important to pick this point up. And also, it's almost playoff time, and we have to make sure we pick up every single point, so yeah, this hurts that we're not able to get a win."
Both teams remained level until full-time, with Memphis leading the attack. Overall Legion had two shots in the 90 minutes, while Memphis had 17.
"This time of year, it's always going to be difficult," said Soehn. "Every point is a grind, you know, we got to move on to the next one and make sure we get points there."
"We need to make sure that we pick up as many points as we can," said Kasim. "Especially since we play on Sunday at home, we have to get three points because there are people behind us chasing us. We have to make sure that the rest of the games that we come out with wins."
Box Score:
1st Half
2nd Half
BHM
0
1
MEM
0
1
Goals: BHM - 48 ¬Â² - #10 Prosper Kasim (assisted by #19 Enzo Martinez) MEM - 52 ¬Â² - #32 Aiden McFadden
Starting XI:
BHM - 4-2-3-1 - #18 Trevor Spangenberg; #3 Phanuel Kavita, #4 Collin Smith, #21 Alex Crognale, #16 Gabriel Alves; #5 Mikey Lopez, #17 Matthew Corcoran; Enzo Martinez, #7 Diba Nwegbo (83 ¬Â² - #15 Tyler Pasher), #10 Prosper Kasim (72 ¬Â² - #28 Tabort Etaka); #11 Neco Brett (45 ¬Â² - #9 Juan Agudelo)
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