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USL Birmingham Legion FC

Legion FC Fights to the End in 3-2 Loss at Indy

October 19, 2024 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Birmingham Legion FC News Release


INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - After falling behind 2-0 despite allowing just one shot on target in the first half, Birmingham Legion FC fought back admirably with a pair of goals while keeping the ball in its attacking half for much of the final 45 minutes. Unfortunately, the tough month continued for The Three Sparks as it came up just short in a 3-2 loss at Indy Eleven on Saturday night.

With the defeat, as well as wins from North Carolina FC and Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC on the evening, Birmingham is officially eliminated from playoff contention with one match left in the 2024 USL Championship regular season.

Knowing that it needed a victory, Legion FC was on the front-foot from the opening whistle, outshooting its opponents 20 to 11 while holding nearly 60% of the possession. However, a quick succession of goals from Indy early on saw Birmingham trying to play out of a hole all evening long, as second half goals from Stefano Pinho and Rida Zouhir could only keep it close.

The opening mark on the match was an unlucky one for the visitors with Phanuel Kavita guarding the far post on a flicked-on header, but the last-ditch effort from the captain's left foot went in for an own-goal 14 minutes in. Things went from bad to worse just a mere minute later as the Eleven found itself on a break that ended with forward Jack Blake slotting one into the upper left corner to quickly put his side up 2-0.

Coming out of halftime, Birmingham quickly got one back, thanks to a nice bit of skill from Moses Mensah. The defender forced a turnover deep in the final third and dribbled through three Indy players in the box before sending a ball across the goalmouth to an open Pinho at the back corner for the tap in, cutting the deficit to 2-1 with 36 minutes of regulation still to play.

Legion FC continued to fight for an equalizer with Zouhir pushing a shot wide and Preston Tabort Etaka unable to to convert in front of goal after a nice bit of passing between him and Tyler Pasher. Indy would then push out to a commanding 3-1 advantage in the 86th minute with substitute Laurence Wootton cleaning up a rebound in the box for the finish.

But refusing to go quietly, Zouhir answered back just four minutes later with a beautiful driven shot from about thirty yards out for his second goal in as many matches.

The goal came via a pass from Enzo Martinez for the veteran midfielders' 50th career assist in USL Championship play. With that, he becomes the fifth player in league history to reach that milestone.

MATCH DETAILS

BOX SCORE

1ST HALF

2ND HALF

FINAL

BHM (12W - 15L - 6D; 42 PTS)

0

2

2

IND (14W - 10L - 9D; 51 PTS)

2

1

3

LINEUPS

BHM: Van Oekel - GK, Mensah, Kavita - C, Crognale, Dodson, Zouhir, Hernandez-Foster (Matheus 78'), Zouhir, Tabort Etaka, Martinez, Pasher (Nwegbo 87'), Pinho

IND: Sulte - GK, Stanley, Ofeimu, Musa, Quinn - C, Blake, Soumaoro (Wootton 55'), Neidlinger, Williams (Collier 80'), Foster (Mines 72'), Martinez (Williams 45')

GOALS

BHM: Pinho 54'; Zouhir 90'

IND: Kavita (OG) 14'; Blake 15'; Wootton 86'

DISCIPLINE

BHM:

IND: Williams (Yellow) 79'

NEXT UP

Birmingham now turns its attention to one final outing as it looks to snap a four-match unbeaten skid and close out the 2024 campaign on a positive note. The Three Sparks head out out west to face Oakland Roots SC on Saturday, October 26. Kick-off is set for 9:00 p.m. CT.

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