USL North Carolina FC

North Carolina FC Falls for First Time Since Restart to Birmingham Legion FC

Published on August 15, 2020 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
North Carolina FC News Release


Cary, NC - Despite many attempts to even the score and four key saves made by Alex Tambakis, North Carolina FC fell to Birmingham Legion FC on Saturday night by a score of 2-0. The team's loss was the first since the season restart on July 17.

"We'll learn from this game," NCFC head coach Dave Sarachan said of the match. "We'll take some of the positives, and then focus for a quick turnaround. We just have to take some of the good and bad and move on."

Birmingham began their attack early into the first half when midfielder Jalen Servania fired a shot off and a deflection from an NCFC defender resulted in the ball finding the back of the net. Birmingham took an early 1-0 advantage over the home team.

Just three minutes later, a handball was called on Sam Brotherton in the NCFC box, resulting in a penalty kick for Birmingham. Neco Brett took the kick, notching Birmingham's second goal of the night and extending their lead to 2-0.

Eager to cut into Birmingham's lead, NCFC worked to create scoring opportunities in the second half. In the 49th minute, Dre Fortune took a corner kick, lofting a ball that met the head of Conor Donovan. Donovan's header sailed just wide of the goalpost, narrowly missing the net.

As the second half wore on, NCFC continued to press Birmingham's defense. In the 59th minute, a cross was played in from the right wing by Manny Perez to the feet of Robert Kristo who attempted to volley the cross into the net, only to witness his shot fall just wide and out of bounds.

"When we play at a high tempo, and we really push ourselves and impose ourselves against another team, we're almost impossible to play against," said Nazmi Albadawi in a postgame interview. "At the end of the day, we just have to come out with more energy and be better with the ball and I think we can beat anyone in the league."

As the final minutes of the match ticked away, NCFC was unable to find a goal despite strong showings from second-half substitutes Marios Lomis and Daniele Proch. Birmingham saw out the 2-0 win to remain in first place in Group G.

Notes:

Between both teams, there were five yellow cards administered during the match.

Former NCFC Youth Academy players DJ Taylor, Dre Fortune, Conor Donovan, and Manny Perez were all starters in tonight's match.

NCFC took 11 corner kicks compared to Birmingham's four.

Pecka was named the Coastal Credit Union Man of the Match.

Looking Ahead: North Carolina FC will face the Charleston Battery on Wednesday, August 19 at 7 p.m. ET at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary.

Box Score:

NC (4-4-2): Alex Tambakis; Alex Comsia (Graham Smith, 84'), Sam Brotherton, Conor Donovan, D.J. Taylor; Manny Perez, Pecka (Nazmi Albadawi, 74'), Dre Fortune, Steven Miller © (Daniele Proch, 45'); Hadji Barry (Ben Speas, 69'), Robert Kristo (Marios Lomis, 75')

Subs Not Used: Malik Mbaye, Paolo Pita

BHM (5-3-2): Matt VanOekel ©; Bolu Akinyode, Mikey Lopez, Jake Rufe, Alex Crognale, Jonathan Dean; Bruno Lapa (Brian Wright, 65'), Prosper Kasim, Eli Crognale; Neco Brett (Braxton Najib, 90'), Jaden Servania (Marcos Ugarte, 64')

Subs Not Used: Ford Parker, Rudolf Mensah, Daigo Kobayashi

Score:

NC: 0

BHM: 2

Goals:

NC: --

BHM: Jaden Servania (Unassisted, 18'), Neco Brett (Unassisted, 21')

Cautions:

NC: Conor Donovan (48')

BHM: Alex Crognale (43'), Bolu Akinyode (46'), Matt Van Oekel (59'), Mikey Lopez (61')

Ejections:

NC: --

BHM: --

Check out the North Carolina FC Statistics

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from August 15, 2020


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