Tough Second Half Sees Legion FC Draw with Hartford Athletic

Sports stats



Birmingham Legion FC

Tough Second Half Sees Legion FC Draw with Hartford Athletic

August 3, 2024 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Birmingham Legion FC News Release


Birmingham Legion FC's Tyler Pasher in action
Birmingham Legion FC's Tyler Pasher in action
(Birmingham Legion FC)

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - It was a tale of two halves, and it was the best of times and the worst of times for Birmingham Legion FC on Saturday night. Sitting pretty at halftime with a 2-0 lead and an opportunity to win consecutive matches at Protective Stadium for the first time this season, Hartford Athletic spoiled the fun with a pair of goals in the final 18 minutes, as the two teams walk away with a 2-2 draw and a point apiece.

"You shouldn't drop points at home, so as far as I'm concerned, that's a loss," said Legion FC coach Tom Soehn afterwards. "We had been struggling in first halves this season and we've always been a second half team. What we did tonight is what we haven't been doing in the past so it's disappointing."

Birmingham opened the contest with a quick succession of first half goals from Enzo Martinez and Dawson McCartney, marking the first time Legion FC had gotten on the scoreboard in the opening 45 minutes since June 1.

However, while holding onto a 2-1 lead in the dying moments of the match, a foul in the box by Birmingham defender Moses Mensah awarded Hartford a penalty kick in the 86th minute. Forward Michee Ngalina stepped to the spot and sent one to the lower right corner with Matt Van Oekel guessing right but the ball just barely got by his outstretched right arm.

"2-0 in soccer is a very dangerous score because it gives you a false sense of security," Martinez said. "The moment that you give up a goal, the momentum just shifts to the other team and it's just so hard to regain that. Hopefully, we can learn from this game and not commit the same mistakes that we did."

With the lone point from Saturday's result, Legion FC remains in fifth place in the USL Championship Eastern Conference table, tied on 32 points with fourth place Indy Eleven, but behind on goal differential.

Trying to protect the lead for the final 45 minutes, Birmingham allowed Hartford 56.1% of the possession in the second half with the road-side having 16 more entries into the final third in that span and four shots on target to Legion FC's one - a stoppage time strike from Miguel Perez that forced a diving save by goalkeeper Renan Ribeiro to keep the draw intact.

"We just came out of the half on our heels," Soehn explained. "We knew they were going to have more gas coming out and we didn't match that. Our shape went away and it allowed for them to penetrate."

Soehn had been preaching for a 90-minute performance from his squad and it appeared to be in the cards when Birmingham first got on the board via Martinez in the 32nd minute.

Kobe Hernandez-Foster received a pass in the middle of the park and played a perfect ball over the top that Martinez was able to run on to. One-on-one with the keeper, the veteran midfielder didn't even have to take a touch to settle as he sent one low and into the back of the net.

"It was a good team goal because a lot of things were happening in that moment," said Martinez. "When the ball came to Kobe, (Stefano) Pinho does an excellent job of checking in and drawing a centerback with him, which left a hole in behind. When I made the run, Kobe saw me and played a perfect ball."

It marked Martinez' fifth goal across all competitions this season and his first since he bagged one against the Tampa Bay Rowdies on May 11.

Birmingham would double its lead just six minutes later with McCartney finding an opening right outside the six-yard box on a corner kick. Tyler Pasher's out-swinging ball picked him out perfectly as McCartney redirected it into goal off his knee.

"It was a great corner and sometimes it's better to be lucky than good," McCartney said of the sequence. "It was played so well that it found my knee and then it found the back of the net."

It continues a great run of form for McCartney, who has now tallied two goals to go along with as many assists in his last five matches. This latest one had Birmingham feeling good heading into the break with a two-goal advantage.

"We felt confident," continued McCartney. "We are very disappointed with the way we went out in the second and we need to pick it up and not let that happen again."

Hartford cut the lead in half in the 72nd minute with a successful corner of its own.

Danny Barrera's in-swinging ball picked out Joey Akpunonu at the back post. The defender then headed it back across goal with Mamadou Dieng finishing things off with a header of his own to begin the comeback.

MATCH DETAILS

BOX SCORE 1ST HALF 2ND HALF FINAL HFD (6W - 11L - 4D) 0 2 2 BHM (9W - 8L - 5D) 2 0 2

LINEUPS HFD: Ribeiro - GK, Scarlett - C, Farrell (Vancaeyezeele 81'), Akpunonu, Hodge, Makangila (Asiedu 67'), Samadia, Epps (Edwards 67'), Ngalina, Hairston (Barrera 57'), Beckford (Dieng 57') BHM: Van Oekel - GK, Mensah, Kavita - C, Paterson, Dodson, Hernandez-Foster (Hamouda 75'), Rufe (Perez 64'), McCartney (Kasim 88'), Martinez, Pasher (Tabort Etaka 45'), Pinho

GOALS HFD: Dieng 72'; Ngalina (Penalty) 87' BHM: Martinez 32'; McCartney 38'

DISCIPLINE HFD: BHM: Paterson (Yellow) 47'

NEXT UP After a two match homestand, Legion FC now sets back out on the road next Saturday with a trip out to the Pacific coast to face Monterey Bay FC, with kick-off set for 9:00 p.m. CDT. The club then returns to Protective Stadium on August 16 against Detroit City FC.

Check out the Birmingham Legion FC Statistics




Images from this story

Birmingham Legion FC's Tyler Pasher in action
Birmingham Legion FC's Tyler Pasher in action
   

• Discuss this story on the United Soccer League Championship message board...

United Soccer League Championship Stories from August 3, 2024


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Birmingham Legion FC Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central