
BIRMINGHAM, AL (Sept. 26, 2021) – At the close of a weekend in which the three other teams currently in playoff positions in the USL Championship’s Central Division dropped points, Legion FC came into Sunday afternoon’s match with the Charlotte Independence with a huge opportunity to further secure its spot in second in the table and rev up its chase of first place Louisville City FC.
Thanks to a sharply taken first half goal from the club’s leading scorer, forward Neco Brett, and a second half rocket of a game winner from midfielder Eli Crognale, the Three Sparks rose to the occasion and secured all three points in the 2-1 victory.
Charlotte opened the scoring on the afternoon in the 16th minute. Midfielder Marcelo Palomino swung in a corner kick, and defender Christian Fuchs, who just last season played in the English Premier League for Leicester City, beat everyone to the front post and flicked the ball past Legion goalkeeper Matt VanOekel.
The home side refused to live with the deficit for long, however, as Brett bagged his 15th goal of the season, tied for third-most in the USLC, in the 25th minute to pull his club level. Midfielder Anderson Asiedu drove forward with the ball out of midfield, slipped a pass across the top of the box that midfielder Bruno Lapa let run on to Brett, and the Jamaican’s pinpoint shot between a defender and the opposing ‘keeper found the back of the net.
VanOekel came up big just a few minutes later, with one of his five saves on the day, to keep things square as Independence forward Enzo Martinez cut in from the left side and had a curling effort pushed aside, just wide of the bottom right corner. The five saves pull VanOekel up to tenth in the league with 59 on the season.
After coming out of the half all tied up, Legion FC Head Coach Tommy Soehn made a handful of key substitutions, including Crognale in the 67th minute. Just three minutes later, Legion’s #12 found himself on the ball about 30 yards from goal. He took a touch and unleashed a banger for the game winner and his first professional goal.
“Amazing,” said the younger Crognale, when asked how it felt to score his first goal. “It was great to get my first career goal, especially in the style that it happened. It was really surreal, to go on and hit a goal like that, it’s just amazing. It was incredible, I’m extremely happy about it.”
Assistant Coach Khano Smith was complimentary of the team for its performance, including both goal scorers, as the win pulled Birmingham just one point behind LouCity at the top of the Central.
“We had to dig deep and fight,” said Smith. “We knew it was going to be a tough game. They’re a really good team who are in a really good run and they’ve got some really good players. It was a difficult game. They created chances, we created chances, to be honest, it was a good game of soccer to watch and we capitalized on our chances more than they did.
“Neco’s ruthless if he gets in the box. I think he’s one of the best in the league at finishing those chances, and he’s ruthless. He’s made a really good career doing that. I don’t know if there’s many other guys in the league you want in that spot to get there and bury that chance. And Eli, I mean, we aren’t surprised. We see Eli shoot like that in training every day. Eli’s got one of the hardest and most lethal strikes of the ball that we’ve seen on our team, so we tell him to shoot all the time. To be honest, I’m surprised it took this long, because the guy’s got a hell of a shot.”
BIRMINGHAM, AL (Sept. 26, 2021) – At the close of a weekend in which the three other teams currently in playoff positions in the USL Championship’s Central Division dropped points, Legion FC came into Sunday afternoon’s match with the Charlotte Independence with a huge opportunity to further secure its spot in second in the table and rev up its chase of first place Louisville City FC.
Thanks to a sharply taken first half goal from the club’s leading scorer, forward Neco Brett, and a second half rocket of a game winner from midfielder Eli Crognale, the Three Sparks rose to the occasion and secured all three points in the 2-1 victory.
Charlotte opened the scoring on the afternoon in the 16th minute. Midfielder Marcelo Palomino swung in a corner kick, and defender Christian Fuchs, who just last season played in the English Premier League for Leicester City, beat everyone to the front post and flicked the ball past Legion goalkeeper Matt VanOekel.
The home side refused to live with the deficit for long, however, as Brett bagged his 15th goal of the season, tied for third-most in the USLC, in the 25th minute to pull his club level. Midfielder Anderson Asiedu drove forward with the ball out of midfield, slipped a pass across the top of the box that midfielder Bruno Lapa let run on to Brett, and the Jamaican’s pinpoint shot between a defender and the opposing ‘keeper found the back of the net.
VanOekel came up big just a few minutes later, with one of his five saves on the day, to keep things square as Independence forward Enzo Martinez cut in from the left side and had a curling effort pushed aside, just wide of the bottom right corner. The five saves pull VanOekel up to tenth in the league with 59 on the season.
After coming out of the half all tied up, Legion FC Head Coach Tommy Soehn made a handful of key substitutions, including Crognale in the 67th minute. Just three minutes later, Legion’s #12 found himself on the ball about 30 yards from goal. He took a touch and unleashed a banger for the game winner and his first professional goal.
“Amazing,” said the younger Crognale, when asked how it felt to score his first goal. “It was great to get my first career goal, especially in the style that it happened. It was really surreal, to go on and hit a goal like that, it’s just amazing. It was incredible, I’m extremely happy about it.”
Assistant Coach Khano Smith was complimentary of the team for its performance, including both goal scorers, as the win pulled Birmingham just one point behind LouCity at the top of the Central.
“We had to dig deep and fight,” said Smith. “We knew it was going to be a tough game. They’re a really good team who are in a really good run and they’ve got some really good players. It was a difficult game. They created chances, we created chances, to be honest, it was a good game of soccer to watch and we capitalized on our chances more than they did.
“Neco’s ruthless if he gets in the box. I think he’s one of the best in the league at finishing those chances, and he’s ruthless. He’s made a really good career doing that. I don’t know if there’s many other guys in the league you want in that spot to get there and bury that chance. And Eli, I mean, we aren’t surprised. We see Eli shoot like that in training every day. Eli’s got one of the hardest and most lethal strikes of the ball that we’ve seen on our team, so we tell him to shoot all the time. To be honest, I’m surprised it took this long, because the guy’s got a hell of a shot.”
Brett goal
Brett goal
E. Crognale goal
E. Crognale goal
Box Score:
|
1st Half |
2nd Half |
BHM |
1 |
1 |
CLT |
1 |
0 |
Goals:
CLT – 16’ – #22 Christian Fuchs (assisted by #8 Marcelo Palomino)
BHM – 25’ – #11 Neco Brett (assisted by #6 Anderson Asiedu)
BHM – 70’ – #12 Eli Crognale (assisted by #5 Mikey Lopez)
Starting Lineups:
BHM – 4-3-3 – #1 Matt VanOekel; #24 Jonny Dean, #21 Alex Crognale, #3 Phanuel Kavita ©, #7 Ryan James; #27 Thomas Vancaeyezeele (61’ – #5 Mikey Lopez), #6 Anderson Asiedu, #8 Bruno Lapa (67’ – #12 Eli Crognale); #10 Prosper Kasim (67’ – #17 Jaden Servania), #11 Neco Brett (79’ – #20 Zach Herivaux), #23 JJ Williams (61’ – #77 Junior Flemmings)
CLT – 3-5-2 – #1 Austin Pack; #2 Kevin Riascos (78’ – #10 Valentin Sabella), #3 Hugh Roberts, #22 Christian Fuchs; #4 Jake Areman, #7 Joel Johnson (54’ – #32 Gabriel Obertan), #8 Marcelo Palomino, #13 Brandt Bronico (71’ – #12 Adam Armour), #16 Jose Bizama; #9 Irvin Parra (71’ – #29 Dane Kelly), #19 Enzo Martinez
Stats: Legion FC Match Center
Legion FC heads back out on the road next weekend to battle Sporting KC II on Friday, October 1 at 7:00PM CT. Tune in to watch the match on ESPN+ or follow @bhmlegion on Twitter for live updates.
The team’s next home game is another Sunday afternoon affair on October 10 at 4:00PM against another Central Division foe, Indy Eleven. Fans can get tickets HERE and can contact the Legion FC Ticket Office at 205-600-4635 or tickets@https://www.bhmlegion.com with any questions or requests.
Box Score:
|
1st Half |
2nd Half |
BHM |
1 |
1 |
CLT |
1 |
0 |
Goals:
CLT – 16’ – #22 Christian Fuchs (assisted by #8 Marcelo Palomino)
BHM – 25’ – #11 Neco Brett (assisted by #6 Anderson Asiedu)
BHM – 70’ – #12 Eli Crognale (assisted by #5 Mikey Lopez)
Starting Lineups:
BHM – 4-3-3 – #1 Matt VanOekel; #24 Jonny Dean, #21 Alex Crognale, #3 Phanuel Kavita ©, #7 Ryan James; #27 Thomas Vancaeyezeele (61’ – #5 Mikey Lopez), #6 Anderson Asiedu, #8 Bruno Lapa (67’ – #12 Eli Crognale); #10 Prosper Kasim (67’ – #17 Jaden Servania), #11 Neco Brett (79’ – #20 Zach Herivaux), #23 JJ Williams (61’ – #77 Junior Flemmings)
CLT – 3-5-2 – #1 Austin Pack; #2 Kevin Riascos (78’ – #10 Valentin Sabella), #3 Hugh Roberts, #22 Christian Fuchs; #4 Jake Areman, #7 Joel Johnson (54’ – #32 Gabriel Obertan), #8 Marcelo Palomino, #13 Brandt Bronico (71’ – #12 Adam Armour), #16 Jose Bizama; #9 Irvin Parra (71’ – #29 Dane Kelly), #19 Enzo Martinez
Stats: Legion FC Match Center
Legion FC heads back out on the road next weekend to battle Sporting KC II on Friday, October 1 at 7:00PM CT. Tune in to watch the match on ESPN+ or follow @bhmlegion on Twitter for live updates.
The team’s next home game is another Sunday afternoon affair on October 10 at 4:00PM against another Central Division foe, Indy Eleven. Fans can get tickets HERE and can contact the Legion FC Ticket Office at 205-600-4635 or tickets@https://www.bhmlegion.com with any questions or requests.