Midfielder Anderson Asiedu’s header from a Legion FC corner in the 94th minute secured all three points in the team’s first league win of the young season
BIRMINGHAM, AL (April 10, 2022) – Legion FC earned its first win of the 2022 USL Championship season today thanks to a second half stoppage-time winner from midfielder Anderson Asiedu. Asiedu joined forward Juan Agudelo on the scoresheet tonight, as it was the latter’s finish from the penalty spot that gave the hosts the initial lead early in the contest.
The Three Sparks were in the driver’s seat for a majority of the match, totaling 19 shots on goal while holding 52.8% of the ball, and the club’s 2.89 Expected Goals tally according to StatsPerform (compared to Hartford 0.81) is its highest creative output of the season. Head Coach Tommy Soehn’s side threatened early on, hitting the woodwork twice within the first 15 minutes of the game. It was the post to deny Agudelo’s header from breaking the deadlock in the 8th minute, while Asiedu’s left-footed strike from outside the box in the 13th minute ricocheted off the crossbar.
Fortunately for the home side, their breakthrough would finally come in the 36th minute. Defender Mikey Lopez found his way into Hartford’s penalty area after making a bombing run forward, at which point Hartford defender Ashkanov Apollon would take him down for the Legion FC penalty. Agudelo stepped up, sent the ‘keeper the wrong way, and buried the shot to give his side the lead and see his name on the scoresheet for the first time in Birmingham colors.
The visitors, however, would not be deterred. Apollon would make up for his defensive error by equalizing with a well hit volley in the box just before halftime. The goal would propel Athletic into the second half, as the Connecticut-based side would register six shots on goal over the course of the second 45’, double the number they tallied in the first half. Hartford came close to souring the mood at Protective Stadium in the 64th minute when midfielder Danny Barrera’s left-footed attempt within the Legion box went inches beyond the post.
Birmingham continued to press for a winner, creating chance after chance to break the deadlock. Marlon Santos seemed poised to do so in the 82nd, but a close-range attempt went begging over the crossbar. Forward Macky Diop was the next Legion FC player who looked as though they would net the winner, but his header was denied by a fantastic save from Hartford goalkeeper Austin Pack.
The ensuing corner, however, is where the moment of magic came for Birmingham – midfielder Enzo Martinez played the corner into the back post, where Asiedu was waiting to head it home and send the home crowd into a frenzy.
“We were getting closer and closer,” said Asiedu. “Normally I don’t get into the box, so they left me alone because they don’t think somebody like me will be there all the time. I’m not in the box a lot, but in football you have to trust your instincts. At [the end of the match], you have to take risks because it’s last minute. I was there and the ball came right to me.”
The win and quality performance comes at an important time for Soehn’s side, as their next two league matches take place on the road.
“[This win] has a lot of weight behind it,” said Soehn. “We talked about getting our first result, and sometimes you’ve got to dig deep to get that. The shortest guy wins a head ball at the end – that’s called digging deep. I’m happy for the guys, and now we’ve got to turn that one win into two and two into three.
“The last couple of games [Anderson’s] been really stepping up and coming back to form. His desire to push at the end and be at the end of a set piece, it tells you a lot about his character. I’ve asked a lot of him, as far as growth as a human being and being now a leader on the team and he’s carrying that weight well too.”
Asiedu when asked about the importance of the win and carrying this momentum into the upcoming road matches:
“We wanted it more. In football and in everything in life, it’s about who wants it more. We were hard workers and got the result. Our guys brought their energy and we kept pushing and never gave up. It led to a happy ending, just like life. You have to believe it.
“We’re going all out [at Detroit on Friday]. Right now, we’ve got nothing to lose. We’ve got an amazing locker room, amazing players, and everybody is ready. We’re very excited to keep this win going, and we’ve got to keep it going for the rest of the year. We’ve got a good team and I believe that we can do it – so we must have that feeling and trust in each other.”
Box Score:
| 1st Half | 2nd Half | |
| BHM | 1 | 1 |
| HFD | 1 | 0 |
BHM – 3-4-2-1 – #1 Matt VanOekel; #21 Alex Crognale, #3 Phanuel Kavita ©, #27 Thomas Vancaeyezeele; #5 Mikey Lopez (#7 Ryan James), #6 Anderson Asiedu, #19 Enzo Martinez, #24 Jonny Dean; #10 Prosper Kasim (83’ – #77 Macky Diop), #8 Bruno Lapa (66’ – #11 Marlon Santos (97’ – #23 Grayson Dupont)); #99 Juan Agudelo (66’ – #9 Edi Horvat)
HFD – 3-4-2-1 – #1 Austin Pack; #23 Mo Jadama, #5 Tom Brewitt, #4 Tulu; #30 Joel Johnson, #11 Luka Prpa, #77 Andre Lewis, #14 Ashkanov Appollon; #10 Danny Barrera; #18 Rashawn Dally, #7 Prince Saydee
Legion FC’s next match is on the road at Detroit City FC this Friday, April 15 at 6:00pm CT and will air live on ESPN Deportes! The Black & Gold will return to Birmingham between April 19-21 to host USL League One side South Georgia Tormenta FC in the third round of the U.S. Open Cup, and we will have more details to share about the match this week.
The next league home match for Legion FC will be on Wednesday, April 27, at 7:00PM CT against the Charleston Battery. Details about our new ‘Everybody Wins on Wednesdays’ campaign coming soon, so keep an eye out @bhmlegion on social, and get your tickets today!
