Legion FC led 1-0 for most of the game, but conceded two goals in the last 10 minutes of play
BIRMINGHAM, AL (July 29, 2023) – Legion FC took a tough loss against the Charleston Battery on Saturday night, leading 1-0 for most of the game until conceding two in the last 10 minutes of play to lose all three points.
Birmingham’s goal came off a brilliant team play on the counter-attack. Getting a hold of the ball in midfield, quick passes from Matthew Corcoran, Neco Brett, and finally Juan Agudelo over the top led to Prosper Kasim driving one-on-one with Charleston’s goalkeeper. Kasim buried it past the ‘keeper and got his first USL Championship goal of the season.
Legion went into halftime leading 1-0, and the score would stay that way until the 82nd minute. Working through the left side, Tristan Trager took a shot from the left side of the box into the far right post that ricocheted off and went into the net.
Less than 10 minutes later Charleston would find another, a header goal swung in by Augustine Williams that found Derek Dodson’s head.
“That’s a disappointing result anytime you have a one goal lead going into the final stretch, especially at home,” said Head Coach Tommy Soehn. “That’s one thing we’ve been really good at the last couple of games, is closing things off. And obviously tonight we didn’t.”
“I don’t think we gave them that many looks tonight,” said Soehn. “If you compare, part of it is putting our chances away. If we bury them in the first half, it becomes a different game. So obviously that’s one of the issues. But we also have to be focused. I think we got lackadaisical on a throw-in which that’s a set piece. You shouldn’t do that.”
Tonight’s loss brought Legion back to 6th place in the Eastern Conference standings, as they hope to end the season on a winning run to secure a home playoff match.
“We created some early chances in the first half that we think we could have scored on, and we kind of kept to the plan as they did,” said Soehn on whether tactical changes at halftime affected the result. “I don’t think they changed a whole lot. What I will say is I think their subs came in and energized them, which has been our forte of late, so it hurts.”
Box Score:
| 1st Half | 2nd Half | |
| Birmingham | 1 | 0 |
| Charleston | 0 | 2 |
Goals:
BHM – 43’ – #10 Prosper Kasim (assisted by #9 Juan Agudelo)
CHS – 82’ – #21 Tristan Trager (assisted by #9 Augustine Williams)
CHS – 90+1’ – #14 Derek Dodson (assisted by #9 Augustine Williams)
Starting XI:
BHM – 4-3-2-1 – #1 Matt VanOekel; #3 Phanuel Kavita, #16 Gabriel Alves (45’ – #33 Moses Mensah), #21 Alex Crognale, #4 Collin Smith (90+2′ – #96 Tyler Freeman); #6 Anderson Asiedu, #17 Matthew Corcoran, #19 Enzo Martinez; #10 Prosper Kasim (83’ – #13 Jake Rufe), #9 Juan Agudelo; #11 Neco Brett (70′ – #7 Diba Nwegbo)
Legion FC hit the road next Friday, August 4 at 8:00PM CT to take on Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC. Fans can tune into My68 and ESPN+ to watch the game.
For all club news and updates, fans are encouraged to follow @bhmlegion on social media and keep an eye on bhmlegion.com and the Legion FC app.
