ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Just four days removed from a roller coaster affair in the Round of 32 of the 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, Birmingham Legion FC and the Tampa Bay Rowdies are set for an encore at Al Lang Stadium, as the two teams return to USL Championship play this Saturday evening. And for The Three Sparks, they face for a second straight match against their Eastern Conference rivals with a bit of revenge on their minds, after their comeback-for-the-ages was stymied by Tampa Bay in extra time last Wednesday.
“We got to sit back and watch the film and figure out all we did wrong,” Legion FC coach Tom Soehn said following his club’s 6-4 Open Cup defeat. “We came back from four goals down but some of the goals that we let in before and after that, we just can’t let happen and we have to be better in those areas.”
MATCH INFO
- USL Championship | Matchday 9
- Birmingham Legion FC at Tampa Bay Rowdies
- Saturday, May 11 – 6:30 p.m. CT
- Al Lang Stadium – St. Petersburg, FL
- Watch: WABM My68 (Birmingham)
- Stream: ESPN+
While the wounds from Wednesday’s loss are still fresh, Birmingham (3W-3L-3D USL Championship) hopes that it can carry over the momentum from an ardent second half push that saw four unanswered goals in a span of 12 minutes from Enzo Martinez, Kobe Hernandez-Foster and a Tyler Pasher brace to force extra time.
That lethal quality in front of goal is something that likely will be needed across the full 90 minutes on Saturday to combat a Rowdies (3W-1L-4D) attacking front that is third in USL Championship in scoring with 17 goals, with forwards Cal Jennings and Manuel Arteaga each having found the back of the net six times across eight league matches. The Legion FC defense got a taste of that on Saturday with Jennings notching a hat trick, while Arteaga came off the bench and provided the two extra time goals that ultimately was the difference in the match.
It will be a tough task, however Legion FC have shown in the past that it can handle the Florida humidity and the Tampa Bay supporters. In fact, prior to Wednesday’s loss, Birmingham were in the midst of a three-match unbeaten streak at Al Lang Stadium and have historically had success there with a 3W-3L-1D record across all competitions since entering USL Championship in 2019.
Last Time Out
Prior to its U.S. Open Cup tilt with Tampa Bay, Legion FC came back from two goals down for a 2-2 draw at home against FC Tulsa. Martinez ignited the spark with a 71st minute goal off an assist from Diba Nwegbo. Stefano Pinho then secured the point with a stoppage time goal off of inch-perfect corner service from Pasher. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay had its seven-match unbeaten streak in USL Championship play end last Saturday with a 4-1 home loss to Memphis 901 FC.
Follow Along
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