ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Birmingham Legion FC’s first shot on target against the Tampa Bay Rowdies did not come until midway through the second half, but when it finally came, Enzo Martinez made the most of it. His 68th minute goal turned out to be the decider as The Three Sparks got a bit of revenge on their Eastern Conference rivals with a 1-0 victory to earn a valuable three points Saturday night at Al Lang Stadium.
“I’m just so proud of the guys for the way they fought and executed the gameplan,” said Legion FC coach Tom Soehn. “To be able to come back out here after what happened earlier in the week and to show the grit and determination that they did, it was really good to see.”
With the victory, Legion FC now has 14 points through nine USL Championship matches this season to move to fourth place in the Eastern Conference table, ahead of Tampa Bay by one point.
“The three points were massive,” Martinez said. “At the end of the year you really understand how important those points are but I think the way we did it was the biggest positive to take away from that game.”
Saturday’s tilt had a much different feel than when these two teams met just three days prior and combined for 10 goals in the 2024 U.S. Open Cup Round of 32. Having allowed 11 goals in its last three matches, the Legion FC (4W – 3L – 3D) defense stepped up in a big way to nullify the Rowdies’ high press and kept both Cal Jennings and Manuel Arteaga off the scoresheet, notching the club’s first clean sheet since its 1-0 win at Miami FC on April 20.
Both the possession numbers (58% to 42%) and touches in the opponents’ box (34 to 8) were heavily in the Rowdies’ favor, but were even in shots on goal at two apiece and, most importantly, Legion FC had the advantage on shots in the goal.
“It’s a testament to the work they’ve put in,” said Soehn of his defenders. “We knew coming in that we would be facing a lot of pressure and they stepped up to the task and put in a performance that they could really be proud of. It’s all about climbing up the table and they were a big reason why we were able to do that tonight.”
After almost exclusively absorbing Tampa Bay pressure in the second half, a rare spell of Birmingham possession began with Kobe Hernandez-Foster picking out Moses Mensah from long range down the left side. Mensah then quickly found Jake Rufe with some open space in the box and the beautiful sequence ended with Martinez making a late run to slot one passed Tampa Bay goalkeeper Jordan Farr for the 1-0 lead.
Beautiful build-up 👏#TBRvBHM | 0-1 | @ATT pic.twitter.com/Vij9Mtk6lE
— Birmingham Legion FC (@bhmlegion) May 12, 2024
“The way we scored the goal was the best part of it,” explained Martinez. “Jake makes that whole goal happen with the run and pull back all I have to do is make sure I make contact and keep it on target. It was a good team goal because it incorporated a lot of things that we talked about before the game.”
It marked the veteran Uruguayan midfielder’s second goal in USL Championship play, but his third goal in as many matches across all competitions.
“He just leads by example and is always in the middle of things, which is why a lot of the opposing fans don’t seem to like him,” Soehn said of Martinez. “That was just a class team goal that he put himself in the perfect position to finish it off.”
Both clubs were feeling each other out through the first 20 minutes of the match with Tampa Bay having the edge in total possession, but Birmingham with more touches in the attacking third in that span. However, neither could provide much of a threat in the early going, with the first shot on target from either side not coming until the 28th minute when Jennings was able to fire off a low left-footed shot that Matt Van Oekel was easily able to go to ground for the save.
The Rowdies though had a more dangerous opportunity just a minute later, with Jennings again getting the ball in a dangerous spot and, this time, was able to put it on his favored right-foot. However, Legion centerback Alex Crognale – back in the starting XI after missing the previous three matches – was able to get just enough of a deflection on the shot as the ball hit the post before Legion FC scrambled to clear it out of play.
Despite getting outshot 10-1 in the first half, the Birmingham backline was able to do enough to keep it scoreless after the first 45 minutes, snapping a three-match streak of allowing a goal in the first half.
Match Details
| BOX SCORE | 1ST HALF | 2ND HALF | FINAL | |
| BHM (4W – 3L – 3D) | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| TB (3W – 2L – 4D) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
LINEUPS
BHM: Van Oekel – GK, Rufe, Kavita – C, Crognale, Murana, McCartney (Mensah 62′), Hernandez-Foster, Martinez, Perez (Kasim 85′), Nwegbo (Tabort Etaka 62′), Pinho (Pasher 72′)
TB: Farr – GK, Guillen – C, Dennis, Doherty, Munjoma (Moon 67′), Bodily, Hilton, Crisostomo, Niyongabire, Perez (Worth 67′), Arteaga (Rivera 67′), Jennings
GOALS
BHM: Martinez 67′
TB:
DISCIPLINE
BHM: Kavita (Yellow) 9′, Murana (Yellow) 32′, Hernandez-Foster (Yellow) 37′, Pasher (Yellow) 90+2′
TB: Guillen (Yellow) 80′
NEXT UP
After an extended stay in St. Petersburg, Legion FC is faced with a quick turnaround as it heads back home to Protective Stadium for a match this Wednesday against the Eastern Conference-leading Charleston Battery. Kick-off is set for 7 p.m. CT and it can be watched locally on WABM My68 and streamed for free on CBS Sports Golazo Network.
