
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The ebbs and flows of the USL Championship schedule continues to keep Birmingham Legion FC on its toes this season. Following a four-match-in-12-days stretch, a much-needed respite of 10 days off is officially over for The Three Sparks as it heads to The Golden State for a weekend tilt with Western Conference-leading Sacramento Republic FC.
“We had a tough stretch of games and the emotional cost of that is a lot so giving the guys some time to recharge was important,” said Legion FC coach Tom Soehn. “This week in training we’ve come out with a little bite to us.”
MATCH INFO
- USL Championship | Matchday 11
- Birmingham Legion FC (4W-4L-2D) at Sacramento Republic FC (5W-0L-5D)
- Saturday, May 25 – 9:00 p.m. CT
- Heart Health Park – Sacramento, CA
- Watch: WABM My68 (Birmingham)
- Stream: ESPN+
There are no concerns about Legion FC not being battle-tested at this point of the campaign, having already faced a team that was at the top of its respective conference and had yet to be defeated. But, unlike in its last match against the Charleston Battery, Birmingham hopes to come out on top this time. To do that, the squad will have to take full advantage of scoring opportunities that will likely be few and far between against a SRFC defense that has allowed just eight goals this season and has posted four clean sheets in the USLC this season.
Breaking down an organized defense has been a struggle for Legion FC season, but the thought around the camp is that it is on the precipice of unlocking things in a big way. Despite the loss to Charleston, there were some positives to take away from an offensive standpoint as the team led the match in total shots, shots inside the box, touches in the box and final third entries.
The focus going forward now is to not be as wasteful once the attack enters into dangerous positions, and Kobe Hernandez-Foster – who leads Birmingham with 19 total chances created this season – believes that an onslaught of goals is on the horizon as the team chemistry continues to grow.
“We’re definitely motivated,” said Hernandez-Foster, who has played every minute of Legion FC’s 10 USLC matches this season. “Playing against Charleston was a toe-to-toe game that could’ve gone either way and helped our confidence. We feel like we’re right there and I think everyone in the group feels it, so now it’s about just going in and focusing on getting three points every week.”
Meanwhile, the Sacramento attack has taken full advantage of its chances in front of goal with eight more goals than Legion FC on the season (16-9) despite taking 10 fewer shots (132-142). In fact, SRFC’s 0.12 goal-per-shot average rates near the top among USL Championship clubs. Trevor Amann leads the team with six goals on the season, which is tied for fifth in the league, while Kieran Phillips has added some extra bite up top since joining the club in April. The Huddersfield Town-loanee has bagged five goals in as many appearances, including a brace on Tuesday in Sacramento’s 4-3 upset over the San Jose Earthquakes to advance to the quarterfinals of the 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
“They’re dynamic and they’re organized,” Soehn said of his upcoming opponent. “They don’t give up a lot of goals and they have some guys that can be really dangerous on the counters and yet they can also still build it up in possession. They are a pretty versatile group but if we can stay organized we should be able to sustain a lot of that.”
Legion FC hope to get their own shot in the arm on the loan market with Derek Dodson joining the club this week from Minnesota United FC. The versatile defender comes in with a wealth of USLC experience and looks to help continue a recent run of form for the Birmingham backline that has allowed just one goal over the last 180 minutes.
“This will definitely be a hard matchup, but I think we have the capabilities of coming out with a positive result,” said Hernandez-Foster. “We just need to go in there, play our game and fight it out.”
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