
MT. PLEASANT, SC. – It was a tough Friday night on the east coast for Birmingham Legion FC as the club – still nursing a depleted roster – found it difficult to get much of anything going against the Charleston Battery, while a Nick Markanich brace proved to be the difference in a 2-0 defeat at Patriots Point Soccer Stadium.
“I felt like we were second best in every category tonight,” said Legion FC coach Tom Soehn following his side’s second straight loss. “It was just not our day.”
With five minutes left in first half regulation, a costly Birmingham turnover in the midfield led to a two-on-one breakaway for the Battery, leading to a Phanuel Kavita foul on Charleston forward Emilio Ycaza in the box for a penalty. It unfortunately only delayed the inevitable as Markanich slotted the ensuing spot kick to put the home side up 1-0 right before the halftime break.
Markanich later grabbed his second of the evening in the 70th minute, this time from the run of play, with a header into the upper right corner off a cross from Arturo Rodriguez that picked out the Charleston forward between Alex Crognale and Kavita.
“We just have to do a better job across the board,” Soehn explained. “On the first goal, we made the two mistakes on the same play by cutting into the central area and they punished us. And then on the second goal we have to do a better job in not letting the cross get in and getting a body on the target when it does.”
With Markanich having a nose for goal on one end, Birmingham couldn’t find an opening to do the same on the other, with Charleston grabbing control of the match early on and never letting go. Legion FC were outshot 23-9 and had just 47 entries into the final third compared to 75 from Charleston, who also held a 63%-37% advantage in possession.
“They capitalized on a lot of moments while we just weren’t able to execute on the other end,” said Soehn. “We gave away balls and they forced us into turnovers.”
Legion FC goalkeeper Jayden Hibbert had to be subbed out with a lower body injury following the second goal, marking the pro debut for Owen Jack. It was just the latest example of Birmingham’s seemingly never-ending bout with injuries, as the club returned Jake Rufe after a two match-absence, but was without AJ Paterson to mark the team’s third straight outing in which it only had four available outfield players on its bench.
“It is what it is at this point,” Soehn said. “We can’t change that or make excuses. We have to deal with it in the right way and today we clearly didn’t.”
Hibbert had his work cut out for him in goal from the first whistle, with Charleston putting together an early barrage to begin that nearly led to an opening goal in the fifth minute, with a shot inside the box from Chris Allen rocketing off the outside of the far post. Through the match’s first 10 minutes, the Battery held 71% of the possession with 15 entries into the final third and six total shots, including one on target.
However, after withstanding the early pressure, Birmingham answered with a short spell of its own and nearly took the lead in the 25th minute with a nice bit of interplay between Enzo Martinez, Preston Tabort Etaka and Ramiz Hamouda to set up Martinez with a chance in front of goal. However, the ball took a bit of a bobble on the final pass to Legion FC’s star midfielder and his shot sailed over the goal.
With Paterson unavailable for selection, Hamouda was thrust into the lineup for the 16-year-old’s first start of his young career. After logging just 62 total minutes across six matches in all competitions this season, the United States youth international acquitted himself well in his 78 minutes of action, with the bulk of Legion FC’s possession running through his left side. Hamouda finished his outing with 48 total touches, which led the team at the time of his substitution, and completed 26 of his 31 passes, while also recording two tackles and a team-high six clearances.
“From the start he got caught going central a little bit because he’s so used to playing center back, but once he figured that out, I thought he did quite well,” Soehn said of Hamouda. “He was very involved in the attack and played some good balls.”
Match Details
BOX SCORE | 1ST HALF | 2ND HALF | FINAL |
BHM (7W – 7L – 3D) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
CHS (10W – 2L – 6D) | 1 | 1 | 2 |
LINEUPS
BHM: Hibbert – GK (Jack 74′), Hamouda (Pinho 78′), Kavita – C, Crognale, Dodson, Rufe (Nwegbo 58′), Hernandez-Foster, Tabort Etaka, Pasher, Martinez, Kasim (Perez 45′)
CHS: Grinwis – GK, Dos Santos (Crawford 90+1′), Smith, Archer – C, Segbers, Allan, Molloy, Torres (Drack 79′), Ycaza (Rodriguez 66′), Markanich (Gutierrez 90′). Myers (Conway 79′)
GOALS
BHM:
CHS: Markanich (Penalty) 43′, 70′
DISCIPLINE
BHM: Kasim (Yellow) 21′, Crognale (Yellow) 40′, Kavita (Yellow) 54′, Perez (Yellow) 90′
CHS:
NEXT UP
Following a much-needed week off the pitch, Legion FC will return to action at Protective Stadium on Saturday, July 13 against the Colorado Springs Switchbacks.
“It’s vital,” Soehn said of his team needing to regroup after some time off. “We need to focus on the next one and make sure we get back to who we were and how we were playing.”
Kick-off for this special Christmas in July match, presented by Children’s of Alabama, is set for 6:30 p.m. CT and tickets can be purchased HERE.