ALBUQUERQUE, NM – The chances were there all night for Birmingham Legion FC, but it looked like it would be all for naught as New Mexico United had its sights set on a 10th consecutive home victory. However, AJ Paterson came on in the 78th minute and played the super sub role to perfection with a goal just three minutes later, as The Three Sparks stunned the Isotopes Park home crowd and head back to Birmingham with a 1-1 draw and a much-needed point on the road.
“It was just an awesome feeling to get my first for the club,” said Paterson. “To be able to fight back showed that we’re taking a step in the right direction against a team that is probably the most in-form in the league right now. We heard all about their streak but we came in here and played with confidence and it showed.”
It was the first goal New Mexico United had allowed at home since San Antonio FC’s Luke Haakenson scored in the 21st minute of a match back on May 25.
And it was a goal from the Grenadine defender that was well-deserved. Birmingham posed the more dangerous attack of the two teams on Saturday night, outshooting New Mexico United 20-9 (8-4 in shots on target) despite the home side having the edge in final third entries (70-51).
“That was a really good team performance from start to finish,” Legion FC coach Tom Soehn said. “We stayed consistent with the way our shape was, the way we defended, the way we attacked. We created a ton of chances and I credit our guys because we weren’t pleased with how the last game went but we responded really well.”
With Derek Dodson winning a corner in the 80th minute, Kobe Hernandez-Foster – who entered the match at halftime for his first substitute appearance of the season – delivered an outswinger from the right side that picked out Paterson perfectly at the back post. He finished the job with a forceful header that rippled the back of the net.
“It seemed like that ball had a magnet to my head the second it left Kobe’s foot,” Paterson recalled. “I saw it the whole way and gave (Stefanho) Pinho a shout to duck and, thankfully, he did.
“That goal not only meant a lot to me but to the team. We had guys putting in a shift to that whole game and we created so many opportunities, so it was good to see one finally go in and reward ourselves for the work we put in.”
To that point of the match, it appeared as though Legion FC was on its way to suffering a hard-luck loss. The away side appeared to have taken the lead in the 49th minute with Enzo Martinez cleaning up a long range effort from Hernandez-Foster with a tap in, but was ruled offside.
New Mexico United then grabbed a goal against the run of play 12 minutes later on a Sergio Rivas strike into the top corner. That came not long after defender Phanuel Kavita had cleared a shot off the line in the 52nd minute.
“I was disappointed in that goal because I felt like we had the better chances and were in control of the game,” Soehn explained. “He buried a really good shot and it was frustrating, but if anything we turned it up a notch after that and I actually felt like by the end of the match we had more legs than them.”
For a third time in its last four matches, Legion FC had only four available outfield players on its bench and all were used with Miguel Perez and Pinho coming on in the 74th minute in addition to Paterson and Hernandez-Foster. Rest was not on Birmingham’s side either with the squad playing its eighth match in three days while New Mexico United had not played since July 10. Kick-off for the match was also pushed back an hour due to heavy rains passing through the area.
But while the odds seemed to be stacked against the team, none of that seemed to matter in the end.
“We’ve been unfortunate with injuries but that’s not going to take away our heart and we’re going to give it our all,” Paterson said as Birmingham improved its road record to 5W-3L-3D in USL Championship play this season, including a win on June 26 that snapped Detroit City FC’s unbeaten streak at home.
“It’s really weird how we seem to show up for these road games. We just come out there and not let the opposing crowd get to us. We just fight.”
After allowing a first half goal in its previous three matches, Legion FC came out after the delayed start with the clear focus of not letting that happen for a fourth time. Despite New Mexico holding the lion’s share of the possession for much of the first 45 minutes, it never was able to break down Birmingham’s low block.
In fact, it was Legion FC who had the better of the scoring chances in the first half. A half chance came in the 35th minute when Preston Tabort Etaka sent in a cross to a cutting Martinez inside the box, but the shot was just barely deflected out of play.
Tabort Etaka then followed that good stretch of play with a pair of shots on target in quick succession in the 41st minute as Birmingham went into the scoreless first half with a 0.36 – 0.16 expected goals advantage.
Match Details
| BOX SCORE | 1ST HALF | 2ND HALF | FINAL |
| BHM (8W – 8L – 4D) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| NM (11W – 4L – 2D) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
LINEUPS
BHM: Spangenberg – GK, Mensah, Kavita – C, Crognale, Dodson, McCartney (Pinho 78′), Hamouda (Perez 74′), Rufe (Hernandez-Foster 45′), Martinez, Kasim (Paterson 78′), Tabort Etaka
NM: Tambakis – GK, C, Gloster (Seymore 20′), Maples, Herbert, Astorga, Flanagan (Micaletto 68′), Bailey (Bruce 85′), Houssou, Akale (Harris 85′), Rivas, Hurst
GOALS
BHM: Paterson 81′
NM: Rivas 60′
DISCIPLINE
BHM: Hamouda (Yellow) 15′
NM: Bailey (Yellow) 65′, Maples (Yellow) 66′, Tambakis (Yellow) 81′
NEXT UP
Legion FC returns to action on Saturday, July 27 against Orange County SC at Protective Stadium. The goal now for the squad is to figure out how to corral this road magic and have it carry over to its home matches, having just logged three victories in Birmingham in USLC play this season.
“We’re giving away too many goals at home,” said Soehn. “We have to create a better homefield advantage with our play.”
Kick-off for that match is set for 6:30 p.m. and tickets can be purchased HERE.
