
BIRMINGHAM, AL (August 28, 2021) – Sitting in second place in the Central Division, with group leaders Louisville City FC coming to town for the first time this season, tonight’s match was one of the biggest in club history, and Legion FC, and its rocking crowd, rose to the occasion in an exhilarating 2-1 win thanks to second half goals from forwards Neco Brett and JJ Williams.
After a well-played, back and forth affair in the first 45 minutes, the teams went into the locker room all tied up at 0-0. The best chance of the half came in the 29th minute when Legion FC forward Prosper Kasim played in right back Jonny Dean. Dean’s first time cross evaded a sliding LouCity center back and found Brett, but his close-range shot was saved.
Brett was not to be denied early in the second half, however, as he opened the scoring with his 12th goal of the year, second-most in the USL Championship, in the 51st minute. Left back Ryan James got on the ball and swung in a cross behind the Louisville backline and Brett stabbed it in to grab the lead.
“I feel really good, because at the end of the day it’s a team sport,” said Brett. “You want everyone on the team to be scoring so that you can get points, that’s how you win games. My thing from day one is I want everyone around me to be scoring, because if you have everyone scoring, the games you miss a goal or have a stretch where you don’t score, you want other players to do so. That’s why we have a team. Tonight, we felt pretty good going into the game because we worked on some extra stuff at practice, and it played out.”
The visitors evened things up after a scramble in the box saw multiple players from both teams hit the deck and then the ensuing loose ball was slammed in by midfielder Paulo DelPiccolo in the 62nd minute.
Legion FC Head Coach Tommy Soehn, pushing for the game-winner and all three vital points, subbed on attackers Jaden Servania in the 69th minute and Williams in the 77th, and the aggressive moves immediately paid dividends as Williams found the back of the net in the 78th minute to secure the bag for the good guys. Forward Junior Flemmings got his third assist of the season after dancing past a couple defenders and slipping in a pass that #23 expertly chipped up over the onrushing ‘keeper for the win.
“It was a tight game; it was like a chess match,” said Assistant Coach Khano Smith. “It’s always going to take one moment like that to open up the game, one piece of skill, one moment of brilliance to open up a game like that because it’s a tactical match between two really good teams. Once that goal went in, I thought the game opened up a little more. They got back in it, but then we started pushing and had the subs come in and affect the game. Obviously, JJ [Williams] went straight in and impacted the game, did what he was supposed to do.
“Whenever he [JJ Williams] comes into a game, he always impacts it. That’s a master stroke from him scoring straight away, but the message is to go in and change the game. We give them the set pieces, we give them the duties, and tell them to go in and change in the game."
Smith when asked about the impact the crowd had on the game tonight:
“Yeah, we definitely felt it. I think everybody knows what’s at stake. The fans, front office, we know, everyone knows that they’re the horse that we’re trying to catch. It was like a little semi-playoff atmosphere tonight; it was nice to live in that and hopefully people can keep coming out and supporting us because that’s the push the team needs sometimes. No doubt about it, you felt it, we felt that they gave the team the extra push there.”
BIRMINGHAM, AL (August 28, 2021) – Sitting in second place in the Central Division, with group leaders Louisville City FC coming to town for the first time this season, tonight’s match was one of the biggest in club history, and Legion FC, and its rocking crowd, rose to the occasion in an exhilarating 2-1 win thanks to second half goals from forwards Neco Brett and JJ Williams.
After a well-played, back and forth affair in the first 45 minutes, the teams went into the locker room all tied up at 0-0. The best chance of the half came in the 29th minute when Legion FC forward Prosper Kasim played in right back Jonny Dean. Dean’s first time cross evaded a sliding LouCity center back and found Brett, but his close-range shot was saved.
Brett was not to be denied early in the second half, however, as he opened the scoring with his 12th goal of the year, second-most in the USL Championship, in the 51st minute. Left back Ryan James got on the ball and swung in a cross behind the Louisville backline and Brett stabbed it in to grab the lead.
“I feel really good, because at the end of the day it’s a team sport,” said Brett. “You want everyone on the team to be scoring so that you can get points, that’s how you win games. My thing from day one is I want everyone around me to be scoring, because if you have everyone scoring, the games you miss a goal or have a stretch where you don’t score, you want other players to do so. That’s why we have a team. Tonight, we felt pretty good going into the game because we worked on some extra stuff at practice, and it played out.”
The visitors evened things up after a scramble in the box saw multiple players from both teams hit the deck and then the ensuing loose ball was slammed in by midfielder Paulo DelPiccolo in the 62nd minute.
Legion FC Head Coach Tommy Soehn, pushing for the game-winner and all three vital points, subbed on attackers Jaden Servania in the 69th minute and Williams in the 77th, and the aggressive moves immediately paid dividends as Williams found the back of the net in the 78th minute to secure the bag for the good guys. Forward Junior Flemmings got his third assist of the season after dancing past a couple defenders and slipping in a pass that #23 expertly chipped up over the onrushing ‘keeper for the win.
“It was a tight game; it was like a chess match,” said Assistant Coach Khano Smith. “It’s always going to take one moment like that to open up the game, one piece of skill, one moment of brilliance to open up a game like that because it’s a tactical match between two really good teams. Once that goal went in, I thought the game opened up a little more. They got back in it, but then we started pushing and had the subs come in and affect the game. Obviously, JJ [Williams] went straight in and impacted the game, did what he was supposed to do.
“Whenever he [JJ Williams] comes into a game, he always impacts it. That’s a master stroke from him scoring straight away, but the message is to go in and change the game. We give them the set pieces, we give them the duties, and tell them to go in and change in the game.”
Smith when asked about the impact the crowd had on the game tonight:
“Yeah, we definitely felt it. I think everybody knows what’s at stake. The fans, front office, we know, everyone knows that they’re the horse that we’re trying to catch. It was like a little semi-playoff atmosphere tonight; it was nice to live in that and hopefully people can keep coming out and supporting us because that’s the push the team needs sometimes. No doubt about it, you felt it, we felt that they gave the team the extra push there.”
Neco Brett's goal in the 51st minute.
Neco Brett’s goal in the 51st minute.
JJ Williams' goal in the 78th minute.
JJ Williams’ goal in the 78th minute.
Box Score:
|
1st Half |
2nd Half |
BHM |
0 |
2 |
LOU |
0 |
1 |
Goals:
BHM – 51’ – #11 Neco Brett (assisted by #7 Ryan James)
LOU – 62’ – #36 Paulo DelPiccolo (assisted by #29 Antoine Hoppenot, #9 Jorge Gonzalez)
BHM – 78’ – #23 JJ Williams (assisted by #77 Junior Flemmings)
Starting Lineups:
BHM – 4-1-4-1 – #1 Matt VanOekel; #24 Jonny Dean, #21 Alex Crognale, #3 Phanuel Kavita ©, #7 Ryan James; #27 Thomas Vancaeyezeele (84’ – #20 Zach Herivaux); #10 Prosper Kasim (69’ – #17 Jaden Servania), #6 Anderson Asiedu, #5 Mikey Lopez, #77 Junior Flemmings; #11 Neco Brett (77’ – #23 JJ Williams)
LOU – 4-3-3 – #24 Parker Siegfried; #15 Pat McMahon (46’ – #8 Akil Watts), #4 Sean Totsch, #66 Joshua Wynder, #19 Oscar Jimenez (81’ – #21 Kyle Greig); #12 Tyler Gibson, #36 Paulo DelPiccolo, #7 Napo Matsoso; #9 Jorge Gonzalez (65’ – #20 James McLaughlin), #17 Cameron Lancaster, #19 Antoine Hoppenot (65’ – #10 Brian Ownby)
Stats: Legion FC Match Center
Next week Legion FC hits the road for the first of three straight away contests, starting on Wednesday, September 1 at 7:00PM at Sporting Kansas City II. Fans can tune in to watch the match on ESPN+ or follow @bhmlegion on twitter for live updates.
The club’s next home match is Saturday, September 18 at 6:30PM at BBVA Field against OKC Energy FC. Fans can go ahead and snag tickets for 9/18 HERE and can contact the Legion FC Ticket Office at 205-600-4635 or tickets@https://www.bhmlegion.com with any questions or requests.
Box Score:
|
1st Half |
2nd Half |
BHM |
0 |
2 |
LOU |
0 |
1 |
Goals:
BHM – 51’ – #11 Neco Brett (assisted by #7 Ryan James)
LOU – 62’ – #36 Paulo DelPiccolo (assisted by #29 Antoine Hoppenot, #9 Jorge Gonzalez)
BHM – 78’ – #23 JJ Williams (assisted by #77 Junior Flemmings)
Starting Lineups:
BHM – 4-1-4-1 – #1 Matt VanOekel; #24 Jonny Dean, #21 Alex Crognale, #3 Phanuel Kavita ©, #7 Ryan James; #27 Thomas Vancaeyezeele (84’ – #20 Zach Herivaux); #10 Prosper Kasim (69’ – #17 Jaden Servania), #6 Anderson Asiedu, #5 Mikey Lopez, #77 Junior Flemmings; #11 Neco Brett (77’ – #23 JJ Williams)
LOU – 4-3-3 – #24 Parker Siegfried; #15 Pat McMahon (46’ – #8 Akil Watts), #4 Sean Totsch, #66 Joshua Wynder, #19 Oscar Jimenez (81’ – #21 Kyle Greig); #12 Tyler Gibson, #36 Paulo DelPiccolo, #7 Napo Matsoso; #9 Jorge Gonzalez (65’ – #20 James McLaughlin), #17 Cameron Lancaster, #19 Antoine Hoppenot (65’ – #10 Brian Ownby)
Stats: Legion FC Match Center
Next week Legion FC hits the road for the first of three straight away contests, starting on Wednesday, September 1 at 7:00PM at Sporting Kansas City II. Fans can tune in to watch the match on ESPN+ or follow @bhmlegion on twitter for live updates.
The club’s next home match is Saturday, September 18 at 6:30PM at BBVA Field against OKC Energy FC. Fans can go ahead and snag tickets for 9/18 HERE and can contact the Legion FC Ticket Office at 205-600-4635 or tickets@https://www.bhmlegion.com with any questions or requests.