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A career-first USL goal for Collin Smith and a late-game goal for Sacramento gave way to the 1-1 result
BIRMINGHAM, AL (August 12, 2023) – Birmingham Legion FC split points with Sacramento Republic FC on Saturday night, with both side taking home one point in the 1-1 draw.
“We’re frustrated because we gave something away when we didn’t really give ’em a whole lot,” said Head Coach Tommy Soehn on his initial reaction of the match.
“I think after having only three days rest we kind of went with a defensive mentality to make sure that they weren’t gonna hurt us because they’re really good at moving off the ball really well. To be fair, they’ve had their way with a lot of teams and I thought we did a really good job of frustrating them. And then we get the goal and it’s just finishing it off. So it’s disappointing that they got one back, but still, after three days’ rest to come out and put on a performance like that, I’m still really pleased with the guys seeing out the game plan.”
The first half ended without much excitement — five shots for the hosts and two for the visitors. Most of the action happened in the midfield, without either team having any big chances to score.
Play opened up for both sides during the second half, where the Black & Gold found the opening goal of the match. Starting deep in the midfield with 17-year-old Matthew Corcoran, the midfielder sent a pin-point ball over the top that fell gracefully for Juan Agudelo at the top of the box. With a few crucial touches, Agudelo kept the ball away from four Sacramento defenders and gave a composed pass to a wide-open Collin Smith on the right side of the box. Smith buried it first time to score the first USL Championship goal of his career.
“It’s huge,” said Smith on scoring his first USL Championship goal. “My family was up top, so I was able to connect eyes with them all the way up there. I love the fans, love the environment. Those fans, they’re the ones that give us that momentum. So, really getting up there, being able to bag that goal and seeing just the whole stadium erupt. It was insane.”
Sacramento’s goal came late into the match. In the 83rd minute, Zeiko Lewis swung in a ball that met the outside foot of Luther Archimède who sneaked the ball into the bottom right corner of the goal. Both sides remained locked for the remainder of the match.
Focus for the Legionnaires now turns to next week, as the squad prepares to host Southeastern rivals Louisville City FC. You can pick up tickets for the massive game right here.
“We really want those three points,” said Smith. “That’s what we’re really dying for. So just this week of training, we’re going to go hard, listen to Tommy, do everything we need to do and adjust. Since it will be a new game, forget about the tie, and there we go, we go for three points again.”
Tonight’s match was a huge improvement from the team’s performance against Indy Eleven earlier in the week, where Birmingham lost 4-0.
“Some days you don’t get it,” said Soehn on the difference between Birmingham’s performance against Sacramento versus Indy. “Why? I mean, the rain delay or something happens where you’re just off, and we were off that night. But today was a totally different mentality and I thought we were a lot sharper. I give the guys credit for us coming up with a new game plan and executing quite well.”
Box Score:
1st Half | 2nd Half | |
Birmingham | 0 | 1 |
Sacramento | 0 | 1 |
Goals:
BHM – 64′ – #4 Collin Smith (assisted by #9 Juan Agudelo)
SAC – 83′ – #17 Luther Archimède (assisted by #10 Zeiko Lewis)
Starting XI:
BHM – 4-3-2-1 – #1 Matt VanOekel; #3 Phanuel Kavita, #4 Collin Smith, #21 Alex Crognale, #33 Moses Mensah; #10 Prosper Kasim, #17 Matthew Corcoran, #19 Enzo Martinez; #9 Juan Agudelo, #7 Diba Nwegbo, #11 Neco Brett
For all club news and updates, fans are encouraged to follow @bhmlegion on social media and keep an eye on bhmlegion.com and the Legion FC app.