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Far from its best performance, multiple errors by the team influenced the loss
Birmingham, AL (August 27, 2023) – Birmingham Legion FC lost to Detroit City FC on Sunday evening. All five goals of the game came in the first half. Legion FC has never taken one point from Detroit in the five matches between the two.
The first half of play between Birmingham and Detroit was one of the most exciting of any game at Protective Stadium. Five goals were scored in sixteen minutes.
Legion’s Neco Brett opened the scoring frenzy in the 29th minute from the penalty spot. The penalty kick was awarded after Brett slipped a ball in for Enzo Martinez behind La Rouge’s defense.
Two minutes later Detroit equalized. Good pressing allowed the Michigan side to win the ball in Legion’s own half, and with high numbers in the box, Rhys Williams sent a ball to the far post that Ben Morris put past Matt VanOekel.
The Black & Gold won another penalty opportunity in the 38th minute after Diba Nwegbo was taken down in the box. Enzo Martinez confidently scored from the spot for his tenth of the season. Both Brett and Martinez now lead Legion in scoring with ten goals each.
Detroit went on to score two more goals in the 44th and 45th minute to claim a 3-2 lead before halftime. In the 44th, Ben Morris caught VanOekel off his line after Detroit won the ball in Legion’s half — yet again capitalizing on a high press.
Just a minute later Detroit scored its first leading goal of the game to make it 3-2. As Detroit worked the ball at the near post, defensive errors led to an own goal.
“Individual mistakes like that you never account for,” said Soehn on the loss. “You hope you’re past that, you might get one of those every five years. And we gave three in a matter of probably 18 minutes. So that’s just a lack of focus and concentration. That’s stuff that I never worry about coaching, that’s stuff that you just expect at this level. So that’s disappointing. I thought we created quite a bit. Obviously, the post hurt, but to give away those mental errors, we gift-wrapped the result away, and at this time of year, it hurts.”
The second half of play was not nearly as action-packed, but Birmingham created lots of chances. Two of its best chances bounced off the woodwork. As Legion looked to build up momentum, severe weather postponed the match for thirty minutes.
“Well, it’s always difficult,” said Soehn on the weather break. “And they’re a team that loves to defend. That’s how they play. They put five guys back and then they subbed in an extra defender so we knew it was going to be hard. Disappointed that we didn’t serve in the box a little bit more at the end and give ourselves more of a chance. But no matter what, it’s a disappointing result.”
Preston Etaka had his home debut after coming on in the 63rd minute. The new arrival from Las Vegas Lights FC showed a lot of promise, creating multiple chances in his 30-minute shift.
“It’s a very competitive team,” said Etaka on the culture of the Legion. “Everyone is demanding more from each other, so I think that’s the best thing in soccer. As teammates, everyone is asking each other to work hard and it’s what the team is built on, so I’m excited.”
Match Details
Box Score:
1st Half | 2nd Half | |
Birmingham | 2 | 0 |
Detroit | 3 | 0 |
Goals:
BHM – 29′ – #11 Neco Brett (p)
DET – 31′ – #9 Ben Morris (assisted by #2 Rhys Williams)
BHM – 38′ – #19 Enzo Martinez
DET – 44′ – #9 Ben Morris
DET – 44′ – (OG) #3 Phanuel Kavita
Starting XI:
BHM – 4-3-2-1 – #1 Matt VanOekel; #3 Phanuel Kavita, #4 Collin Smith (83′ – #16 Gabriel Alves), #21 Alex Crognale, #33 Moses Mensah; #10 Prosper Kasim, #17 Matthew Corcoran (55′ – #5 Mikey Lopez), #19 Enzo Martinez; #9 Juan Agudelo (63′ – #28 Preston Etaka), #7 Diba Nwegbo (83′ – #27 Grayson Dupont); #11 Neco Brett
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