SMITHFIELD, RI – It is tough sledding for Birmingham Legion FC at the moment. The Three Sparks return to action this Saturday and are desperate to get back in the win column, something the club has not been able to do in over 20 days and just once this month as it closes a four-match August slate with a trip to Rhode Island FC for a match that carries large postseason implications.
“It’s ultra important (to get back on track) because the last stretch of the season is always the biggest one,” said Legion FC coach Tom Soehn as his club looks to snap a skid of two consecutive defeats where it has been outscored 4-0 in that stretch.
“We’ve let ourselves down here a few games in a row and there is two different ways you can go from there. You can implode or you can work harder and make sure you can get it right.”
MATCH INFO
- Birmingham Legion FC (10W-10L-5D; 35PTS) at Rhode Island FC (7W-5L-13D; 34PTS)
- USL Championship | Matchday 26
- Saturday, August 31 | 6:30 p.m. CT
- Beirne Stadium | Smithfield, RI
- Watch: WABM My68 (Birmingham)
- Stream: ESPN+
Having recently picked up just four points over as many matches, the margin for error has become razor thin for Birmingham.
While the club still sits just two points out of an all-important top four spot in the USL Championship Eastern Conference standings, its struggles have also now made the table even more congested, particularly at the bottom of the playoff cut line. Legion FC currently holds a slim four-point advantage over ninth-place Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC after a tough 3-0 defeat when the two met at Protective Stadium last weekend. Rhode Island FC is also nipping at the heels of Birmingham, sitting just one point behind, which brings some added stakes to Saturday’s contest.
“There’s nine games left and there are a lot of teams fighting for those playoff spots,,” said Birmingham defender Alex Crognale. “Every game is huge, but no bigger than Rhode Island this weekend.”
At such an important juncture of the season, coupled with the less-than-ideal results as of late, Legion FC opted for morning and afternoon training sessions on select days this week for the first time this season.
Soehn is hoping that the extra work helps his players rediscover a sense of team unity and accountability. Having nearly four decades of professional experience in the game, the Birmingham coach has seen many instances of teams losing that chemistry when a string of results goes south and he wants to ensure that doesn’t happen here with Legion FC.
“This week we’ve put in a lot of time and had some double sessions to make sure that we understand what our roles are,” explained Soehn. “Now we have to execute that on the field. The response is always positive after you have tough meetings because everyone comes out and rolls up their sleeves a little more, but all of that doesn’t matter unless we do it on the weekend.”
Just like with Soehn’s wealth of knowledge, it also helps that the Birmingham roster is littered with experience across the board. So while there is clearly disappointment with how things have gone on the pitch as of late, there still isn’t any panic.
“We have a good veteran core of guys who have been here and been through good times and tough times,” Crognale said. “It’s about keeping a level head and making sure we come ready to work every day and that’s what we’re going to continue to do.
“We also have a bunch of talented young guys and we have to also make sure that they are in the right mindset every day.”
Crognale and Legion FC understand the challenge that is facing them, beginning with a second meeting with Rhode Island FC this season. The USLC debutants are currently on pace to clinch a playoff spot, but have not been able to take full advantage of Birmingham’s August swoon with a loss and two draws in three of its four matches this month.
The last time these two teams faced was on July 17 at Protective Stadium where things seemed doomed from the start for Legion FC as Rhode Island’s Noah Fuson found the back of the net within the first minute of the match. A left-footed curler from Prosper Kasim to equalize things was not enough as a brace from second-half substitute Zachary Herivaux was the difference in a 3-1 win for the away side.
Now, it’s up to Birmingham to make turnabout fair play by putting its stellar road performances this season to the test against a Rhode Island FC side that boasts one of the better conversion rates in the league at 17% and is not short on attacking talent with Fuson, Frank Nodarse and Albert Dikwa leading the charge.
“We’ve been really good on the road this year so we have to dip into that mentality this weekend,” said Soehn. “Obviously, we didn’t have a good performance against (Rhode Island FC) at home, so we have to make sure we take care of business there. Everybody knows what’s at stake.”
Follow Along
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