August 4, 2021 – United Soccer League Championship (USL) – Birmingham Legion FC News Release
BIRMINGHAM, AL – After dropping points against Atlanta four days ago at home, Legion FC made sure to put Two-nited away this time around, winning 3-1 on Wednesday night at BBVA Field thanks to goals from JJ Williams in the 11th minute, Mikey Lopez in the 49th and Junior Flemmings in the 51st.
The visitors came out on the front foot to begin the game, creating a few dangerous chances early before forward Phillip Goodrum opened the scoring in the ninth minute. Midfielder Connor Stanley’s shot from outside the box hit Goodrum as he was making his way into the box, and the forward managed to control the ball around the penalty spot, turn in to a one v. one attempt with Legion FC goalkeeper Matt VanOekel, and slip his shot into the net.
Legion FC immediately pounced following the restart, as center back Alex Crognale played a long ball over the top to his right back partner, an onrushing Jonny Dean. ‘Hotlinks’ cut past a defender and rifled a ball into Williams, who held off the Atlanta center back and deftly slipped the ball, first time, past the ‘keeper to level the score.
According to Birmingham assistant coach Khano Smith, going down early was disappointing, and he and the staff only had one message at halftime – work harder.
“First half we were disappointing,” said Smith. “We went down a goal to them again and, honestly, there was nothing tactically that needed to be changed. They played a 4-3-3, we played a 4-3-3. We felt, as a staff, that they wanted it more than us and they showed they wanted it more than us. We let them know that at halftime that it’s just not good enough. They gotta work harder. To their credit, they listened, and they realized they needed to do that, and they went in, and they fixed it. That was the only adjustment that was really made, sometimes you just gotta roll your sleeves up and work hard. It sounds very cliche, but it is what it is.”
The team came out in the second half and understood the assignment, as everyone pressed Atlanta hard and pushed numbers forward to find a go-ahead goal. The fans in attendance did not have to wait long for that breakthrough, as forward Prosper Kasim got into the box on his favored left foot and ripped a shot on goal in the 49th minute. ATL’s goalkeeper saved the shot, but the rebound spilled out into his box, and BHM left back Mikey Lopez was first to it, clipping the ball up over the diving Rios Novo and in for the lead.
After scoring twice in three minutes on Saturday to take the lead, Legion FC players one-upped themselves on Wednesday night, scoring twice in a two-minute span courtesy of Junior Flemmings. The Jamaican had not managed to find the back of the net in the first part of the season but bagged his second goal this week in the 51st minute. Kasim played Dean in behind the backline, Dean crossed the ball into the box to Williams who laid it off to Flemmings at the top of the box for a one-time finish.
Flemmings has been back in Birmingham for about a week after a stellar run with Jamaica in the CONCACAF Gold Cup and feels like he has regained his confidence in front of goal after scoring his second of the season.
“First and foremost, we know we’re better than that team,” said Flemmings. “I think in that game [on Saturday] we let it slip away from us in terms of managing the game. We should’ve done a better job finishing it. Coming into this one we knew what we had to do. We didn’t have to change much, and I think the guys really wanted to put a stamp on it like ‘listen, the last result was a fluke’ and I think we came out there today and did that.”
Assistant Coach Khano Smith when asked about going down early again in a game:
“Again, really disappointing to go a goal down to them. Really delighted with the response, but it’s kind of the same concept of what we talked about before. Why do we need to wait to get punched in the mouth first before we start playing? We’re the more experienced team, we feel that we’re the better team and the standings show that we’re a better team. We need to go and take the game to them, they shouldn’t be coming here and dictating play. That’s something that we have to change.”
Box Score:
1st Half 2nd Half
BHM 1 2
ATL 1 0
Goals:
ATL – 9′ – #9 Phillip Goodrum (assisted by #11 Connor Stanley)
BHM – 11′ – #23 JJ Williams (assisted by #24 Jonny Dean)
BHM – 49′ – #5 Mikey Lopez
BHM – 51′ – #77 Junior Flemmings (assisted by #23 JJ Williams)
Starting Lineups:
BHM – 4-3-3 – #1 Matt VanOekel; #24 Jonny Dean, #21 Alex Crognale, #3 Phanuel Kavita ©, #5 Mikey Lopez; #27 Thomas Vancaeyezeele (#2 Marcos Ugarte), #6 Anderson Asiedu, #20 Zach Herivaux (57′ – #12 Eli Crognale); #10 Prosper Kasim (70′ – #11 Neco Brett), #23 JJ Williams (78′ – #7 Ryan James), #77 Junior Flemmings (78′ – #17 Jaden Servania)
ATL – 4-3-3 – #1 Rocco Rios Novo; #2 Aiden McFadden, #27 Bryce Washington, #24 Josh Bauer, #13 Caleb Wiley; #8 Chris Allan (80′ – #39 Noah Cobb), #14 Robbie Mertz (66′ – #5 Abdoulaye Diop), #10 Darwin Matheus (66′ – #37 Ajani Fortune); #11 Connor Stanley (66′ – #21 David Mejia), #9 Phillip Goodrum (57′ – #7 Amadou Diop), #28 Tyler Wolff
Stats: Legion FC Match Center
The team hits the road for another contest on short rest this Saturday, August 7, at 7:00PM at FC Tulsa. Fans can tune in to watch the game on MY68 or ESPN+ and follow @bhmlegion on twitter for live match updates and highlights.
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