by Timothy Belin

Birmingham Legion has not started the season how they wanted. In addition to an early exit in the US Open Cup, the Three Sparks have just one league win in their first six USL Championship outings.

Tomorrow’s game against the Chattanooga Red Wolves will be a chance for a reset in a brand-new tournament for the Black and Gold.

“It’s new for us, but we’re also looking at it like we’re trying to go for it,” said Eric Avila, interim head coach. “The Open Cup was a bad taste in our mouth, really bad, and we do not want to fall for that again. This is a serious one that we are trying to go and win.”

Legion never exited the Open Cup as early as it did this season, and the players all expressed an eagerness to set that right with an improved performance in the USL’s interleague cup competition.

Jake Rufe said a cup run is “a big priority” for the team, while Kobe Hernandez-Foster said the Open Cup loss affected the team a lot and he sees the Jägermeister as an opportunity to “make it right.”

To do so, the players will have to quickly bounce back from the disappointment of last week’s loss at Hartford Athletic. The Three Sparks came into the game off their first win of the season, a 3-1 home victory over El Paso Locomotive, only to hand Hartford their first points of the year from a self-inflicted goal.

Returning home, Hernandez-Foster said tomorrow’s game would be a great opportunity to build off the previous performance at Progressive Stadium.

“I think always when you have that momentum coming off a win, it kind of carries on to the next game and you feel better about yourself going into the game,” Hernandez-Foster said. “So it’s just about focusing on everything that we did wrong in that Hartford game and making it right this weekend.”

Though the Red Wolves are a USL League One side, one division lower than the Legion, players and staff said they are taking nothing for granted. The two teams faced each other a few months ago for a preseason friendly, and Chattanooga emerged victorious.

Legion sit 2-0 in competitive games, having defeated the Red Wolves in their 2023 and 2024 US Open Cup campaigns, but know they will be up against it when welcoming a team that always shows up for games against their southern neighbors.

“I have to warn them, especially for the new guys coming in” Avila said. “You could say [this is] a rivalry in a way because we always find playing against them, but it’s going to be a difficult game, it’s going to be an aggressive game. They’re always going to come out 100%, and I’ve prepared the guys to be ready for that.”

After struggling against a back-five formation in Connecticut, the interim head coach added this would be another tough game against a similar-looking team.

“They’re going to be a well-organized team, but they’re going to a physical, a strong team,” he said. “It’s another team that plays with five at the back, so that’s something that we have to understand how to break down, especially with a low block because they have all the numbers back. That’s what we struggled on building against and trying to figure out ways to block it.”

If the team fails to break down a resolute Red Wolves backline, Avila is also well-aware that the game could then go to penalties. The Jägermeister Cup rules state that any group game still tied after 90 minutes will go straight to a penalty shootout, with the winner gaining an extra point in addition to the point for a draw.

After Chattanooga made it past three rounds of the Open Cup so far, all via penalty shootout, Avila said he would prefer to settle the game in regular time. However, his players have been practicing shootouts after practice, and he feels confident they can compete if the game were to end with spot-kicks.

“All we have to do is everything possible to win the game before, so we don’t go to pens,” Hernandez-Foster said. “But if we do, I think we’re confident in ourselves and our ability to score and have our keepers make some plays.”

The team will be boosted in their attempts with the return of defensive stalwart Phanuel Kavita, who missed the last few games through injury. Avila said the centerback was ready to return and that this game could be a good opportunity to get him some minutes before league action resumes.

That leaves only long-term absentee AJ Paterson on the injury list, but he is not expected to make a return until this summer.

With a nearly fully-fit side, the entire team is eager to kickstart their first ever Jägermeister Cup campaign with a win.

“We’re disappointed after Hartford, so we’re really just looking at the game, what we failed to do, what we did well, and fixing our mistakes against Chattanooga,” Rufe said. “They’ve been a good side, they’ve beaten some USL clubs, so we’re taking it very serious.”

The defender also added that he was looking forward to doing so in the team’s new “Hunt for Glory” kits, a new reversible jersey to be worn exclusively in the team’s inaugural Jägermeister Cup campaign.

“I like them,” Rufe said. “I’ve never seen one in the league like the one we’re going to wear, so I’m excited to bring something new.”

Birmingham Legion kick off their USL Jägermeister Cup campaign at 4 p.m. Sunday at Protective Stadium, where they will host Chattanooga Red Wolves.

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