Birmingham Legion didn’t wait long to make an impression in their inaugural Jägermeister Cup campaign.

The Three Sparks opened the scoring after 10 minutes and never looked back. Red Wolves’ Michael Knapp got sent off just over an hour into the game, and Birmingham pressed their advantage with two more goals to seal a 3-1 win in their first game of the cup campaign.

Legion have gone behind in each of their last six games, so it was a welcome change for the Three Sparks to take an early lead barely 10 minutes into the game.

“It makes a big difference, especially at home,” Eric Avila, interim head coach, said. “We said to the guys that this is our home and we have to make it very difficult for people, teams to come in here and play. So we wanted to set the tone, we wanted to set the tempo of how the game is going to be, and having that first goal is always going to be a plus.”

After Kobe Hernandez-Foster played a short corner to Enzo Martínez, the ball pinballed in the box as several Legion players tried to get a touch on it. Ronaldo Damus’ shot was eventually deflected to Danny Trejo, who slotted home for his first goal in Black and Gold.

Birmingham Legion continued to dominate the game from there on out.

Tyler Pasher, deployed in a more central role, pulled the strings for the Legion attack. Trejo, Damus and Sebastian Tregarthen found plenty of space to run into, but none of them found the final ball to make it 2-0. Damus came close twice, but the score remained 1-0 at half-time.

“We showed what we are capable of doing,” Trejo said. “But we have to also make sure that we keep pushing.”

Legion could have rued those misses under different circumstances, but not today.

The second half was more of the same, and the turning point came shortly after the hour mark. Knapp slid into Hernandez-Foster when both went for a loose ball, and though the referee originally pulled out a yellow card, he eventually handed the Chattanooga midfielder a red.

With the one-man advantage, Legion pushed on to put the game beyond doubt.

“It just gave us a little bit more opportunity to get more space and more opportunities on goal, so something we had to take advantage of,” Pasher said.

The second goal nearly came just a minute after the red as Trejo fired just wide from a Pasher through ball. The Three Sparks waited barely longer to actually double their lead.

In the 71st minute, goalkeeper Fernando Delgado sent a long ball forward. Trejo knocked it down for Enzo Martínez, who drove at the Red Wolves’ defense. As he entered the box, the Uruguayan laid it off for second-half substitute Preston Tabort Etaka. His first touch took the ball beyond the defender and his second poked it home. In just four passes, the Black and Gold had gone from goalkeeper to goal.

Eight minutes later, Legion had their third. Trejo was once again involved, turning provider with a beautiful threaded through ball to Damus. The Haitian made no mistake to convert already his fifth goal in eight games for Birmingham.

“The way that I did the assist is the way that I think this team is capable of playing,” Trejo said. “Playing those balls in behind and through tight spaces. I’m capable of doing that, but a lot of players in this team are capable of doing it. So I think as long as we keep training and practicing on those, it’s going to be exciting soccer for us.”

Chattanooga threatened to ruin Legion’s clean sheet with a long range drive hitting the post in the 82nd minute. The visitors did eventually break through in stoppage time. Chattanooga hit a deep free-kick to the back post, and a player was on hand to cut it back for a consolation tap-in.

It didn’t matter, as Legion ran out 3-1 winners and made it back-to-back wins at Protective Stadium.

As the Magic City Brigade serenaded Pasher with the happy birthday song — the Canadian turned 31 today — players and fans celebrated a positive start to their first-ever USL Jägermeister Cup campaign.

“It was a full-team effort this game,” Avila said. “We talked about going after a cup and trying to go after a trophy. I think after the Open Cup we wanted to go for this game, it was very important for us. … Overall it was a good team win, so we’re very happy.”

Legion sit second in Group 3 and travel to FC Tulsa next on May 31. Before then, they return to USL Championship action with a trip to the Tampa Bay Rowdies at 6:30 p.m. May 3.

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