After being frustrated for nearly 70 minutes in Florida, Birmingham Legion thought they’d sealed all three points when two goals in six minutes put them 2-1 up on their hosts.
But a Tampa Bay Rowdies equalizer deep into stoppage time ensured they shared the spoils in the first game of the Mark Briggs era.
For his first game as head coach, Briggs did not make any major changes to the lineup or formation heading into the game. The early intensity, however, displayed what has come to be described as the “new manager bounce.”
Birmingham Legion began the game by far the brighter side. They would have gone ahead in the 8th minute if not for brilliant goalkeeping by TBR’s Dante Campisi. Danny Trejo went through on goal, but the shotstopper denied him on two successive attempts to keep the game scoreless.
Not even a minute later, Ronaldo Damus raced beyond the backline for a golden opportunity of his own. Unfortunately for the Haitian striker, his final touch let him down and his shot sailed harmlessly wide of the post.
Four minutes later, Damus had a chance at redemption. With another opportunity at a 1-on-1, this one was saved by Campisi.
It looked like the opening goal was only a matter of time for the Legion, but a controversial decision switched the tide midway through the half. Clever link up play on the edge of the box saw Leo Fernandes rush at goal, only for Enzo Martínez to tackle the Tampa man.
While the tackle was undoubtedly late, its location was more contentious. The referee pointed to the spot even as Martínez and Phanuel Kavita protested that the contact had come outside the area.
With no VAR to check, the decision stood. Fernandes stepped up and fired the home side ahead.
TBR nearly made it a quickfire double in the 29th, but Matt van Oekel came up with a big save on a Manuel Arteaga volley.
With the lead, the home side started to better manage the game and remained ahead going into the half. In the second, it became the turn of Legion’s veteran goalkeeper to come up big and keep his side in the contest.
In the 63rd minute, the 38-year-old got down quickly to block another Arteaga attempt, this one from just inside the area. Three minutes later, he came up with a massive one-on-one save.
TBR played the ball from one side of the field to the other, finding Ollie Bassett open on the left side of the box. It looked a certain goal, but van Oekel made himself big to deny the hosts their second of the night.
Four minutes later, Mark Briggs made his first changes as Birmingham Legion’s new head coach. The Englishman withdrew three players in a clear sign of intent.
The result was immediate.
Not even a full minute after the triple-change, Birmingham got the equalizer.
Martínez, at fault for the first-half penalty, smashed home a loose ball after Tyler Pasher wiggled himself into the box from the right side. And with the momentum in their sails, the Three Sparks made it 2-1 just six minutes later.
Jake Rufe pushed up from the back before finding Preston Tabort Etaka, one of Briggs’s three substitutes. The Cameroonian sent a low ball across the face of goal, and Trejo got there first to poke home.
It was the Mexican forward’s second goal in as many matches, and he made sure to give credit were it was due. Trejo ran to the Legion bench to embrace Briggs, who would have been delighted to see his players pull off a move they had been drilling into the team just a few days earlier in practice.
Now ahead, Briggs looked to shut down the game with two defensive-minded subs. Roman Torres came on for Pasher in the 79th minute, before Stephen Turnbull replaced Trejo in the 89th. With the latter sub, Briggs shifted his formation to a 5-4-1, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the late equalizer.
In the 93rd minute, TBR’s Pacifique Niyongabire raced into the box down the right side. The Tampa winger dummied three defenders before firing in a shot. Despite getting a touch on it, van Oekel could only watch as it rebounded off the post and into the net for the 2-2.
It was clever feet by Niyongabire, but several Legion players will feel they could have done a lot better on the play.
With no more real chances for either side, the game ended with honors even.
The nature of the penalty and lateness of the equalizer will leave a sour taste in many Birmingham mouths, but there is plenty of positives the Three Sparks will be able to take from their first game under their new head coach. With 11-days until their next outing, Briggs’ home debut, the Englishman will look to build on those positives as he looks to turn the club’s early season fortunes around.
Birmingham Legion are back in action at 7 p.m. May 14 at Protective Stadium to take on Rhode Island FC.
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Featured photo courtesy of Birmingham Legion FC
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