In a cruel twist of fate, Birmingham Legion’s best performance of the season handed them their first dropped points in the USL Jägermeister Cup.
Despite a relentless opening half-hour that saw over a half-dozen chances for the Three Sparks, it was Indy Eleven who got the opening goal. But after reeling from the sucker-punch for a couple of minutes, the visitors got back on top.
It took until the third minute of second-half stoppage time for Preston Tabort Etaka to equalize and send the game to penalties. But the Black and Gold should have been well clear of their hosts ages before.
“Really proud of our guys,” Mark Briggs said. “That’s the football we want to play. I think we had 21 shots on goal, six big chances. That game should have been four, five to one. It wasn’t even close.
“So really proud of how the guys performed,” he added. “Really proud that the things that we asked of them, they did. We just have to really focus in on the finishing element. Because that game, they shouldn’t be on the same field.”
After conceding in the 4th minute of the previous fixture between the two teams earlier this month, there was a clear determination to get on the front foot this time.
Birmingham came out all guns blazing with Sebastian Tregarthen pushing incredibly high as a right wingback and Enzo Martínez joining the attacks from central midfield as a #10. It worked, with the first 15 minutes seeing a barrage of Legion attacks on the Indy Eleven goal.
With Tregarthen occupying the right flank, Tyler Pasher had more freedom to roam inside and pull players out of position. This led to numerous gaps to exploit down that right side, the first of which the Canadian seized upon himself just seven minutes into the game.
“We slightly adjusted how we played,” Briggs explained. “We still had a back-three, but we only had Edwin as a lone player in front. Then we had Sebastian and Moses as our wingbacks, but we had Danny Trejo, Enzo and Tyler basically playing as three number 10s underneath Ronaldo.
“And I thought their movement, their quality in possession of the ball was very good,” he added. “It’s just the finishing. We got to score goals.”
Pasher, a former Indy Eleven player, beat the offside trap to race through on goal. His attempted cutback was cleared for a corner.
Two minutes later, it was Tregarthen’s turn to spring down that side. His cross was smashed onto the crossbar by Danny Trejo.
Pasher then had a one-on-one saved in the 11th minute from a clever Martínez pass, before Damus was just too slow to get a shot off after pouncing on a weak header back.
Damus almost turned provider when he headed a Tregarthen cross down for Trejo in the six-yard box. However, the Mexican was thwarted by Indy Eleven goalkeeper Hunter Sulte.
“It’s focus,” Briggs said. “These are the details. In training, when we do our pattern work, when we do our stuff to goal, the focus, the concentration isn’t there. It translates here.
“That’s what I just said in the locker room,” he added. “I’m so proud of how they performed. The quality they showed, the intensity, the amount of opportunities we created. But you got to win football matches. And if you don’t score goals, you don’t win football matches.”
Fernando Delgado, reprising his role as Legion’s cup goalkeeper, made his first save in the 21st minute. A Jake Rufe mistake allowed an Indy player through on goal, but the young goalkeeper saved well.
It was the first sign of the danger the hosts could pose on the counter-attack. With so many bodies committed forward, Birmingham left space in behind for Indy Eleven to exploit.
In the 28th minute, it proved costly.
Ramiz Hamouda, back in the lineup following a concussion-enforced absence, was beaten for pace on a counter but recovered well to force a corner. While the defense cleared the original cross, a second one from the opposite flank saw Josh O’Brien head it home at the back post.
With the goal completely against the run of play, Legion looked shaky in its immediate aftermath.
Delgado came up with a massive one-on-one save to maintain the single-goal deficit on the half-hour mark. A water break immediately afterwards allowed Briggs to refocus his men.
Tregarthen had one more half-chance in the 37th minute but an Indy defender caught up to him after he had raced through. Four minutes later, Pasher sent a shot wide after dribbling through a number of Indy bodies. Martínez was completely unmarked in the box, but unfortunately the Canadian failed to see him.
Indy Eleven reminded Legion they still posed a threat by hitting the crossbar in the 43rd and missing an open net in the 44th, but the lead still flattered them. With the score 1-0 at the break, it was hard to understand how Birmingham had yet to score.
“It’s so frustrating because the goals in this tournament are critical,” Briggs said. “We created a lot of opportunities. There’s only so much you can do as a coach. You can get them there, but I can’t kick it in myself. I’m really proud of them though; the effort they gave me, the quality they showed.”
The second half started as the first. Within two minutes, the Three Sparks won a free-kick followed by consecutive corners, but could not convert.
Trejo missed another golden opportunity in the 50th after a great run by Damus down the left. Tregarthen then had a one-on-one in the 75th, but the young Uruguayan was falling while taking his shot and put it wide.
Damus immediately followed it up with a one-on-one of his own, but placed it just wide of the post himself.
Sam McIllhaton, a second half sub, found himself unmarked in the box in the 86th minute, but his header was too weak to beat Sulte.
“It’s frustration, but as a coach I also understand [scoring]’s the last thing that comes,” Briggs said. “I saw tonight, for the second time — Tampa I thought was a complete performance, but it was my first game — tonight was a complete performance.
“For 90 minutes, we were very good,” he added. “For 90 minutes, we played the football that I want us to play. And they looked like they enjoyed it. They looked like they had fun. And that’s what it’s about.
“So the final part of that process now is putting the ball in the back of the net. Having a little more, the ruthless edge. We’re very nice, great guys, great people, but we’ve got to be ruthless when we cross that line.”
Ironically, it was a low-probability goal that got Legion back in it.
Stephen Turnbull won a free-kick down the left side, and Tabort Etaka went over to send it in. His in-swinger ended up beating everyone and nestling in the bottom of the goal.
The goal, valued at just 0.03 xG, was the final chance of the game. The contest finished with a 2.54 – 0.88 expected goals advantage to the Three Sparks.
Jägermeister Cup rules state any game tied after 90 minutes goes to penalties. And so the game was decided from 12 yards.
“We did penalties yesterday, we did penalties Thursday,” Briggs said. “It’s a part of the competition. You got to prepare them, try to put them in the scenario that they’re going to face, though it’s never the same.”
Birmingham had to take the penalties in front of the Indy Eleven supporter’s group, but that did not phase Delgado. The 18-year-old saved the very first spot kick to give the Three Sparks the perfect start to the shootout.
Players from both teams successfully converted the next eight penalties, leaving it to Ronaldo Damus to settle the game with Legion’s fifth. Sulte saved his attempt, however, sending the shootout to sudden death.
“It’s a detail,” Briggs said. “It’s like the game. We were unbelievable, but we didn’t take our chances. Fernando makes a save, it’s this [pointing at head to indicate mindset]. That’s what we have to get to. That’s what we have to grow to. Everything’s about this.”
Five more players scored a penalty before Erik Centeno finally missed, handing Indy a 7-6 shootout win.
Jägermeister Cup rules state that a draw hands both teams one point, with an extra point given to the winner of the shootout. With both teams coming into today’s clash with perfect records, Legion now trail Indy Eleven by one point in USL Jägermeister Cup Group 3.
Head-to-head is the first tiebreaker, meaning Birmingham need to get two more points than Indy on the final day to top the group. That can only happen if Indy Eleven loses, whether in regular time or on penalties, to FC Tulsa, and the Three Sparks defeat Forward Madison.
Both games take place July 26, with both Birmingham and Indy Eleven at home.
Only the top team in each group advances, with two additional teams doing so as wildcards. If Legion do not finish first, they still stand a good chance of getting a wildcard spot as long as they beat Madison by multiple goals.
Before fans, players and coaches start doing the math, however, Legion will need to quickly refocus on USL Championship play. The Three Sparks host Charleston Battery Wednesday, the team currently second in the league with a game in hand on Louisville City.
“We lost on penalties, I’m disappointed,” Briggs said. “But I’m not at all disappointed. I’m very happy. The way that the guy’s performed tonight, I haven’t seen a Birmingham Legion team do that.
“The way we moved the ball, the opportunities we created, getting people in the box, numbers in the box. We didn’t take the chances, I understand that, but that’s the final detail. I’m so proud of how they performed.
“And look, Charleston, one of the best teams in the league,” he continued. “They’ll come to our place on Wednesday and we’ll get the guys prepared, we’ll get the guys ready and see how that goes.”
Birmingham Legion host Charleston Battery at 7 p.m. July 2 at Protective Stadium.
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