After struggling to finish their chances in recent games, it originally looked like more of the same for Birmingham Legion against North Carolina FC.
The Three Sparks conceded the opening goal merely two minutes after missing one of the easiest chances they will get all season. A few more missed opportunities either side of the goal would have had fans recalling Mark Briggs’s recent comments about ruthlessness.
But just as the game seemed headed for a 1-0 NCFC halftime lead, Legion levelled. The second half then saw a welcome hint of that much-needed ruthlessness to pull away for the team’s first win since Sacramento Republic nearly a month ago.
With both teams low-scoring, defensively stout outfits (in recent times, at least, for Birmingham), this game was always expected to be cagey. North Carolina got the better of the opening chances off of set pieces, but neither team had any clear-cut opportunities until past the half-hour mark.
Ronaldo Damus got the best early chance when Danny Trejo put him through in the 22nd minute, but the Haitian failed to get his shot on target. Fifteen minutes later, the same duo should have made it 1-0.
Trejo raced down the left side with a completely free Damus streaking into the box. Trejo’s pass ended up behind his teammate, however, and after attempting to spin and shoot, he was instead forced into a pass back to Enzo Martínez.
The Uruguayan could not get a first-time shot off either, allowing more NCFC players to get back , crowd the box and block his shot once he finally got it off.
Two minutes later, NCFC’s Rafael Mentzingen threaded a perfect pass forward for Pedro Dolabella, who chipped it neatly over Fernando Delgado for the 1-0.
Birmingham nearly got an immediate response through a Martínez high press. The veteran midfielder intercepted a ball high up the pitch with a the tackle, which then fell to Trejo to run with. The forward, leading a 2v1 alongside Damus, chose to go for it himself but his shot was straight at Jake McGuire in the NCFC goal.
Birmingham needed every second of the first half regulation time to level, doing so in the 45th minute.
Damus pressed a backpass to McGuire outside his box, stealing the ball off the goalkeeper’s feet. Tyler Pasher then attempted a shot at the empty net only for it to careen off a NCFC defender. Martínez picked up the pieces and found Damus to slot home.
In just his 21st Birmingham Legion game, the Haitian is already on 10 goals, putting him 10th on the club’s all-time goal scorers list.
Birmingham’s best chances in the first half had mostly come from slick counter-attacks, while NCFC’s came from set-pieces. The two situations combined for Legion’s go-ahead goal in the second.
In the 55th minute, North Carolina earned a corner. Birmingham cleared the cross to Tyler Pasher, who ran half the length of the pitch before threading a perfectly-timed through ball to Trejo. The forward made no mistake for the 2-1.
The Three Sparks then made it a quick-fire double less than 10 minutes later to pull further ahead.
Damus raced down the right channel in the 63rd minute, barely keeping the ball in bounds while battling a NCFC defender. He then turned on a burst of speed to get away from his man before laying off what should have been an easy tap-in for Trejo.
Trejo took an unnecessary touch and looked to have killed the chance, only to regain his composure to slot home his brace.
It was the only two big chances of Legion’s second half, but it would prove the only two they needed. The Three Sparks controlled the rest of the game with solid defending, notably from Jake Rufe at the center of the three-man backline in Phanuel Kavita’s absence.
North Carolina threatened from a few more set pieces which Delgado and his defense dealt with, and it was not until the final minute of the match that the hosts set up a briefly nervy finish. Perhaps thinking the game was won, a few Legion players switched off at the back to allow Evan Conway in for a 90+9 goal.
But with only eight minutes of stoppage time, Birmingham did not have to wait much longer for the final whistle.
The win temporarily moves Birmingham Legion up into the playoff spots at 7th, though the Three Sparks currently have three games more than the two next teams in the standings. It also ends a four-game winless streak ahead of four home games in their next five.
Birmingham Legion are back in action Saturday July 19. They host the Colorado Springs Switchbacks at 7 p.m. at Protective Stadium.
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