For a long time, it looked like it would be another frustrating night for Birmingham Legion in Tulsa.
The hosts had gone ahead on a controversial penalty deep into first-half stoppage time, and though the Three Sparks responded well to the setback, they could not muster any real chances.
Then, in the 87th minute, up stepped Jake Rufe.
In his first start in over a month, the Alabama-native showed great strength to win the second ball off a Preston Tabort Etaka free-kick. His header nestled into the side netting to tie the game up late on and give the Three Sparks what could prove to be an invaluable point.
Though Birmingham are still chasing their first league win since July 11, the draw was a better result than all of their direct playoff rivals. Every Eastern Conference team in 8th or lower other than Legion lost their game, meaning the Three Sparks gained one point over their competition, moving back up to 10th place in the process.
In a fairly even opening half, Tulsa created the first big opportunity.
Racing down the right, the hosts put in a perfect cross that somehow failed to go in just eight minutes into the game. A couple of minutes later, another cross from the same side was repelled at the front post by Tiago Suárez.
In the same time, Legion struggled to get any attacking momentum going, in part due to constant fouling by their opponents. By the half-hour mark, Tulsa had committed 10 fouls, including an elbow to Ronaldo Damus’ face that went uncalled, yet had received no cards.
Samuel Shashoua picked up an apparent ankle injury from one of those fouls. The Englishman originally soldiered on after suffering the injury in the 11th minute, but had to be withdrawn in the 24th. New signing Peter-Lee Vassell came on in his place for a premature debut.
Legion’s first real chance came shortly after the sub as Damus brought a long ball down in the box, but his shot was blocked for a corner. Three minutes later, the Haitian had a header on goal, but Tulsa’s goalkeeper did well to not just save it, but hold onto the ball as well.
Despite six minutes of first-half stoppage time, the game seemed headed for a 0-0 halftime score until one final chance down the Tulsa right flank. A cross hit Jackson Travis’ hand, and despite not initially signalling for it, the referee eventually pointed to the spot.
Legion players complained that he had used the stadium’s big screen as a “VAR,” but it made no difference to Tulsa’s Taylor Calheira. The forward converted the penalty with a shot to the bottom left corner despite Matt van Oekel guessing the right way.
Rather than be deflated, Birmingham seemed to respond well to the setback and came out dominant in the second half. But despite holding the ball in the Tulsa half for lengthy spells, chances were few and far between.
The Legion attacks weren’t helped by one of Tulsa’s defensive flanks now being occupied by the baseball diamond Tulsa share their stadium with, which clearly impacted the roll and trajectory of the ball on numerous occasions.
It wasn’t until the dying moments that Legion finally made their dominance count.
Tabort Etaka replaced Enzo Martínez in the 72nd minute, and the Cameroonian immediately made himself a menace. He had one run through the defense that he just lost control of at the wrong moment, and a second that bounced off the infield and onto Sebastian Tregarthen’s hand when pulled back for the Uruguayan.
The substitute deserved a reward for his efforts, and it came when he took a free-kick from deep in the 87th minute. Dawson McCartney won the first header to loop it up inside the box, and Rufe outmuscled Tulsa’s Owen Damm before heading home the equalizer.
It was only the third goal of Rufe’s career, and undoubtedly the most important to date.
Even after equalizing late on, Birmingham pushed for the winner.
They should have gotten it with the last kick of the game when Damus found Vassell with a perfect diagonal into the box. But the Legion debutant could not get the required connection and sent the ball wide of the goal instead.
By the time Legion play next, it will have been over two months since their last USL Championship win. But with just four points separating them from 8th-placed Indy Eleven, who they play later this month, everything is still possible.
It all starts September 17, when Birmingham Legion host the Tampa Bay Rowdies at 11:30 a.m. at Protective Stadium.
Follow Timothy Belin on Twitter/X, Instagram, Facebook or Bluesky for more Legion coverage.
Leave a Reply