Birmingham Legion are nothing if not predictable.
On Wednesday, the Three Sparks played a six-pointer in the playoff race against the Tampa Bay Rowdies. A promising first half saw them go in 1-0 up at the break. But around the hour mark, things fell apart as an equalizing goal was followed four minutes later by a Tampa go-ahead. Legion never looked likely to get back in it, and the Rowdies went on to win.
Today, the Three Sparks played a playoff race six-pointer at Indy Eleven. A promising first half saw them go in 1-0 up at the break. But by the hour mark, things had fallen apart. Indy equalized in the 55th minute, and five minutes later the hosts were ahead. Legion never looked likely to get back in it, and the Eleven went on to win.
“We stopped doing the things that put us in front and that’s why we lost again,” Mark Briggs said. “Why that keeps happening, that’s for me to figure out, but this can’t keep happening.”
Things started well for the Legion when new-signing Peter-Lee Vassell took a beautiful free-kick wide and nestled it into the top corner just 12 minutes into the contest. The Jamaican became the 50th different goalscorer in Legion history, and only the second to score from a direct free-kick.
It was just rewards not only for a team that showed the right intent in those early exchanges, but also for a player who’s put in the work to get back to where he is.
But though Legion had a few half-opportunities to build on their lead, the Three Sparks were unable to get that second goal for security. Indy came closest in the first half’s dying minutes with a header just wide of Fernando Delgado’s post.
Then, as the second half started, there was a clear momentum shift.
It took Indy Eleven just 10 minutes to level the scores, carving through the middle of the Legion backline with a clever one-two.
Birmingham have been particularly vulnerable when they’ve just conceded, and it proved the case once again just five minutes after the leveler. A wide free-kick was sent into the box, flicked on at the front post and fell to a wide-open Benjamin Ofeimu at the back. The former Legion man wheeled away in celebration, while the current Birmingham players looked crestfallen.
Briggs made a triple change 12 minutes later to try and get back into the game. Tyler Pasher made his long-awaited return from injury against his former club, but not even the Canadian’s presence could ignite any meaningful offensive spark.
Indy Eleven had a penalty shout waved away in the last 10 minutes. Based on Jake Rufe’s body language, it looked like he accepted that he had fouled the player, but the referee thought better of it to give the Black and Gold one last chance.
They did nothing with it, falling to a damaging 2-1 loss and even further off the pace in the hunt for the postseason. It’s the fourth time in the last five matches that Birmingham have dropped points from a winning position, and the Three Sparks lead the USL Championship in that particular stat across the season.
“We just have got to keep going,” Briggs said. “That’s too many points that we’ve thrown away from winning positions”
Legion, 11th in the Eastern Conference, now sit eight points off Rhode Island in eighth. While not mathematically eliminated, it will take a stunning turnaround to save the season. What did get mathematically confirmed following this result, however, is that Birmingham will end the year with its lowest-ever points tally, not including the shortened COVID-19 season in 2020.
The Three Sparks face another road test next week, traveling to San Antonio at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
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