Week Ahead Preview
Sat May 10 thru Fri May 16
Image credit: Birmingham Legion. Reports say energy and enthusiasm are high at practices
Birmingham Legion FC
Mark Briggs will get his first game in front of the home crowd this week when Legion faces Rhode Island Wed May 14 at 7:00. Rhode Island has had a slow start to their season, and will bring some familiar faces to town looking for three points. JJ Williams, Zach Heriveaux, and Coach Khano Smith all spent time with the Legion, and would love to spoil Briggs’ home debut. One advantage that Birmingham will have is rest. The Legion will come into the game on eleven days rest, while Rhode Island will have played twice. Expect the Legion to start fast and press the issue, looking to get ahead early.
Huntsville City FC
This weekend HCFC travels to face Carolina Core Saturday May 10 at 6:00. These teams are 1-1-1 against each other all time (all last season), and they are currently at opposite ends of the table. The Core have conceded twice as many goals this season (14) as Huntsville (7). Look for Huntsville to leave with all three points, after a close match.
USL2
Image credit: Montgomery United
The smack talk is in full swing as Dothan travels to face Montgomery United for the first time. This is a made-to-order rivalry, and an early test for these two teams fighting their way through the Group of Death. Dothan needs to be careful not to be overconfident after a dominant performance in last week's friendly against AFC Mobile (9-0). The game is on Saturday May 10 at 7:00. Do yourself a favor and watch this game.
FC Birmingham
FCB finds themselves in turmoil as they host Limeno Saturday May 10 at 5:00. The FCB owner posted an open letter this week lamenting the lack of commitment from players, and several players have effectively left the squad. They'll be bringing players up from the reserve team to fill gaps, which will make for tough sledding against one of the top teams in the division.
UMA2 will come to Bham this week to play FCB2 Saturday May 10 at 2:30. Look for UMA to take full advantage of FCB2 players being pulled up to the first team, leaving a thin bench.
UMA FC
UMA will be away Sunday May11 at 4:00 to face Soccer Saves Lives. UMA needs to find a way to get back on track. They started the season with two wins, but haven't gotten a win since then. SSL has only won one game themselves, but they do score a lot of goals. This one could go either way.
UMA2 will be on the road to face FCB2.
The Adjacency
Image credit: Fountain City
Fountain City welcomes in Georgia Revolution Saturday May 10 at 2:00. The Revs have the better record, but the scores in their games have been close. Fountain City will be highly motivated to get points to move up the table away from possible relegation, and I look for them to find a way to win at home.
FC Columbus Elite will be at home against Albion Atlanta SC on Saturday May 10 at 6:00. Elite's social media have been talking up the point that they've made the climb up the table into playoff contention. Albion is sitting below that mark, and will be looking to jump over Elite. This should end up being a very energetic match.
Columbus Knight Eagles have fallen down the table to fourth place. They'll be on the road this weekend to face Albion Atlanta SC U23 Saturday May 10 at 6:00. As is typical with a reserve side, this Albion squad has been up and down, with a couple of big losses. The Eagles need to right the ship and take all three points.