Weekend Results
A tough pill for Legion; Union 10 and Dothan United playoffs
Birmingham Legion FC
It's getting to that part of the season where it's time for some heavy scoreboard watching. Birmingham came into the week sitting in eighth place in a crowded Eastern table, and on a four-game unbeaten streak. Their opponent was Colorado Springs, who were dead last in the West. As results started coming in from other games, almost everything was going Birmingham's way: Detroit and Pittsburgh played to a 0-0 draw, North Carolina beat Indy Eleven, Rhode Island and Hartford played to a 0-0 draw, and Charleston beat Miami. Every single result set Birmingham up for a move forward in the table. But they choked and sqaundered the opportunity.
The first blow of the night came when Danny Trejo wasn't available due to a muscle pull/strain. Curiously, newcomer Samuel Shashoua (announced just a few hours before the match) got the start in Trejo's spot. Shashoua played well, but wasn't a huge spark. The first half saw a couple of chances by both sides that didn't pay out, the best one being for Colorado Springs that was saved by Jake Rufe crashing into the post after clearing the ball just before it could get in.
The second blow of the night came just after the start of the second half. Left back/winger Moses Mensah made a routine clearance down the sideline that saw him grab his leg or hip on the follow through, and then collapse to the ground in pain. The physio came on right away and a sub was called for quickly. Whatever it is, Moses was able to leave the field under his own power, and then make the long walk all the way around the field to the bench. Tregarthen was brought in, and Turnbull flipped to the other side as part of the change. The forced change didn't help a chemistry that was already off due to Shashoua. Colorado Springs made one sub at halftime, and then burned through three windows and four more players between the 62nd and 72nd minutes (Birmingham made one more sub during that time as well). Notably, Juan Tejada was among that group and almost got a goal immediately. The fresh legs made a difference, and the Switchbacks scored in the 83rd minute, as Birmingham was looking to sub on two more players. When the goal went in, you could feel the air get taken out of Legion's sails, and the rest of the game felt like an exercise in desperation. Colorado Springs held on the get the 1-0 win, and Birmingham missed a huge opportunity to capitalize on favorable results around them in the division.
Huntsville City FC
Huntsville was at home against Columbus Crew 2 on Friday, a game the Boys in Blue were expected to win. Huntsville completely overwhelmed the Crew, firing off 21 shots (9 on target), and had 57% possession. Despite the domination, the halftime score was 0-0. Early in the second half HCFC took the lead from a Koffi goal through traffic. Huntsville got a second goal in the 81st minute from a long-range strike after a corner kick clearance. Columbus would pull one back just a few minutes later, but that ended the scoring. Huntsville wins 2-1.
Dothan United
Dothan United rode the wave of playoff excitement into Sunday night's game against LA Krewe, who were fresh off of their own big upset win over Asheville City SC on Friday. There was another big crowd on hand to cheer on the Dragons. The game was as competitive as expected, and the score going into halftime was 0-0. The Dragons came of the break and made a push, and got a goal in the 67th minute. They held on and added an insurance goal deep into stoppage time to come away with a 2-0 victory. GK Yago Darub came up with some big saves, and was named man of the match.
Next up, the Dragons will travel to a playoff pod in Vermont against Ft Lauderdale United Friday, July 25 at 3:00 Central time. That game will decide the Southern Conference championship. The rest of the pod includes Vermont Green and Lionsbridge FC, who will face off for the Eastern Conference title.
Union 10
Image credit: GCPL
Union 10 hosted Dallas FC U23 for a Sunday evening playoff game in The League for Clubs action. I had a tough time keeping up with the stream due to several factors, notably the way commercials were handled (they weren't on an overlay, and basically the action was just gone until you could skip it). Additionally, they didn't have announcers, nor a corner graphic for the score. All of that being said, Union's defense showed why they got to this point, shutting down a potent Dallas attack, and regular time ended with the score at 0-0. Overtime started, and very soon after one of those commercials kicked in. The timing was awful, and the game came back to show Dallas celebrating a goal. That lone goal would hold up, and Dallas goes through to the national semifinals, ending Union's run.