Weekend Results

Jagermeister starts; Huntsville wins big

Image credit: USL

The U14 boys and girls Legion teams participated in the USLA Pathway Classic. The boys didn't make it out of group play, but the girls team dominated their group, with a +20 goal differential. They wrapped up the tournament with a 5-0 win over Btooke House FC to bring home the tournament championship.

Birmingham Legion FC

Jagermeister Cup action kicked off this weekend, and produced some entertaining matches and upsets. Legion came into the weekend determined not to be upset by Chattanooga Red Wolves. There was a lot of uncertainty surrounding the Birmingham roster, as far as who would be starting. Ideally, some players would get some rest, but Chattanooga is always a tough team that can't be taken lightly. Matt Van Oekel made way for Fernando Delgado to start, with Spangenberg on the bench for backup. Phanuel Kavita was back from injury for the first time since the first game; he got the start and played the first half.

I wasn't able to get to the game in person, and I clearly wasn't the only one. The crowd looked very, very thin again. Chattanooga is a big, physical team, and Birmingham went with a lineup that was full of speed, particularly in midfield. The result was a very fluid Birmingham attack that stretched the field and ran at the Red Wolves in waves. Birmingham dominated the match, and finally showed some flashes of what was expected for the season. Trejo got the first goal of the match following a scramble in front of goal after a corner kick. Birmingham had other chances, but went into the half ahead 1-0.

As expected, the game was chippy and full of fouls. In the 67th minute, a Red Wolves player was hit with a straight red card after coming in with both feet studs up. Just a few minutes later, Preston Tabort-Etaka added another goal for Legion, and then Damus got the third just a few minutes after that, assisted by Trejo. The Legion passing looked sharp and fed runs on several occasions; they could have easily had 2-3 more goals. Just as it looked like Birmingham might get a clean sheet, Chattanooga found a goal in stoppage time. Final score was 3-1.

Huntsville City FC

Image credit: Huntsville City

Huntsville City welcome Inter Miami 2 to the Rocket City, ready to continue to build momentum on the season. Nashville (and former Birmingham Legion) midfielder Matthew Corcoran dropped down along with a few other Nashville SC teammates to get some minutes; Matthew started the game and played the full ninety minutes. For the second week in a row, Huntsville thoroughly dominated their opponent. I came into the game feeling like Miami was going to get their share of goals, but Huntsville was having none of that. Huntsville cruises 4-0.

FC Birmingham

FC Birmingham were on the road looking for some kind of momentum against a Georgia Revolution team that hasn't lost a game at home. FCB only had two players on the bench, which forced their hand on their strategy for the match. Through sixty minutes or so, Birmingham parked the bus, taking the ball away from the Revs and sending it downfield every chance they got. At times that looked like a half-hearted counterattack, but they were primarily aiming to frustrate the Revolution attack while largely conserving energy. For the most part, they were successful. The Revs took a 1-0 lead into halftime, but it was a huge effort to get that goal. FCB made their push for the final thirty minutes of the game, but couldn't find an equalizer. The strategy made for an ugly match to watch, and FCB lost 0-1.

FCB2 has been getting a little stronger each week, and were faced with playing Columbus Knight Eagles, who have been on top of the table for the Georgia South in Divsion 1. Despite both teams being at opposite ends of the table, this match ended up as a hard-fought 3-3 draw.

UMA FC

UMA has been on a slide after winning their first two games, and traveled to face Dalton United on Saturday. They played Dalton tough, but came up short, losing 2-3.

UMA2 has yet to win a game, and this week's task was to travel to Georgia Revolution 2 to try for thier first win. The Revs are at the top of the table, while UMA is at the bottom. But signs were there that this would at least be a close game, and it was. Despite a good effort, UMA2 came up short losing 4-5.

The Adjacency

Fountain City were on the road looking for their first win of the season against Albion Atlanta. Albion was all over Fountain City from the beginning of the match, before drawing a penalty kick at 22 minutes. The Fountain keeper made a great save, but was ruled to have left his line early, giving Albion another chance. The second shot fooled the keeper, but hit the post. Albion led at halftime 1-0, and looked like they were gearing up to run Fountain City off the field in the second half.

Fountain City started the second half pressing a little more, and the play was much more even. In the 65th minute, the ball came to Tristan Shytle and he fired off a stunning shot from over thirty yards away that went into the back of the net over the Albion keeper's head. Fountain kept up the pressure and there were stretches of chaotic play up and down the field. Forward William Selby took a quick pass broke loose, firing the ball past the Albion keeper from the top of the box. The lead would hold, giving them a 2-1 win.

FC Columbus Elite traveled to face Soccer Saves Lives on Sunday. In a tough division, both of these teams are near the bottom of the table, but have shown some flashes. Colgaelite was looking for their third win in a row, but they left town without any points. SSL won 3-2, their first win of the season.

Columbus Knight Eagles are recapped above, against FC Birmingham 2.

David Magala of Kalonji Pro-Profile

Image credit: Kalonji Pro-Profile

The UPSL streams that I saw this week reported on the tragic loss of David Magala. Magala was a 25 year-old goalkeeper for Kalonji Pro-Profile who was killed in a car accident last week. Added to the tragedy is that David's younger brother died back in September. My thoughts and prayers go out to the Magala family and the KPP organization.