WEEKEND UPDATES
Through Sunday Sept 15
Birmingham Legion
Legion came into this game after a strong 2-0 win over Tampa Bay, but had a three game stretch before that where they didn't score a goal. Loudon United came into the game on their own three game scoreless streak. I predicted this would be a low-scoring game, and for the first half it looked like that was the way it was headed, as Birmingham had a 1-0 lead at the half. That goal came off of a shot from one of the Bham center backs, as he caught out the Loudon goalie and sent one in from beyond the half field line. The second half was much different. Both teams played with an intensity that looked more like a playoff game. Loudon scored at the 56 minute mark and opened the flood gates. Legion would score soon after, but Loudon had found the secret sauce. They repeatedly burned Bham with long passes down the middle, and scored three more goals. Legion center backs looked like they were sleep walking at times, and the final score was a painful loss 2-4.
Image credit: MLS NextPro Twitter
Huntsville City FC
Huntsville took the show on the road and took their new attacking style into Atlanta. In the third and final meeting between these two rivals this season, Huntsville exploded for six goals. In almost every stat, this was a close game on paper. But Huntsville scored early and often, and Atlanta United 2 just had no means to stop them, despite scoring three goals of their own. Huntsville wins 6-3.
FC Birmingham
FCB has been a little better at the start of the Fall season about giving information than they were in the Spring. But it's not terribly timely. Without other details, I do know that they went on the road to face UMA FC, and took all three points with a 1-0 win. Fountain City beat UMA 1-0 the week prior, so we may start to get an idea for relative strength of these teans.
The Adjacency
Fountain City went on the road to face Dalton United. Dalton has shown early that they can score a lot of goals, while also playing tough defense. This game waa no exception. Fountain City loses 0-3.
FC Columbus Elite was on the road to take on North Georgia United II. Elite showed that they can build on the form they had at the end of the Spring season. They put together a strong 6-3 win.
In their first UPSL match, the Columbus Knight Eagles hosted FCB 2. Both clubs are lacking on information available, other than the result from the UPSL 1 site. The Eagles win at home 2-1. A good first game for each team.