BIRMINGHAM, AL (May 26, 2021) – Birmingham Legion FC defeated Central Division foe OKC Energy FC 1-0 on a rainy Wednesday night at BBVA Field. The home side earned the win in the first-ever matchup between these two clubs thanks to a Bruno Lapa goal in the 49th minute.
Legion FC came out on the front foot, and in a new 3-5-2 formation, as left wingback Ryan James forced a save from OKC’s goalkeeper inside the first three minutes of the contest. The good guys held an edge in possession in the first half and ripped off five shots, but at the halftime whistle it was all tied up.
The home team started the second half with the same intensity and found the back of the net quickly courtesy of BHM’s #8, Lapa. Right wingback Jonny Dean latched on to a through ball and got in behind the Energy FC backline and then cut the ball back to the top of the box where an onrushing Lapa smartly tucked it in to the side-netting. That was the first goal of the season for Legion’s 2020 Team MVP and USL Championship All-League First Teamer.
The Legion FC backline also played well on the evening, pitching its second-consecutive home shutout, led by captain Phanuel Kavita and goalkeeper Matt VanOekel. Newcomer Freddy Kleemann, making his first start for the Black and Gold while on loan from MLS’s Austin FC, looked comfortable in the middle of the back three and always seemed to be in the right spot to win an aerial duel, as he led the team in clearances with eight.
Assistant Coach Khano Smith was pleased with the team’s effort after playing on short rest, and Lapa thinks it is just the beginning for the Legion attack.
“You know, games after the one on Saturday [at San Antonio FC] aren’t going to be pretty all of the time, but I give the guys credit for digging deep,” said Smith. “As a coach you always prefer games where the opponent doesn’t score, so you always give yourself a chance at winning the game. I’m really happy that we kept a clean sheet. Could we have done a better job attacking-wise? Absolutely. We could’ve created more chances, but I thought that defensively, without the ball, we limited them to not too many dangerous opportunities.”
“I think it’s just about trusting each other [in the attack],” said Lapa. “Slowly building this trust and slowly creating more and more quality chances, and I think for us we’re still lacking that little final ball, the final touch, the final quality for us to continue to score even more goals in games. We all know it’s coming; we know that whenever we start clicking, we can be very special up top. We’re not in a hurry, we’re not feeling any pressure in terms of how things are going and we’re just trusting what the staff has given us to do. So, for us we know it’s a process and we trust in it and it’s going to come. Eventually I think we can be one of the best offenses in the country.”
Box Score:
|
|
1st Half |
2nd Half |
|
BHM |
0 |
1 |
|
OKC |
0 |
0 |
Goals:
BHM – 49’ – #8 Bruno Lapa (assisted by #24 Jonny Dean)
Starting Lineups:
BHM – 3-5-2 – #1 Matt VanOekel; #22 Ben Ofeimu, #4 Freddy Kleemann, #3 Phanuel Kavita ©; #24 Jonny Dean, #6 Anderson Asiedu, #8 Bruno Lapa (82’ – #12 Eli Crognale), #16 Daigo Kobayashi (67’ – #20 Zach Herivaux), #7 Ryan James; #23 JJ Williams; #11 Neco Brett (75’ – #17 Jaden Servania)
OKC – 4-2-3-1 – #1 CJ Cochran; #3 Robert Coronado, #4 Mitchell Osmand, #20 Conor Donovan, #5 Sam Rogers (67’ – #22 Zachary Ellis-Hayden); #8 Hiroki Kurimoto, #13 Aidan Daniels; #17 Jonathan Brown (82’ – #24 Kodai Iida), #10 Arun Basuljevic, (64’ – #14 Charlie Ward) #18 Tucker Stephenson; #11 Frank Lopez (67’ – #9 Jaime Chavez)
Legion FC hits the road this weekend to take on Atlanta United 2 on Sunday afternoon at 2:30PM Central. Fans can tune in to watch the match on My68 or on ESPN+.
The squad returns home to BBVA Field a week following, on Sunday, June 6, at 4:00PM for a clash with another new Central Division opponent, FC Tulsa. Tickets are available HERE or by contacting the Legion FC Ticket Office at 205-600-4635 or tickets@https://sportsengine-staging.go-vip.net/bhmlegion.
For all club news and updates, be sure to follow @bhmlegion on social media and keep an eye on https://sportsengine-staging.go-vip.net/bhmlegion and the Legion FC app. Download the Legion FC app today on Apple or Android, and save the full 2021 schedule straight to your calendar HERE.
BIRMINGHAM, AL (May 26, 2021) – Birmingham Legion FC defeated Central Division foe OKC Energy FC 1-0 on a rainy Wednesday night at BBVA Field. The home side earned the win in the first-ever matchup between these two clubs thanks to a Bruno Lapa goal in the 49th minute.
Legion FC came out on the front foot, and in a new 3-5-2 formation, as left wingback Ryan James forced a save from OKC’s goalkeeper inside the first three minutes of the contest. The good guys held an edge in possession in the first half and ripped off five shots, but at the halftime whistle it was all tied up.
The home team started the second half with the same intensity and found the back of the net quickly courtesy of BHM’s #8, Lapa. Right wingback Jonny Dean latched on to a through ball and got in behind the Energy FC backline and then cut the ball back to the top of the box where an onrushing Lapa smartly tucked it in to the side-netting. That was the first goal of the season for Legion’s 2020 Team MVP and USL Championship All-League First Teamer.
The Legion FC backline also played well on the evening, pitching its second-consecutive home shutout, led by captain Phanuel Kavita and goalkeeper Matt VanOekel. Newcomer Freddy Kleemann, making his first start for the Black and Gold while on loan from MLS’s Austin FC, looked comfortable in the middle of the back three and always seemed to be in the right spot to win an aerial duel, as he led the team in clearances with eight.
Assistant Coach Khano Smith was pleased with the team’s effort after playing on short rest, and Lapa thinks it is just the beginning for the Legion attack.
“You know, games after the one on Saturday [at San Antonio FC] aren’t going to be pretty all of the time, but I give the guys credit for digging deep,” said Smith. “As a coach you always prefer games where the opponent doesn’t score, so you always give yourself a chance at winning the game. I’m really happy that we kept a clean sheet. Could we have done a better job attacking-wise? Absolutely. We could’ve created more chances, but I thought that defensively, without the ball, we limited them to not too many dangerous opportunities.”
“I think it’s just about trusting each other [in the attack],” said Lapa. “Slowly building this trust and slowly creating more and more quality chances, and I think for us we’re still lacking that little final ball, the final touch, the final quality for us to continue to score even more goals in games. We all know it’s coming; we know that whenever we start clicking, we can be very special up top. We’re not in a hurry, we’re not feeling any pressure in terms of how things are going and we’re just trusting what the staff has given us to do. So, for us we know it’s a process and we trust in it and it’s going to come. Eventually I think we can be one of the best offenses in the country.”
Box Score:
|
|
1st Half |
2nd Half |
|
BHM |
0 |
1 |
|
OKC |
0 |
0 |
Goals:
BHM – 49’ – #8 Bruno Lapa (assisted by #24 Jonny Dean)
Starting Lineups:
BHM – 3-5-2 – #1 Matt VanOekel; #22 Ben Ofeimu, #4 Freddy Kleemann, #3 Phanuel Kavita ©; #24 Jonny Dean, #6 Anderson Asiedu, #8 Bruno Lapa (82’ – #12 Eli Crognale), #16 Daigo Kobayashi (67’ – #20 Zach Herivaux), #7 Ryan James; #23 JJ Williams; #11 Neco Brett (75’ – #17 Jaden Servania)
OKC – 4-2-3-1 – #1 CJ Cochran; #3 Robert Coronado, #4 Mitchell Osmand, #20 Conor Donovan, #5 Sam Rogers (67’ – #22 Zachary Ellis-Hayden); #8 Hiroki Kurimoto, #13 Aidan Daniels; #17 Jonathan Brown (82’ – #24 Kodai Iida), #10 Arun Basuljevic, (64’ – #14 Charlie Ward) #18 Tucker Stephenson; #11 Frank Lopez (67’ – #9 Jaime Chavez)
Legion FC hits the road this weekend to take on Atlanta United 2 on Sunday afternoon at 2:30PM Central. Fans can tune in to watch the match on My68 or on ESPN+.
The squad returns home to BBVA Field a week following, on Sunday, June 6, at 4:00PM for a clash with another new Central Division opponent, FC Tulsa. Tickets are available HERE or by contacting the Legion FC Ticket Office at 205-600-4635 or tickets@https://sportsengine-staging.go-vip.net/bhmlegion.
For all club news and updates, be sure to follow @bhmlegion on social media and keep an eye on https://sportsengine-staging.go-vip.net/bhmlegion and the Legion FC app. Download the Legion FC app today on Apple or Android, and save the full 2021 schedule straight to your calendar HERE.
