OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (June 12, 2021) – Birmingham Legion FC won its fourth game in a row on Saturday night, 2-1 over Central Division foes OKC Energy FC. A goal in the third minute from leading scorer Neco Brett put BHM up early, and after the home side tied things up from the penalty spot in the 73rd, Legion forward JJ Williams bagged the game winner ten minutes later to earn all three points for the Black and Gold.
Legion FC Head Coach Tommy Soehn previously stated that starting road matches on the front foot was a focus for his team after giving up early goals in two prior away games, and his message was clearly received tonight, as Brett put away one of the first chances of the game for his league-leading sixth goal of the season in just eight games. Fresh off of a USL Championship Team of the Week nod for his two-goal performance at home versus Tulsa last weekend, the Jamaican kept the ball rolling with his 50th career regular season goal in the USLC off a smartly flicked on header by Williams.
Williams’ second assist of the season was quality, and his first goal of the season was clutch. After OKC were awarded and finished a penalty to tie things up, Legion FC forward Junior Flemmings released fullback Jonny Dean down the right sideline, and the man from Macon, GA beat his mark to the end line and cut back to the onrushing Williams at the top of the six-yard box for a tap in to win it.
“I think JJ is maturing in the fact that he’s keeping the ball more for us,” said Soehn. “He’s always a force in the air, but his ability to get in good spots is getting better because he’s starting to understand the guys he’s playing with.
“Look, though, I’m not going to sugarcoat it – tonight wasn’t a great performance for us. It was a hard game to play on a really small field and we didn’t have enough of the ball, but you’ve got to find a way to gut those kinds of results out. Credit to the guys, they found a way to win it today. Later on, when you look back, these are the important points.”
Defender Jonny Dean when asked about his assist and attacking patterns of play:
“Yeah, it [cutting the ball back to forwards] is definitely something we work on and something I try to improve on every day. Especially with the quality of attacking players we have, I just try to put in a decent ball to give them an opportunity to score. It’s a little bit of both, and just depends on the game, but I try pick my head up early and look for their runs and then try to put it in a dangerous area.”
Box Score:
|
|
1st Half |
2nd Half |
|
OKC |
0 |
1 |
|
BHM |
1 |
1 |
Goals:
BHM – 3’ – #11 Neco Brett (assisted by #23 JJ Williams)
OKC – 73’ – #21 Villyan Bijev (P)
BHM – 83’ – #23 JJ Williams (assisted by #24 Jonny Dean)
Starting Lineups:
BHM – 3-5-2 – #1 Matt VanOekel; #22 Ben Ofeimu (57’ – #12 Eli Crognale), #21 Alex Crognale (64’ – #77 Junior Flemmings), #3 Phanuel Kavita ©; #24 Jonny Dean, #6 Anderson Asiedu, #8 Bruno Lapa (86’ – #5 Mikey Lopez), #20 Zach Herivaux, #7 Ryan James; #23 JJ Williams, #11 Neco Brett (86’ – #17 Jaden Servania)
OKC – 4-4-2 – #1 CJ Cochran; #22 Zachary Ellis-Hayden, #20 Conor Donovan ©, #4 Mitchell Osmond, #3 Robert Coronado; #13 Aidan Daniels (89’ – #18 Tucker Stephenson), #14 Charlie Ward, #8 Hiroki Kurimoto, #10 Arun Basuljevic (89’ – #17 Jonathan Brown); #21 Villyan Bijev, #9 Jaime Chavez (79’ – #11 Frank Lopez)
Legion FC heads to Kentucky midweek for a rematch with LouCity on Wednesday, June 16 at 6:30PM CT. Fans can tune in to watch the match locally on My68 and nationally on ESPN+.
The squad returns home on Saturday, June 19 to take on Austin Bold FC at 6:30PM! 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.
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (June 12, 2021) – Birmingham Legion FC won its fourth game in a row on Saturday night, 2-1 over Central Division foes OKC Energy FC. A goal in the third minute from leading scorer Neco Brett put BHM up early, and after the home side tied things up from the penalty spot in the 73rd, Legion forward JJ Williams bagged the game winner ten minutes later to earn all three points for the Black and Gold.
Legion FC Head Coach Tommy Soehn previously stated that starting road matches on the front foot was a focus for his team after giving up early goals in two prior away games, and his message was clearly received tonight, as Brett put away one of the first chances of the game for his league-leading sixth goal of the season in just eight games. Fresh off of a USL Championship Team of the Week nod for his two-goal performance at home versus Tulsa last weekend, the Jamaican kept the ball rolling with his 50th career regular season goal in the USLC off a smartly flicked on header by Williams.
Williams’ second assist of the season was quality, and his first goal of the season was clutch. After OKC were awarded and finished a penalty to tie things up, Legion FC forward Junior Flemmings released fullback Jonny Dean down the right sideline, and the man from Macon, GA beat his mark to the end line and cut back to the onrushing Williams at the top of the six-yard box for a tap in to win it.
“I think JJ is maturing in the fact that he’s keeping the ball more for us,” said Soehn. “He’s always a force in the air, but his ability to get in good spots is getting better because he’s starting to understand the guys he’s playing with.
“Look, though, I’m not going to sugarcoat it – tonight wasn’t a great performance for us. It was a hard game to play on a really small field and we didn’t have enough of the ball, but you’ve got to find a way to gut those kinds of results out. Credit to the guys, they found a way to win it today. Later on, when you look back, these are the important points.”
Defender Jonny Dean when asked about his assist and attacking patterns of play:
“Yeah, it [cutting the ball back to forwards] is definitely something we work on and something I try to improve on every day. Especially with the quality of attacking players we have, I just try to put in a decent ball to give them an opportunity to score. It’s a little bit of both, and just depends on the game, but I try pick my head up early and look for their runs and then try to put it in a dangerous area.”
Box Score:
|
|
1st Half |
2nd Half |
|
OKC |
0 |
1 |
|
BHM |
1 |
1 |
Goals:
BHM – 3’ – #11 Neco Brett (assisted by #23 JJ Williams)
OKC – 73’ – #21 Villyan Bijev (P)
BHM – 83’ – #23 JJ Williams (assisted by #24 Jonny Dean)
Starting Lineups:
BHM – 3-5-2 – #1 Matt VanOekel; #22 Ben Ofeimu (57’ – #12 Eli Crognale), #21 Alex Crognale (64’ – #77 Junior Flemmings), #3 Phanuel Kavita ©; #24 Jonny Dean, #6 Anderson Asiedu, #8 Bruno Lapa (86’ – #5 Mikey Lopez), #20 Zach Herivaux, #7 Ryan James; #23 JJ Williams, #11 Neco Brett (86’ – #17 Jaden Servania)
OKC – 4-4-2 – #1 CJ Cochran; #22 Zachary Ellis-Hayden, #20 Conor Donovan ©, #4 Mitchell Osmond, #3 Robert Coronado; #13 Aidan Daniels (89’ – #18 Tucker Stephenson), #14 Charlie Ward, #8 Hiroki Kurimoto, #10 Arun Basuljevic (89’ – #17 Jonathan Brown); #21 Villyan Bijev, #9 Jaime Chavez (79’ – #11 Frank Lopez)
Legion FC heads to Kentucky midweek for a rematch with LouCity on Wednesday, June 16 at 6:30PM CT. Fans can tune in to watch the match locally on My68 and nationally on ESPN+.
The squad returns home on Saturday, June 19 to take on Austin Bold FC at 6:30PM! 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.
