Four goals, from Juan Agudelo, Alex Crognale, Marlon Santos, and Enzo Martinez, are the most allowed by Memphis in a game this year
MEMPHIS, TN (August 20, 2022) – Birmingham Legion FC rebounded from a midweek letdown in a big way with a convincing, 4-2 win on the road over Memphis 901 FC on Saturday night to sweep the season series against its closest rival and move closer to the top of the Eastern Conference standings.
Memphis came out on the front foot and then opened the scoring in the 18th minute when a Leston Paul through ball found Luiz Fernando darting into the box to then put away the finish, but the visiting side did not trail for long.
Legion FC midfielder Anderson Asiedu danced into the Memphis box just four minutes later, was hacked down, and earned his team a penalty. Forward Juan Agudelo stepped up, in the 22nd minute, and baited the ‘keeper into diving first before lofting the finish right down the middle to tie things up.
Birmingham grew into the match and took control after its goal, ending the first half with an edge in shots (nine to six), shots on target (five to one), and possession (53%-47%). More importantly, the Three Sparks also went into the break with an advantage on the scoreboard, courtesy of center back Alex Crognale. Legion won a corner kick in the 44th minute, midfielder Bruno Lapa put it right on the penalty spot, and Crognale wheeled around from the back post to meet it, directing in a pinpoint header just inside the post.
“It’s about time,” said Crognale when asked about scoring his first goal of the season. “When we have great service, it gives us opportunities to score. Great ball from Bruno, and I was happy to put it away.
“It’s a big 6 points [this season over MEM], regardless of the opponent. Sweeping the rivals makes it a bit sweeter though.”
Legion FC kept the pressure on as the second half got underway and grabbed a third goal in the 59th minute. Forward Marlon Santos pounced on a loose touch from a Memphis defender at the top of the home side’s 18-yard box, and the Brazilian slotted the shot home first time.
901 FC almost immediately struck back in the 61st minute, albeit via a goal scorer that some viewers at home would argue looked to be in an offside position. A ball bounced across the Legion box, Memphis forward Phillip Goodrum got to it and got a shot off that was going wide, but defender Jeremy Kelly was there at the back post to turn it in and shrink the deficit.
Despite giving up another goal, Head Coach Tommy Soehn was pleased with his team’s focus and energy to not let off the gas and to keep pushing to extend its lead again.
“I know we had a lot of dismay about the goal. I can’t wait to see it because I felt like it was offside seeing it live. It could be a distraction at that point and we just, again, moved on and said: “Keep going,” and then getting the next goal right back was so important.
“So many times, in a season, you pick moments that you’re gonna remember. About tonight, we’ll go back and say, ‘Look, it doesn’t matter if someone scored, we just stick to our game plan and we’ll be fine,’ and that showed tonight.”
That continued drive from Legion FC was rewarded not ten minutes later from the magic boot of attacker Enzo Martinez, as Santos again outworked a 901 FC player to pick off a pass, this time in his own half, then picked his head up and played Martinez in behind. The Uruguayan and Legion FC leading goal scorer still had plenty of work to do though, as he carried the ball forty yards, had the composure to skip around the ‘keeper, patience to miss a diving defender, and finished with the cherry on top of the cake.
“Anytime you’re chasing someone ahead of you, you’re never gonna catch ’em unless you can beat ‘em,” said Soehn. “I think throughout this year, you gauge tests that you have to take on, and this is a big one, and I think we’ve done really well against big teams. This result, obviously coming off [a loss Wednesday versus] Detroit, where we felt like we let ourselves down, was really important. I feel like we really dictated the terms of the game in the first half.”
“They made some adjustments and then they had to go for it [in the second half], and it opened them up and we were able to counter and put them away. But it’s just a really good statement for your third game of the week coming off a disappointment that we rallied. It was a really good performance from a lot of guys.”
Box Score:
| 1st Half | 2nd Half | |
| MEM | 1 | 1 |
| BHM | 2 | 2 |
GOALS:
MEM – 18’ – #9 Luiz Fernando (assisted by #23 Leston Paul)
BHM – 22’ – #99 Juan Agudelo (P)
BHM – 44’ – #21 Alex Crognale (assisted by #8 Bruno Lapa)
BHM – 59’ – #11 Marlon Santos
MEM – 61’ – #16 Jeremy Kelly
BHM – 70’ – #19 Enzo Martinez (assisted by #11 Marlon Santos)
MEM – 4-4-2 – #25 Trey Muse; #7 Patrick Seagrist, #3 Zach Carroll, #16 Graham Smith, #19 Rece Buckmaster; #18 Jeremy Kelly, #6 Aaron Molloy, #23 Leston Paul, #11 Laurent Kissiedou; #9 Luiz Fernando, #10 Phillip Goodrum
BHM – 4-3-3 – #1 Matt VanOekel; #24 Jonny Dean, #21 Alex Crognale, #3 Phanuel Kavita ©, #5 Mikey Lopez; #20 Zach Herivaux, #6 Anderson Asiedu, #8 Bruno Lapa; #19 Enzo Martinez, #99 Juan Agudelo, #11 Marlon Santos
The Three Sparks return to Protective Stadium on Sunday, August 28, at 4:00PM to take on New York Red Bulls 2 and fans can grab tickets today!
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