Two second half goals off of corner kicks made the difference in Legion’s win over its South-Eastern rivals
Louisville, KY (July 22, 2023) – After an entertaining match that saw Louisville go into halftime with the lead and Birmingham equalize in the 55th minute, Legion defender Alex Crognale gave the visitors an away win with a classy finish in extra time. Tonight’s massive win brings the Black & Gold up to 5th place in the Eastern Conference standings, one point behind Memphis in fourth place.
Louisville’s opening goal in the 34th minute came off of a turnover in Legion’s own half of the field. After sending the ball into the box, Legion defender Collin Smith made a great slide tackle but the ball fell fortunately to City’s Dylan Mares who got the ball under control and buried it.
“I think in the first half we did create some really good opportunities, but I think we were a little sloppy in possession,” said Head Coach Tommy Soehn. “I think once we talked at halftime and then organized that a little bit better, I think the second half showed that we came out more organized.
Birmingham went into halftime down 1-0, but had a mission in mind for the second half. Coming onto a corner in the 55th minute the 17-year-old Matthew Corcoran sat ready to serve a corner kick. Whipping it in, the ball found space in Louisville’s box. Juan Agudelo was there to put his head on it. While backing up, he dove through the air and sent a header into the top of the goal.
“We talked about the things we weren’t good at and addressed that at the half,” said Soehn. “We switched from having costly turnovers in the first half to creating chances in the second half. ”
The game sat level 1-1 for most of the second half, with both sides struggling to convert chances. The Magic City Legionnaires found its magic in extra time, however. Corcoran whipped in another brilliant ball on a corner in the 90+2′ and defender Crognale cheekily back-heeled the ball into the bottom right corner for his third goal of the year.
“Juan and I were kinda playing off each other trying to create space and I decided to start my run in the 6-yard box and pop out,” said Crognale about his goal. “Matthew played a good ball in the front post and I was surprised that it made it through. But it took a little short hop in front of me and I felt like the only way I could get it into the net was just flicking it behind me. Definitely one for the memories.”
“We always work on scoring from corners, and today was a good day,” said Soehn on Legion’s productivity from the corner flag. “We saw the corners that were able to break them down and it meant a lot of movement from our guys. Matthew put some great balls in that gave us a chance, and I thought we almost had one more with Neco’s header on a corner. It’s always an area I feel like we can always improve, but today was the day we were able to manufacture goals from set pieces, and that was the difference.”
Corcoran had one of his best games in a Legion shirt yet in Louisville. The youngster impressively led his winning team in chances created (three) and tackles (five), and gave the assists that led to both goals. With an ability to find the right pass and keep his team in possession of the ball, he was also crucial in keeping Birmingham organized throughout the second half.
“I think the second half showed that we came out more organized,” said Soehn. “When we did win the ball, we turned it into really good chances as well. So just a good performance overall from everybody including the subs who came in and did a fantastic job. Great win.”
With two wins in a row and only conceding one goal, Birmingham look to have found its stride.
“I think everyone’s bought in,” said Crognale on what has been making the difference. “We’re moving as a unit, we’re covering each other, and we’re just committed to it, and it showed in a tough environment. We’ve struggled normally when we come into Louisville as they move the ball well. But we were compacting our defense. In the first half we started compacting a little bit, but we made some adjustments at halftime and we came out in the second half where we were really strong defensively and we were able to steal a couple of goals from set-pieces.”
Legion return home next Saturday to take on the second place Charleston Battery. After two wins against talented teams like Tampa and Louisville, Birmingham are in the right run of form for the challenge. You can secure your tickets to the game HERE!
“We talked about this stretch of games and how important it is to beat teams ahead of you in standings,” said Soehn. “So, we’ve got one more with Charleston and then we have to make sure we also get up for the teams that aren’t ahead of us and that’s gonna be the next challenge. But Charleston’s a big game, and the guys will be up for it.”
Box Score:
| 1st Half | 2nd Half | |
| Louisville | 1 | 0 |
| Birmingham | 0 | 2 |
Goals:
LOU – 34’ – #22 Dylan Mares
BHM – 55’ – #9 Juan Agudelo (assisted by #17 Matthew Corcoran)
BHM – 90+2’ – #21 Alex Crognale (assisted by #17 Matthew Corcoran
Starting XI:
BHM – 4-4-3 – #1 Matt VanOekel; #3 Phanuel Kavita, #16 Gabriel Alves (80’ – #33 Moses Mensah), #21 Alex Crognale, #4 Collin Smith (67′ – #13 Jake Rufe) ; #6 Anderson Asiedu, #17 Matthew Corcoran, #19 Enzo Martinez; #15 Tyler Pasher (32’ – 11 Neco Brett), #10 Prosper Kasim (81’ – #7 Diba Nwegbo), #9 Juan Agudelo
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