FC Birmingham draws Fountain City FC

Georgia Division UPSL match

I've been looking for the right opportunity to get to an FC Birmingham game, and it's been tougher than you would think. A majority of games have been scheduled at the same time as Legion games, but yesterday saw the perfect opening - Legion was off, and FCB hosted Fountain City FC. It was my first UPSL game, after getting to GCPL and USL2 games last year.

To start off, I got a taste of the bad and the good that comes with lower division soccer. FCB has had a tendency to change venues from one season to the next, and those relationships paid off yesterday. As I rolled up into an empty parking lot and saw construction equipment at Carver stadium, it was clear there wasn't going to be a game there. There was no social media post indicating a change, even though the reserves played before the first team. A quick look on the FCB web site, and a call to the main line, brought me to a live person answering his cell phone. He explained that they hadn't been informed of the construction, apologized, and texted me the address for the venue where the game would be. Score one for the small and quaint nature of the lower leagues.

All told, there were about 40 spectators on hand for the game, including 10 or so that were there supporting Fountain City. The weather was windy, then cloudy, briefly rainy, and then clear again - all in the first half. Welcome to Spring in Alabama. The wind would remain a factor throughout the game as it was blowing directly from one end of the field to the other

From the first whistle, Birmingham came out on the front foot, looking to strike early. Fountain did a good job clogging up lanes, and getting the ball out of trouble. But the first ten minutes or so was mostly fought in the FCB offensive end. There were also several questionable offsides calls against FCB, which also impacted play. Sometimes it's clear that some of the refs are also lower division. Fountain City began to get organized on counterattacks after that first ten minute push, and the game opened up. Somewhere around the 30 minute mark, Birmingham got around the right side and drove into the box. A chaotic scrum saw the ball make its way into the net. It might have been an own goal by Fountain, but it was hard to tell. The score would remain 1-0 going into halftime.

The second half began with Fountain City determined to build play from the back, as opposed to counterattacks after FCB possession. Forward Tristan Shytle, who was among top Div 1 scorers for Spring 2024, made more runs and opened up chances in the second half. On one play in particular he put on a burst of speed around Birmingham's right back, and found himself with only the keeper in his way. The keeper was up to the task and made an excellent kick save to deny Shytle. As the game wore on, it got a little bit chippy, but the head referee did a pretty good job keeping a lid on it. Late in stoppage time, a great pass to Shytle allowed him to split two defenders and score the equalizer, just barely out of reach of the FCB keeper. The final whistle blew just after the ensuing kick, with 1-1 being the final score.

Shytle showed some real flashes of the player that scored 20 goals for Fountain City last Spring.

The keeper for FC Birmingham made some very good saves along the way to preserve the result. He's 18 year-old Blake Walton, who plays for Ramsey High School, and BUSA for his club soccer. He has several college offers, and is surely on Legion's radar for the future, as they have a close affiliation with BUSA.

All-in-all, it was a very entertaining match, and a great chance to see these two teams in person.

This was cross-posted at Lower Alabama