Lower Alabama Report: May 28
A big slate this week; schedulers have been unkind to the ladies
Birmingham Legion FC
Image credit: Birmingham Legion
Last weekend Legion came from behind to beat Miami FC 2-1, their first road win of the season. The first half wasn't pretty, but Legion came out firing in the second half. Tyler Pasher scored one early in the half, and also created the chance for the winning goal. His efforts earned him USLC Team of the Week honors. In four games since Briggs came aboard, Birmingham has lost just once. Over seven games since Tom Soehn was fired, Legion have three wins, two draws, and two losses. A significant improvement, even if the performances have been uneven at times.
Next up for Legion will be a road trip to Tulsa for their next Jagermeister Cup match, Saturday May 31 at 7:30. Tulsa sits in third place in the West for league play, and their previous Cup match against Phoenix ended in a draw (Phoenix won the shootout). Notably, while Tulsa is having a good season, most of their games have been low-scoring affairs. Recent performances have also been more uneven, and they have a mid-week game against San Antonio, while Legion will have a week between contests. Look for Birmingham newcomer Edwin Laszo to step up big against his former team, and Legion to win 1-0.
Huntsville City FC
HCFC made the trip up to Canada last week to get a 2-1 win against Toronto 2. They're still in third place in the NextPro East table.
HCFC won't play again until June 6.
USL2
Feature match:
Last week's feature match saw Legion 2 give up a late equalizer to Columbus United, ending in a 1-1 draw. This week's feature match-up will have Montgomery United on the road against Tennessee SC, Saturday May 31 at 7:30. Tennessee is undefeated after three matches and has the lead in total points at 7. Montgomery will be coming in after a mid-week clash against Legion 2, a game which also has big implications for the standings. Every Tenn game has been very close so far, and this should be no different.
Other results last week:
Dothan 1-0 Columbus United. The Dragons claimed first blood in the Peanuts and Cola Derby.
It wasn't a Lower Alabama match, but Asheville City issued a beat down to Apotheos 10-0. Apotheos has been expected to be a contender, and now find themselves sitting at 0-2. No doubt Asheville is the team to beat, as expected.
Other matches this week:
Wed May 28, Montgomery vs Legion 2 7:00.
Sat May 31 Legion 2 vs Apotheos 6:00
Sat May 31 Dothan vs SSA 7:30
The League for Clubs
Image credit: The League for Clubs
Last week's feature match saw Union 10 on the road to beat Pensacola Academy 1-0. This week the focus will be on the back-to-back games featuring Gaffa against Union 10. If Gaffa wins both games, they'll pretty much have the West Division of the Gulf Coast Conference locked up
This week
May 29 Gaffa vs Union 10 7:00
May 31 Union 10 vs Gaffa 5:00
June 1 Tallahassee vs AFC Mobile 3:00
UPSL
Last week's feature match UMA FC at home against Limeno, and UMA continued their strong run, winning 2-0. For the third week in a row, UMA will be in the spotlight for the feature match, this time against Kalonji Pro-Profile. KPP is second place in the table, and an UMA win would see them jump ahead of KPP on points. They'll need help from others to get all the way up to second, but KPP could quickly be shuffled down the table.
At the other end of the table, FC Birmingham and Fountain City FC are fighting to avoid being relegated. UMA would love to see helpful upsets by either or both, but it's unlikely.
Other results:
Georgia Athletic 3-2 FC Birmingham
Augusta SC 3-0 FCB2
Albion Atlanta U23 2-1 Columbus Knight Eagles
UMA2 5-0 Limeno 3
Next week's matches
May 31 FC Columbus Elite vs Limeno 2:00
May 31 FC Birmingham vs Potros 5:00
May 31 Fountain City vs Filial Pachuca 6:00
June 1 Kalonji Pro-Profile vs UMA FC 6:30
May 31 FCB2 vs FC Atlanta 3:00
May 31 Albion SC Atlanta U23 vs UMA2 6:00
June 1 Columbus Knight Eagles vs AFC Lightning 5:00
Women's matches
Image credit: Asheville City SC
Last week's feature saw Legion WFC lost 0-2 to Asheville City. The focus this week is just on the sheer volume of matches, and commentary on women's scheduling vs men's. IMO, the ladies are seeing a much harder time. Legion WFC is in a stretch of road games that went from Knoxville to Asheville to Nashville, and then home in an eleven day run. When do they get to practice?? And this week has FC Birmingham on the road for a Saturday match and another match at home on Sunday. I just don't see the men's teams burdened the same way.
Last week's results:
USLW - One Knox 1-0 Legion WFC
Next week:
USLW - May 28 Tenn SC vs Legion WFC 7:30
WPSL - May 28 Gulf Coast United vs Union 10 7:00
USLW - May 30 Legion WFC vs Greenville 7:00
WPSL - May 31 Union 10 vs Florida Roots 3:00
WPSL - May 31 Jackson Ignite vs FC Birmingham 2:30
WPSL - June 1 FC Birmingham vs Nashville Rhythm 4:00 (not a typo)
USLW - June 3 Chattanooga Red Wolves vs Legion WFC 7:30