Match Recap: Birmingham Legion 1-3 Loudoun United

A troubling start to the season

The Birmingham Legion’s season and home opener got off to a great start with right back Jake Rufe scoring with his head off a Roman Torres free kick less than two minutes into the game. That was just the second goal of Rufe’s professional career and looked to be a statement of intent.

But barely two minutes later the visitors made their own statement. After an impressive Matt van Oekel save of an Abdellatif Aboukoura shot Jacob Erlandson also used his head to score off the resulting corner kick to tie the game up.

Loudoun then took control of the game with a high press that kept the Legion largely tied up in its own half and without a single shot since the early goal. Eventually they got the go-ahead goal in the 31st minute. Van Oekel again made a good save of a Keegan Tingey long-range shot but couldn't control it and it fell to Aboukoura to finish the goal he didn’t get earlier.

The Three Sparks then woke up and were the dominant side for most of the remainder of the first half, getting four good chances in before the break.

In the second half the Legion were hampered by the need to sub out Danny Trejo who had incurred a head injury and was taken out for concussion protocol. He was replaced by Lucca Dourado in his first professional appearance. Birmingham had already moved to more or less a 4-4-2 formation late in the first half but adding a second true striker solidified that change.

It didn’t help much. In the 50th minute Loudoun got its third goal with Zach Ryan finishing a cross from - yet again - Aboukoura to slip the ball in past van Oekel on what was very close to an offside (the refs were very poor with some weird decisions against both sides).

And even with the extra forward the Legion still couldn't get a shot in until the 63rd minute and ended the game with just 10 shots in total and 2 on target.

Organizationally, the game was poorly executed. The Legion was forced into some difficult lineup decisions due to injuries (AJ Paterson, Tyler Pasher) and a red card suspension (Enzo Martinez). Coach Soehn also made the decision to start Jake Rufe over Stephen Turnbull for reasons he did not specify. Granted, that resulted in the early goal but generally speaking Turnbull would be the better choice. Losing Trejo at halftime and Roman Torres midway through the second half - both will need medical evaluation - was hardly optimal either.

Even so, the initial 4-2-3-1 was shaky and may actually have been a 4-3-2-1 (the so-called pyramid). The Legion was also playing with inverted wingers - a favorite option for Tommy Soehn - with Dawson McCartney on the left and Preston Tabort Etaka on the right. That limits crossing options although McCartney was likely the team’s best performer on the night. Shifting to a 4-4-2 seemed to improve things but ultimately the weakened Legion midfield was not able to solve the Loudoun press.

The Legion stays at home next Saturday to face Louisville City in what will be a very tough early test.