Referee blunders, a gladiator mentality, Laszo's debut and Suárez seizes shot

My Birmingham Legion FC talking points following their 1-1 draw with Detroit City FC in Sunday's USL Championship game

Tyler Pasher looks to escape a Detroit defender under the referee’s watchful gaze. (TIMOTHY BELIN)

Nine game into the USL Championship season, Birmingham Legion still haven’t beaten an Eastern Conference foe.

There’s a good argument to be made they should have done so on Sunday.

In a game displaying much more energy than the previous Wednesday’s dire display, the Three Sparks accumulated 1.92 expected goals to just 0.36 for the visiting Detroit City team. And that doesn’t even take into account the terrible officiating.

It might not have been the result the team deserved, but there were a lot of positives to take from Sunday.

Ridiculous refereeing

When discussing Sunday’s game, there’s really no other place to start.

I’m generally not one to harp on about referees. It’s a tough job, and they’re only human. When the official gave Tampa a penalty for a foul outside the box a few weeks ago, I understood how he could have gotten it wrong with such tight margins.

On Sunday, the referee made it very hard to understand his decision. Twice.

“Referees have a really difficult job, and we’re going to have moments where some go for you, some go against you,” Mark Briggs said. “So I guess over the course of the season you’d like to think that it evens itself out.

“But for me, today, there was two decisions that were game changing moments that were very wrong,” he continued. “I have to stand in front of you guys and answer these questions. I’d love one day for the referees to be able to stand in front of you guys and answer these questions.”

In the 54th minute, Sebastian Tregarthen darted into the box off the right flank and chested a long diagonal down into his path. He never got a second touch, because a Detroit foot smacked him straight into the stomach.

It looked like a clear foul on first viewing, and replays only confirmed it. The defender was late, high and did not make any contact with the ball. A stone cold penalty, but somehow not called.

In the 70th minute, Enzo Martínez scored what should have been an equalizing goal. The veteran midfielder had spun his marker thanks to smart positioning and strong upper body strength before striking the ball into the bottom corner.

But the referee called it back for a foul, and even gave Martínez a yellow card for his trouble.

If anything, the Detroit man was the one committing the foul.

It can be hard in those situations for players to keep their cool. Already down a goal, the Three Sparks would have felt like even the referee was against them. That frustration can lead to poor decision making and tempers flaring, and Legion’s ability to keep pushing is all the more commendable for the lack thereof.

“It is frustrating, but I think for me it’s just keep going,” Phanuel Kavita said. “At the end of the day, referees are going to make their calls, but we got to create our own chances and our own opportunities.

“Yes, a few things didn’t go our way, kind of clear, but last Wednesday we were complaining about the refs; I’m not a big person for complaining about the refs,” he added. “I think we create our own luck and we got to continue to try and create our own luck so they’re on our side.”

Briggs picked up a yellow card shortly after the Tregarthen no-call, but other than that the Black and Gold stayed on their game and continued pushing. It paid off with Kavita’s 81st minute leveller, even if they will feel they should have gotten more.

It would have been easy for the team to crumble and blame the referee. Players could have started picking up soft bookings for cheap fouls committed out of frustration or complaining to the ref.

We’ve seen it happen time and again, so the fact Legion still came out of the game with something is a positive sign. They deserved more, yes, but they also showed the kind of mentality that will pay dividends down the line.

The men in the arena

“[…] The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly […]”

Theodore Roosevelt

It wasn’t just the poor calls that highlighted the referee’s presence Sunday. The entire game was a battle.

Nearly 100 duels, twenty-four fouls combined, three yellow cards apiece (not counting the one for Briggs); the game was a physical encounter throughout the full 90.

“It was an aggressive team,” Kavita said. “They’re well coached, they’re very aggressive, they have the grit that I think most teams in order to succeed you need.

“They have it, and I think we’re trying to build that as well with Mark,” he continued. “I think he’s done a good job throughout the week with the training, so we just got to keep that going.”

After scoring the equalizing goal, Kavita stood over his marker, Devon Amoo-Mensah, and stared him down. He later confirmed it was a heat of the moment reaction because he had felt the Detroit defender had been grabbing him all game.

That moment epitomized the intensity of the battle between the two sets of players. And if you look closely, it isn’t the only thing to do so in that moment.

By the time Kavita scored the game-tying goal, his crest had been ripped clean off by the constant physical nature of the game.

But the Three Sparks didn’t shy away from the challenge. And that’s exactly what Briggs wants.

“It’s what we have to do,” Briggs said. “It’s part of the game. Out there, it’s the gladiator’s arena. When you’re out there, in the white lines, that’s the arena. And you have to compete.

“I said to them before the game, there’s three Cs that I want to see,” he added. “I want to see us communicate. I want to see us be compact, but I want to see us compete. And I thought today the guys did that.”

Briggs has been very big on mentality every since coming in to the club a few weeks ago. In his introductory press conference, he already told the media he wanted his players to “die for the crest.”

On Sunday, he expanded on his beliefs.

“When you compete, and when you battle, and when you show the right mindset and attitude, you start to get the rub of the green,” Briggs said. “You start to get decisions go your way, or if you don’t perform at your best you still might get a result. And so this is part of a process with the group, part of a developmental stage. We want results straight away, don’t get me wrong, we want to win, but there’s also a lot of work we need to do.”

He added that a lot goes into creating that mentality, including his own actions on the sidelines. His yellow card, for example, came at a moment where he was trying to up the players’ energy.

“As a coach, I’m a big believer in the energy that I bring transmits to the players,” he said. “The way I coach, you walk a fine line. You walk a fine line because you don’t want to go too far one way and the players lose confidence. But if you can walk that line and stay on the trapeze, so to speak, give them confidence, give them moments of ‘well done’ but also teaching moments, I think that’s the way. The energy is so important for the group.”

On Sunday, Birmingham Legion showed they are starting to take that fighting spirit on board.

The Three Sparks contested 88 duels across the 90 minutes, winning 54.3%. That’s the second highest percentage this season, and only the third time the Legion have won over 50% of the game’s duels.

Whereas on Wednesday the team was reckless with its challenges, picking up more fouls than recoveries, on Sunday they did things right.

If they can keep building that gladiator mentality, it bodes well for future encounters.

A solid debut

If there’s one thing we’re learning about Briggs, it’s that he doesn’t hold back in his press conferences. But it turns out it can also be for positive reasons.

Edwin Laszo’s debut was one example.

“I thought he was excellent,” Briggs said. “I thought he was brilliant today. I thought he added a physical presence, I thought he won aerial duels, and then in the second half you started to see some of his quality on the ball as well.”

“For me, Edwin’s a top midfielder in this league and he has a profile that I thought the team needed,” he added. “I think you saw that today.”

Laszo flew into Birmingham late on Wednesday night. With Thursday’s practice a recovery session following Wednesday’s game, and pre-gameday sessions always lighter, the Colombian would have gotten just one real session in the books with his new team.

It did not matter to Briggs, who thrust him straight into his starting lineup.

The Colombian, who became the first player from his country to represent Birmingham Legion, started and played the full 90 despite his limited preparation time.

You would never have known he was not a regular in the team.

“He played well,” Kavita said. “I know he’s not used to the heat, he’s not used to the turf, so he was struggling a little bit at the end, but I think he played very well and helped us as much as he could.”

Laszo contested 13 duels on the day — the second-most on the team — and won seven, a team-high alongside Tyler Pasher. He also had one successful tackle, two clearances and won possession back on seven occasions, another team-leading number (tied with Moses Mensah this time)

Offensively, he’s officially credited with once chance creation, but was also at the root of another big opportunity early on for the Three Sparks that never resulted in a shot.

Briggs said he signed Laszo because the midfielder dominated both games he played against Sacramento Republic last season. He showed glimpses of that potential in his first game for the Black and Gold, and should only get better with additional practices alongside his new teammates.

Suárez shines

Tiago Suárez was a late change to the starting XI, replacing Ramiz Hamouda. However, it wasn’t a totally unexpected decision.

The young centerback was warming up with the starters when the teams emerged, suggesting there was already a suspicion he might be called upon. But that does not change the stellar job he did at a moment’s notice.

“Tiago really stepped up today,” Kavita said. “It was a short notice because it was supposed to be Raz [Ramiz Hamouda] who was playing. Unfortunate Tiago had to step up, but he did the work.”

The young centerback, in just his third league start and first in his preferred central position, barely put a foot wrong. His 6’5” frame allowed him to win all three of his aerial duels, something he’s excelled at in all his appearances so far. But he also made three clearances, one tackle and got one interception, all while committing just a single foul.

And it wasn’t just his defensive abilities that shone through.

Suárez was not afraid to ask for the ball and progress it up the pitch. He finished the game with the most touches (67) and passes (58) of any Legion player, finding a teammate with 91.4% of his attempts.

“He’s been excellent in training, he’s been knocking on the door,” Briggs said. “Sometimes you might get opportunities through injury, sometimes you might get opportunities through the coach’s decision. Tonight, Tiago got an opportunity to play, and I always say when you get an opportunity, keep the shirt. Tiago’s kept the shirt.”

Suárez has been a bit of an enigma since joining on loan from New England Revolution. Though clearly best-suited to playing at centerback, he’s found himself at right back for the majority of his Legion career to date.

Suárez said that, while he prefers playing centrally, he felt the versatility would only add to his skillset. But with Briggs in charge, the man who gave him his debut as a 16-year-old back in Sacramento, he looks set for a return to his favored role.

“I developed Tiago, he came through the academy, I gave him his professional debut,” Briggs said. “He’s not a right back. It’s plain and simple. He’s a central defender. And I think you saw he’s a central defender today in his performance.”

Briggs and Kavita, who partnered the young centerback through the whole 90, both said he had pushing for that starting spot with his training performances this week. Kavita said he told him before the game that he wanted to see that same level every sessions from now on.

After seizing his first real opportunity since Soehn’s departure, Suárez will be pushing for more minutes going forward. With Hamouda being another exciting prospect, it looks set to be a battle between the two youngsters to partner the more experienced Kavita at the center of the backline.

“There’s a lot of opportunity coming with a new coach,” Suárez said. “I know my skillset and I know we have a really talented team, so just keeping my head down and keep grinding.”

Briggs said he’s not opposed to playing them alongside each other one day and feels blessed to have two such talents at his disposal. While young starlets rarely stick around long in the USL Championship, especially because Suárez is on loan, Legion fans might just start dreaming of a long-term partnership between the 16 and 20-year-old.

“Raz is an exceptional talent, Tiago’s an exceptional talent,” Briggs said. We’ve got to make sure that they’re learning, they’re growing, they’re competing. […] We’ve just got to make sure that we continue to develop them, we continue to work hard with them, but we continue to keep their feet on the ground.”

They might never play together, but the battle between Hamouda and Suárez is sure to make both of them better. Suárez made his claim to a starting spot Sunday, it’s now Hamouda’s turn to step up or step aside.