Scenic City’s Control Meets Birmingham’s Counter in UPSL Clash
UPSL Georgia Zone 2 | CSLA, Chattanooga Saturday, Sept. 6 | Kickoff: 7:00 PM | 77°F, Partly Cloudy
Scenic City SC and FC Birmingham opened UPSL Georgia Zone 2 play with a tense 2-2 draw on Saturday night, kicking off a reshaped division with a clash of contrasting styles.
The match at Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts featured two teams with opposite identities: Scenic City, a possession-first developmental club on the rise; and FC Birmingham, a gritty counterattacking side back in the top flight after narrowly avoiding relegation.
Fast Start, Quick Response
Scenic City wasted no time establishing their possession game, with both teams showing signs that neither side would go down easily. The opening goal came in the 27th minute, when a wide-swinging cross curved dangerously into Birmingham’s box. Goalkeeper Cosmas Uzoaru came off his line and collided with Scenic City striker Mattia Balzano at full pace. The ball was headed straight into the net.
Despite immediate appeals from the Scenic sideline and deliberation on the field, the goal stood. The referee ruled no foul, and replays confirmed the collision came just milliseconds after contact with the ball. The delay was brief, but tense, and Balzano exited the match with a lower leg injury.
Birmingham responded by abandoning the midfield battle entirely. Rather than attempt to match Scenic City’s composure on the ball, they pushed play wide and attacked vertically, forcing uncomfortable decisions from Scenic City’s back line.
The equalizer came in the 41st minute. A swift counterattack, launched from Birmingham’s own third, caught Scenic City’s defenders in transition. Tyrell Price made a sharp cut and buried a clean finish to level the score. Scenic City had dominated possession, but Birmingham drew even with a fraction of the time on the ball.
Second-Half Chess Match
The second half played out like a tactical duel between ideologies. Scenic City calmly moved the ball through the thirds, switching fields and probing the flanks, but too often their attacks stalled at the edge of the penalty area.
Birmingham, meanwhile, waited for the turnover and when it came, they struck. In the 60th minute, a speculative long ball turned into a scramble and a goal. Price scored his second of the night, giving Birmingham a 2-1 lead and marking their second goal from open play despite minimal possession during that stretch.
Scenic City again found themselves chasing a result. To their credit, they kept their heads. A relentless wave of possession finally broke through deep into stoppage time, when Adrick Hall found the equalizer in the 90th + 2 minute. With momentum swinging again, the hosts nearly found a winner on a stoppage-time free kick at the edge of the box, but Birmingham held firm.
Watch the equalizing goal here!
A Division Defined by Contrast
Saturday’s draw embodied the central tension of the UPSL Premier Division: What matters more — control or chaos?
Scenic City controlled the ball, tempo and territory for most of the night. But Birmingham made the most of what little they had, executing a game plan built not to dictate, but to disrupt.
The contrast was clear in the numbers, but also in the eye test. Scenic City’s players moved with chemistry, patience and youth. Birmingham moved with urgency and instinct.
Both clubs left with a point.
What Comes Next?
For Scenic City, the performance reinforced the promise of their system, but also its risk. Possession without end product can be punished quickly in a league where transition play is king.
For Birmingham, the result confirmed they are not just back in the division, they are back with purpose. They do not need to control the game to win it.
As the UPSL Georgia slate unfolds, expect more clashes between control and chaos, patience and pressure, possession and punch. If Saturday’s match was any indication, the line between these philosophies may be the most exciting battleground of all.