WHO: Birmingham Legion, 0-0-1, 0 points, 6th place Central Division
WHAT: A regular season USL Championship match
WHEN: Saturday, May 8, 2021, 7:30 p.m. EST
WHERE: Lynn Family Stadium
WATCH: TV: WBKI/The CW; Stream: ESPN+; Radio: ESPN 680/105.7. Or, you know, buy a ticket and go to the game! The stadium is open to 50% capacity for the first time ever, I think, so you might finally get to make it if you feel safe enough to do that.
MARCH: I still don’t know whether we’re actually doing this BUT! It’ll be worth your while (weather permitting) to make it to the stadium early to just see what happens. It’s nice to be able to do that again.
WHO, AGAIN? I expect to see Birmingham fighting for a playoff spot this season. They’ve been one of the more competent recent expansion teams in the East since their introduction in 2019, though playoff success has thus far eluded them. They’re coached by Tommy Soehn, who’s managed the club to a 14-7-17 record in his two seasons so far. Not great, but better than, you know, Memphis.
Birmingham took this past offseason pretty seriously, signing permanent deals for striker and UK alumnus JJ Williams, Neco Brett, Phanuel Kavita, Junior Flemmings, and Ryan James. They’ve strengthened their entire roster, and have high hopes for this season. However, that season didn’t start off too great in their home opener against Indy XI where they lost 0-1, saw JJ Williams sent off on a red card, and also saw their home ground BBVA Compass Stadium unfavorably compared to a beach volleyball court. Williams is suspended for Saturday’s game due to that red, and Junior Flemmings is still serving a suspension for uttering a homophobic slur at San Diego’s Collin Martin, an openly gay player, during a match for Phoenix Rising last season.
As with many teams with a lot of new players, it may take a little time for Legion’s roster to gel together. That’s not a problem for Morados, who will nonetheless be navigating a coaching change. Danny Cruz’s first game in charge comes on the heels of the departure of John Hackworth, and will be his first ever start as manager of any team. He’s had about two weeks to put his stamp on this team thus far, and will have two more after this match, as City’s next game isn’t until May 22.
In any event, this should be a game that Morados win fairly comfortably, but they certainly cannot afford to be complacent. I’ll be interested to see if there are any lineup or tactical changes in the team Saturday night, or if Cruz tries his best not to mess with a good thing. I think it’ll probably be the latter, but worth paying attention to either way.
There’s no injury report to speak of for this game, but there is a fun reference guide for the uninformed on City’s media handout that I just discovered and LOL’D at:
WHO WE ARE: Louisville City FC, LouCity, The boys in purple
WHO WE AREN’T: Louisville FC, LCFC, City FC
Jonathan Lintner truly is doing God’s work out there. Come to LFS on Saturday and cheer him and the team on to another win. VAMOS MORADOS!
