By Timothy Belin
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - March 19, 2025
A night that started with lighthearted frustration for Legion fans ended with significantly more disappointment for the Three Sparks.
Playing in the first round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, the Black and Gold suffered a surprise 1-0 defeat to a team two divisions lower than them, USL2’s Little Rock Rangers.
The game, like all matches this round, was streamed live on the U.S. Soccer YouTube channel, but fans who did not make the trip to Arkansas only saw pixels for the first 20 minutes or so. But while many, including the official Legion social media account, took the technical difficulties with humor, there was noticeably less to laugh about early on in the second half.
11' (we think) | Admin here, trying to live tweet from the feed... but... yeah...#HAMMERDOWN (on the tv)
— Birmingham Legion FC (@bhmlegion) March 20, 2025
0-0 | #BHMvLRR #USOC2025 pic.twitter.com/iZW3fDXflo
16' | I think we just had a shot on goal from a corner... Legion blur #1 sent it in to Legion blur #2
— Birmingham Legion FC (@bhmlegion) March 20, 2025
0-0 | #BHMvLRR #USOC2025
Just three minutes into the second half, a LRR long throw into the Legion box was cleared to the edge of the 18, only to be fired back at goal, deflected in the scrum and past a helpless Fernando Delgado. The goalkeeper was one of three youngsters making his season debut for the Three Sparks, but could do little to prevent the goal.
Legion dominated the rest of the game but struggled to trouble the LRR goalkeeper. Heavy winds and poor field conditions seemed to disrupt many of Birmingham’s attacks, who did not put a shot on target in response until the 82nd minute.
Legion head coach Tom Soehn originally rotated his team, giving season debuts to 18-year-olds Delgado and Finn Calloway and 20-year-old Tiago Suarez, as well as first starts for both Lucca Dourado and Temi Ereku. By the hour-mark, he knew he needed to bring on the big guns.
Ronaldo Damus, fresh off opening his Legion account at the weekend, came on alongside Dawson McCartney and Kobe Hernandez-Foster. None of them could turn the tide for the Black and Gold against the stoutest defense in USL2, which conceded just three goals across 12 league games last season.
Delgado was the busier of the two goalkeepers, pulling off a good double-save to keep his team in it in the 74th minute and another save from a long-range attempt in the 80th. Added to a full-stretch first half save from a LRR header, those efforts made it four saves for the game, compared to three for LRR’s Tomasz Wroblewski.
That’s not to say Wroblewski didn’t play his part in the LRR clean sheet, though shaky footwork on back passes nearly allowed Legion in on two occasions in the first half. The LRR keeper did nevertheless have the key moment of the opening 45’, saving a Dourado penalty low to his left after Roman Torres had been fouled in the area.
Dourado will no doubt look at his miss with regret, but he can hardly be the only player fans point a finger to. Despite 63.9% possession against a non-professional team, the Legion managed just three shots on target to a whopping 13 that sailed wide of the frame.
Soehn’s men will need to bounce back quickly with another road trip in just three days. Legion face Detroit City at 3 p.m. Saturday, an opponent boasting two wins from their first two games of the season.