2025 Match Recap: Birmingham Legion FC //, Sacramento Republic FC //

Sacramento set out on a near month-long road trip with their first stop being in Birmingham. 

A familiar face was on the touchlines for Birmingham as former Sacramento Republic manager Mark Briggs led the Legion. Birmingham got off to a cold start this season and let go of longtime manager Tommy Soehn after six years with the club. The Legion failed to make the playoffs last season. And in the offseason made quite the splash in the transfer market. Ronaldo Damus and Danny Trejo were the eyecatching additions to lead the line for the Legion. But, the cold start has left the Legion with an uphill battle as they were four points outside the playoff places, sitting in 10th place in the Eastern Conference. Mark Briggs was brought in to right this ship and get the Legion into the postseason. It will be an interesting storyline to keep an eye on as the season heads into the summer stretch.

Now, the man who took over after Mark Briggs, Neill Collins was searching for answers on the road. After the nine goal explosion against Las Vegas, the Republic have been blanked in their last two matches. The defense had a good performance in the last game against San Antonio, but none of the strikers could find the back of the net. Sacramento were in a similar position, just outside the playoff positions. But, in a compressed Western Conference all it could take is one good hot streak to help the Republic up the standings.

Coach Mark Briggs had this lineup for Birmingham:

Coach Neill Collins made this selection for Sacramento:

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Key Takeaways:

Sacramento Republic FC: / goal, / shots, / shots on target, ///% possession, / corners, / offsides, / yellow cards, / red cards.

Birmingham Legion FC: / goal, / shots, / shots on target, ///% possession, / corners, / offsides, / yellow cards, / red cards.

Republic FC Lineup: Danny Vitiello, Michel Benitez, Freddy Kleeman, Lee Desmond, Jared Timmer, Jack Gurr, Ryan Spaulding, Luis Felipe, Sebastian Herrera, Nick Ross, Cristian Parano

Republic FC Bench: Jared Mazzola, AJ Edwards, Chibi Ukaegbu, Rayan Djedje, Dominik Wanner, Blake Willey, Rodrigo Lopez, Trevor Amann, Russell Cicerone

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Check out the stats from this match here!

(Photo Credits to Sacramento Republic FC)