2025 Match Recap: Birmingham Legion FC 1, Sacramento Republic FC 0

Sacramento set out on a near month-long road trip with their first stop being in Birmingham. And it was a rough opening match. Sacramento's curse of giving up late goals came back to haunt them as Birmingham snatched the game winner with the last kick of the game.

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, they made quite the splash in the transfer market. Ronaldo Damus and Danny Trejo were the eye-catching additions to lead the line for the Legion. However, the cold start has left the Legion with an uphill battle, as they are 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 was 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:

Our XI for tonight's midweek matchup in the Magic City!#BHMvSAC #HammerDOWN pic.twitter.com/XG2tUErDqt

— Birmingham Legion FC (@bhmlegion) June 18, 2025

Coach Neill Collins made this selection for Sacramento:

Kicking things off soon in Birmingham ⚽ Here is tonight's starting XI for #BHMvSAC.

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— Sacramento Republic FC (@sacrepublicfc.com) June 18, 2025 at 4:37 PM

It would be a busy week for the Republic with a game on the weekend, and Neill Collins made a couple of changes in the lineup as a response. Chibi Ukaegbu came on to start the match in the backline. His fellow academy product, Blake Willey, also returned to the midfield after spending some time with the US U18s. Russell Cicerone and Dominik Wanner also got starts in this match. The frontline to start this match would be Wanner and Cicerone, along with Blake Willey.

Sacramento opened brightly, but Birmingham had a close chance in the 7th minute. A long free kick was put into the Republic's box by Danny Trejo. Moses Mensah got on the end of it and flicked the ball onto the net. Danny Vitiello had to make a reaction save to push the ball out.

DANNY! Great save from @dannyvitiello_ to keep Birmingham out. pic.twitter.com/G3MaW8MOT9

— Sacramento Republic FC (@SacRepublicFC) June 19, 2025

Birmingham controlled the tempo of the game in the opening phases, as the Republic were pinned back in their own half. The Legion was doing a good job at remaining patient in possession and picking out the right moment to quicken the pace, and finding chances in the Republic's box.

And in the 21st minute, the Legion narrowly missed an opportunity. Long ball over the top of the Republic line found Danny Trejo deep within Sacramento's box. Trejo played the ball back across the face of the net and found Ronaldo Damus. Damus spun back around and put the shot on the wrong side of the post.

Damus got himself a better opportunity in the 25th minute. Birmingham forced a turnover in the midfield via Kobe Hernandez-Foster getting a tackle on Ryan Spaulding. He turned to look ahead and saw Ronaldo Damus making a run between two of Sacramento's centerbacks. Damus received the pass, and his shot was taken just as he entered Sacramento's box. Danny Vitiello was there to meet the striker and block the opportunity.

DANNY AGAIN! @dannyvitiello_ denies Damus ❌ pic.twitter.com/GoScQ9QLeo

— Sacramento Republic FC (@SacRepublicFC) June 19, 2025

A yellow card was issued to Birmingham's Moses Mensah in the 27th minute for a late shoulder check on Jack Gurr.

And there were calls for a red card in the 35th minute as Moses Mensah again made a rough tackle. I'm of the opinion that Mensah should've gone off the field at this point. Mensah came off his feet to make a play on Dominik Wanner, rather than the ball. Like Wanner is mid-air trying to avoid the tackle, and Mensah is making contact with him.

Nobody found the back of the net in the first half, but Birmingham had the better of the attacking opportunities. Sacramento again looked flat in the attack. The players lacked the attacking edge to find their way past the Birmingham backline and challenge the goalkeeper. The Republic held 59% of the possession, but only generated two shots, with neither of them on target. The team looked tentative in Birmingham's half. On the other end of the field, a couple of big saves from Danny Vitiello kept the sides level. But, he appeared to be the only bright spot in the first half as Sacramento could've been down two goals heading into the break.

It was a lot more of the same in the second half. Sacramento was holding possession but couldn't generate any significant chances at the Birmingham goal.

And Neill Collins looked to change the course of the game in the 65th minute with a pair of substitutions. Trevor Amann and Crisitan Parano came into the match to take the places of Russell Cicerone and Dominik Wanner.

Sacramento got a decent look at goal in the 68th minute. Cristian Parano made a darting run with the ball going down the left flank, and he put a cross into the Birmingham box. The cross went all the way across to Jack Gurr. His low shot was blocked by Phaneul Kavita and cleared out of the area.

Coach Collins made another pair of substitutions in the 72nd minute. Luis Felipe and Rodrigo Lopez stepped onto the pitch to replace Michel Benitez and Blake Willey.

And one final push was made by Neill Collins as the game crept towards stoppage time. AJ Edwards replaced Ryan Spaulding.

And in stoppage time, Birmingham found the winner. Off a Sacramento corner kick, Birmingham broke away with a speedy counterattack. Enzo Martinez played the ball forward to Tabort Etaka Preston. He then puts Tyler Pasher through into the Republic's box. A pinpoint cross was delivered to the backpost where Sebastian Tregarthen was looming. And Tregarthen struck the ball cleanly to give the win to Birmingham.

We dare you to ever get bored watching this.#HammerDOWN | @ATT pic.twitter.com/5woL2uWZNn

— Birmingham Legion FC (@bhmlegion) June 19, 2025

Sacramento just looked toothless in the attack, and it came to bite them in this match. This was a rough start to their road trip. Birmingham looked the better side, and this was a deserved result for the Legion. The Republic won't have much time to recover, as they are visiting Rhode Island on the weekend. Onwards!

Key Takeaways:

• Sacramento put up only two shots on target against a team that has failed to get a clean sheet in the league up to this point.
• This is the first time Sacramento has gone scoreless in three consecutive league matches since 2022.
• The defense is solid but the attack is not giving them a chance to win games.

Sacramento Republic FC: 0 goals, 5 shots, 2 shots on target, 52.1% possession, 2 corners, 2 offsides, 1 yellow cards, 0 red cards.

Birmingham Legion FC: 1 goal, 10 shots, 3 shots on target, 47.9% possession, 3 corners, 2 offsides, 1 yellow cards, 0 red cards.

Republic FC Lineup: Danny Vitiello, Michel Benitez (OUT, 72'), Chibi Ukaegbu, Lee Desmond, Jared Timmer, Jack Gurr, Ryan Spaulding (OUT, 89'), Blake Willey (OUT, 72'), Russell Cicerone (OUT, 65'), Nick Ross, Dominik Wanner (OUT, 65')

Republic FC Bench: Jared Mazzola, AJ Edwards (IN, 89'), Freddy Kleeman, Rayan Djedje, Luis Felipe (IN, 72'), Justin Portillo, Rodrigo Lopez (IN, 72'), Trevor Amann (IN, 65'), Cristian Parano (IN, 65')

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Check out the stats from this match here!

(Photo Credits to Sacramento Republic FC)