San Antonio FC

San Antonio FC

News and updates from Ticket 760 AM for your San Antonio FC.

 

MATCH PREVIEW: San Antonio FC vs Birmingham Legion FC, 5/22/21

SAFC return home for the first of two straight games to close out the month of May as they welcome in Birmingham Legion FC this weekend. The match will mark the first ever game between the two clubs, and a rare game vs an Eastern opponent for SAFC. It’s the first match vs an Eastern foe for SAFC since they hosted Tampa Bay Rowdies in October of 2017, a 1-1 affair.

Those Eastern games will be slightly less rare in 2021 for SAFC as they will have four such games on the schedule this year. That includes hosting both Pittsburgh and Memphis at Toyota Field later this summer.

SAFC are licking their wounds from a tough 2-1 loss to RGV-FC last weekend. After a blistering start in their opening game, San Antonio has encountered rougher waters since and have only managed one point from their last two games. Manager Alen Marcina is not deterred by the early stumbles.

“We’ll learn from this experience. We’re confident as a collective that we’ll get this right and we’ll continue to remain focused and resilient, and now we look to start a new winning streak on Saturday against the Legion.”

Santiago Patiño was the team Captain on Sunday night and he continues to impress for SAFC. He was the lone goal scorer, adding his team leading 4th goal of the season. He is tied with FC Tulsa Striker Joaquin Rivas for the goal scoring lead in all of USL Championship heading into this week. Marcina mentioned his importance to the club.

“For any striker when you’re scoring goals confidence is very high. Santi is a very important player to this team; he’s very committed to both sides of the ball. There’s a reason he wore the captain’s armband tonight and I know he’s going to continue to be hungry to contribute to this team.”

Also notable for SAFC was the youth movement on the field Sunday night, as for the first time in club history SAFC brought on three players under the age of 20 as substitutes. SAFC Midfielders Jose Gallegos and Leo Torres plus Forward Fabrizio Bernal all made their season debuts against RGV-FC, all entering in the second half of the match. SAFC has frequently mixed in their younger players and this year looks to be no different in that regard.

Elsewhere, Midfielder Emil Cuello is shaping up to be one of the best distributors for the team as he has amounted 20 crosses through three games. That is good for third best in all of USL Championship. And as a team, San Antonio FC are 5th in the league in goals scored with 6.

For Birmingham, this is their third season as a club. The Legion have qualified for the playoffs in each of their first two seasons. Last year they lost in the Conference Quarterfinals to eventual Eastern Champions Tampa Bay, 4-2. Like SAFC, they are off to a 1-1-1 start through three games. But they are moving in the opposite direction as SAFC, losing their opener and then following that up with a Draw and most recently a 1-0 Win over Memphis last weekend.

Keeper Matt Van Oekel is one of the top performers in USL Championship in the early going this year notching 11 saves, good for second best in the entire league. He also has one clean sheet and an Assist. He was also named the USL Championship Player of the Week on Tuesday for his performance against Memphis. Additionally, Defender Ryan James was also named to the USL Championship Team of the Week.

Neco Brett is the team’s only goal scorer so far, tallying twice. Bruno Lapa is tied for 5th in the league in crosses with 17. Lapa and Brett also lead the team with 5 shots each. Benjamin Ofeimu paces the Defenders with 11 clearances.

Birmingham also has some former SAFC flair as two ex-players are on their roster. Midfielder Mikey Lopez scored 4 goals for SAFC in 2018 and Midfielder Zachary Herivaux had two stints with the team, most recently in 2020.

SAFC Defender Sam Gleadle knows they didn’t play their sharpest game at RGV-FC.

"It’s upsetting because we didn’t play our best. It was a war and we knew it was going to be a battle. We’re going to lose some games and sometimes you don’t play well. We’ll move on and reflect on it and be better next time. Being back in front of (our fans) on Saturday will give us the energy we need to perform better and hopefully earn three points for them.”

SAFC will look for a rebound performance on Saturday night. SAFC will be wearing their new Third Kit for "Viva Night" which the club unveiled on Wednesday.

The Matchup (W-D-L)

Birmingham Legion FC (1-1-1, 4 points) at San Antonio FC (1-1-1, 4 points)

Toyota Field, Saturday May 22nd, 2021

Kickoff 7:30pm Central Time

Current Form (W-D-L)

San Antonio FC - 2021 Home Record 1-1-0

W-D-L-

Birmingham Legion FC – 2021 Road Record 0-1-0

L-D-W-

All Time History (W-D-L)

Saturday will mark the first ever meeting between these two clubs.

Season Series

5/22/21 @ SA

IMAGES: SAN ANTONIO FC TWITTER, BIRMINGHAM LEGION FC TWITTER


Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content