Preseason Review: Birmingham Legion 0-2 Atlanta United

A decent start.

It is getting a tad repetitive for the Legion to lose in preseason to the boys from Georgia but in this case there are several positives to take from the game.

First, you have to bear in mind that not only is Atlanta United a level above the Legion in the US soccer pyramid (and being paid about 10 times or more into the bargain), but more importantly, United were a week ahead in their preparations for the 2025 season. The atrocious weather we had just over a week ago can’t have helped in that regard either.

Second, the Legion were missing a few key players. Notably, midfielder Tyler Pasher is reportedly recuperating from some unspecified injury and defender AJ Paterson was to be seen on the sidelines Saturday carrying crutches and wearing a knee brace. Sitting with him was winger Diba Nwegbo. Diba looked just fine (and was in practice earlier in the week) so it is unclear what the deal is with him.

Consequently, the first half XI included two trialists. Third, they were playing alongside a team that was already largely made up of players not used to each other with a good few new faces in the squad.

Fourth, and deriving from all of the above, the tactical setup was still pretty fluid and remains so.

Ultimately, the Legion went with different formations in the two halves. In the first half Tommy Soehn pulled the venerable 4-2-3-1 with, unsurprisingly, newcomer Ronaldo Damus up top.

Both the Legion and United have used that setup to great effect - United ran with it almost exclusively in its highly successful two years under Gerardo Martino and the Legion’s 5 straight playoff appearances used it extensively too.

One of the strengths of the formation is that it allows for a serious pressing game. United refers to theirs as the Peachtree Press. The Legion doesn’t have a name for it but often operates out of either a low press or a high press; the 4-2-3-1 gives you both options.

That is basically what happened in the first half. Notably, before the Atlanta goal the Three Sparks were using a low press or a counter-press. It wasn’t really successful as United were able to keep Birmingham pretty much pinned in their own half. After the goal they went to a much higher press and looked considerably more threatening. In particular, right back Stephen Turnbull, newly arrived from Rhode Island was able to demonstrate his speed - especially in recovery - and Danny Trejo showed how dangerous he can be crossing the ball. None of this resulted in a score, of course, but that can be attributed at least in part to not quite being on the same page just yet. Communication is key, after all.

In the second half, which saw a good few trialists on display with just a smattering of rostered players, the team went with the even more venerable 4-4-2. Up top this time was Lucca Dourado who only signed a week ago. With him was Yaniv Bazini, an Israeli who played with the University of Vermont last year. That’s nothing to sneeze at - they won both the College Cup and the national championship. Again, solid players but not used to each other. They did get a few good chances - and Preston Tabort Etaka was stopped from a very strong scoring chance by a pretty cynical foul - but ended up allowing a second goal. It was an own goal by a trialist - not what you want to do under such circumstances - but if he hadn’t made the attempt two United forwards were waiting on the ball anyway.

Coach Soehn’s big takeaway was “speed of play.” He wants the team to get much faster (likely especially in transition). That has not been the Legion’s forte the past couple of years since the departure of Jonny Dean for Chicago. Has he found the right mix to get back to that? We shall see.

Next up for the Legion Saturday is Chattanooga FC, who beat Atlanta 2-1 last week. That may give them a false sense of security. The United team that the Legion played was not the same as they faced and the Legion team they are about to face will be a week better prepared.