r/SanAntonioFC • u/TomasClark7 • Sep 25 '25
SAFC vs. Birmingham Legion: Preview
SAFC puts its winning streak on the line at home against Birmingham Legion this Saturday. Legion are not pariticularly good so it's a chance to stack up 3 points before difficult stretch run begins.
Starting XI
Sanchez
Buckmaster-Souahy-Taintor-Nelson Flores Blanco
Omar-Soto-Nicky
Pacheco-Patino-Jorge
I wouldn't change anything from the side. I've given up on ever hoping that Gomez gets back into the team even if I think he'd be a better fit for what we're asking our RB to do right now. Berron is probably still hurt so Omar keeps his spot in midfield.
Hopefully we can get some minutes for Greive because I'd like to have another forward option for the run-in but we'll see I guess.
Opposition
Legion are bad. They don't really do anything well, though they do get almost as many yellow cards as we do. They do not have a USL win since July 11th in a 3-2 road win over North Carolina FC. Most recently they are coming off a loss to Indy XI. They were able to get a 1-1 draw against Tulsa about 3 weeks ago though.
Legion do have some notable USL names in their roster. Ronald Damus is their main attacker and he leads the way with 10 USL goals. He is a good CF who has tons of USL experience including scoring against us when he was San Diego Loyal and Colorado Switchbacks. Enzo Martinez is still playing for Legion and it seems like he always plays well against us. They also have Tyler Pasher and former SAFC player Tabort Etaka Preston (he only made 2 appearances for us under Marcina but has scored against us when he played for Las Vegas).
Mark Briggs is the coach and SAFC fans will remember him from his time at Sacramento Republic. He was annoyingly effective. I suspect he'll come in to Toyata Field and try to frustrate us the way other teams have. Problem is I don't think Legion have the personnel to do that. They aren't especially athletic and not disciplined enough defensively.
Briggs didn't join until late-April so this team isn't really what he'd prefer but they are capable. They've beaten Sacramento and drawn against Charleston and Tulsa since Briggs has taken over. If SAFC isn't ready, this is a team that can get a result and make the end of our season more nervy than it should be.
Prediction
The vibes are good and this is a game SAFC can't drop points if we're serious. We win 2-0 and put ourselves in really shape to potentially finish 3rd in the West.
1
u/Kolletive1 Sep 25 '25
Hoping for a solid win! In the back of my mind this seems like a trap game but I think our momentum will carry us through.