Week 22 Preview: all you need to know

An important game coming up this weekend, but then again, are any of them unimportant at this point?

The most important part

First, the bad news: Hartford won last night 1-0, their first victory since June 15th.

Second, the good news: Detroit City lost last night 0-1 to Hartford, so they were unable to catch up to the Legion.

Third, the better news: Hartford will come to Birmingham on short rest.

It’s all a matter of perspective. But this one is a key game for the Legion and an absolute must-win situation if they have any expectation of a home playoff game. However, the Athletic should not be underestimated despite their recent record.

After a hot start, wining three of their first five games (including a 1-0 home win over the Three Sparks), Hartford have won just three times since over Monterey Bay, Pittsburgh and most recently Detroit. And yet, even in 11th place in the East, they are not exactly out of playoff contention. With the exception of Miami, the East is pretty competitive. From 4 through 11 the teams are spread out over just 11 points. The West, oddly, is in exactly the same position. A win over the Legion combined with a North Carolina loss to Orange County and Pittsburgh loss or draw with Sacramento would see Hartford jump to 9th, right below the playoff line.

To do it they will be relying on Michee Ngalina and Deshane Beckford to do the scoring, who have 6 and 3 goals respectively.  Both are new to Hartford this season, Ngalina having been around the Championship before spending a year with LAFC of MLS and then last year in Norway and Beckford also touring the Championship, most recently Colorado Springs in his second stint there. Beckford was the scorer against Detroit and had 2 additional chances that were prevented only by typical heroics by Detroit keeper Nate Steinwascher. Ngalina only had one shot Wednesday but it was on target. Both of them can be considered extremely threatening.

That being said, Hartford does not take too many chances. They had just 7 shots against Detroit and 6 against Phoenix, averaging 11 a game. They also have the league’s worst conversion rate at 10% (although that’s not much behind the Legion’s 10.9%). And they have scored just 17 goals all season.

The Athletic’s assist leaders, with 3 each, are right back Younes Boudadi (another newcomer this season) and our old friend Anderson Asiedu (who you may recall had the assist against the Three Sparks earlier this season). Ando did not play Wednesday, though, and was subbed out after 62 minutes against Phoenix last week. His status is unknown at this point.

Hartford also has Thomas Vancaeyezeele, another former Legionary. He plays in the team’s double pivot (they tend to go with a 4-2-3-1) so a reunion is on the cards anyway.

Defensively the team has something of a rotating back line, although left back Triston Hodge and center back Joe Farrell tend to be constants in the lineup. In goal is Brazilian Renan Ribeiro (pronounced Henan Hibeiro) who has 3 clean sheets on the season. He has been with the club two years and took over as starter this year after loanee Paul Walters was recalled by FC Cincinnati in May.

Lastly, the Legion is calling for a white-out Saturday (kick-off at 6:30pm):

White out for BHMvHFD this Saturday ⚪️

🎟️ https://t.co/OfChKkwV2r pic.twitter.com/DstVIjcNC1

— Birmingham Legion FC (@bhmlegion) August 1, 2024

Prediction: Despite their success Wednesday over Detroit, I don’t see Hartford being able to repeat it. This one will be a win for the Three Sparks and by multiple goals.

Best of the rest

A big game for the Legion Friday evening and another that will have an impact on Saturday. Beyond that, there’s likely only one additional game of interest:

Charleston Battery v. Indy Eleven (Friday, 6:30pm, CBS Sports Golazo Network)

The Battery are in a 3-way battle for dominance in the East nad have the disadvantage of having played 2 more games than Louisville or Tampa Bay. Indy are 4th, 6 points shy of the top three, but are still dangerous. This is a game both teams need to win. Moreover, Indy is a mere point ahead of the Legion (albeit off one less game) so points dropped are key.

Detroit City v. Rhode Island (Saturday, 3:00pm, CBS)

Detroit’s loss to Hartford Wednesday kept them 3 points behind the Legion. They still have two games in hand though. Rhode Island are also 3 points behind the Legion, with one game in hand. A draw is obviously the best possible result for the Three Sparks, but Rhody is firing on all cylinders lately and Detroit has not won in the past five games and has just 2 goals in that stretch.

New Mexico United v. Louisville City (Saturday, 8:00pm, ESPN+)

The battle of conference leaders is an obvious must-see. New Mexico’s home perfection was ruined by the Legion two weeks ago and on Wednesday they lost at home to Las Vegas. Lou City of course are piling it on and scoring at a ridiculous rate. This could be either a rout or a tight match. Either way, it should be fun.

Back in the Old Country

Birmingham City’s split-squad friendlies last weekend ended in similarly split results: they lost to Aldershot Town 1-3 and beat Walsall 1-0 (with most of the starters). The Blues have one preseason game remaining, against West Brom (Saturday, 9:00am). Albion are a Championship team, so this will be a meaningful test going into the regular season next week.

The team isn’t done with roster moves yet. They are working to sign last year’s standout Jay Stansfield, who was on loan from Fulham, on either another loan or a permanent deal. He is reportedly being courted by Hull City as well. There have been no other major moves in the past week but the Blues are clear that they are not done shelling out cash. The summer transfer window closes August 30th, so there’s still plenty of time. One possible sale is also out there: midfielder Jordan James is thought to have interest from Leeds, Newcastle and Southampton. If that ends up happening, that will mean all the more money to spend.

New head coach Chris Davies had an exensive interview with Sky Sports this week; you can read it here.