The Switchbacks return to downtown Colorado Springs on Friday evening as they host Birmingham Legion on Pirates and Princesses Night. The first fans through the gates at 6pm will receive a pirate hat or a princess wand, courtesy of Children’s Hospital, with tickets remaining available HERE!
Birmingham Legion arrive in Colorado Springs with a record of 9-9-2 after falling 2-1 last Saturday to the Charleston Battery at Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Alabama. Charleston’s first goal was scored by former Air Force Academy Falcon Tristan Trager. The Switchbacks took a point from their most recent road-trip after tying Phoenix Rising 1-1 in the Valley of the Sun on July 22nd before falling 2-0 to San Diego Loyal last Sunday afternoon in the Golden State.
Head Coach Stephen Hogan’s Thoughts:
“We had a structure going into the first half [in San Diego] and we made a mistake on [Joe] Corona’s goal with the back post area – and then [we] opened [San Diego Loyal] up. Even talking to their staff afterwards, they had no idea what we were doing in terms of coming at [them] and we kept the ball for most of the second half. We had one or two chances obviously in the first half [but] we had the majority of them in the second half. It’s frustrating because [the players] expected that they should have won it – and so did we [the coaching staff]. We have an idea for [how to play] on the road, but we have the idea of when we are in scoring chances, it has to be done with very, very fast pace – and [that] happened [against San Diego],
[we] just didn’t hit the net. “It’s always fantastic to be home. [The players] are always very lively when they’re at home, and the pattern of play that we want to get to is making this a complete fortress and not having a loss for years and years and years to come. Anyone wants that at home, but the
understanding of executing it is [key]. The potential chances are there, it’s just now dominating in front of goal, and if you do that you won’t lose.”
Look at the Legion:
“Their front four are phenomenal,” said Head Coach Hogan. “They have a very good transitional base – they scored a great goal against Charleston, and I know they lost that game late 2-1, but the front four can hurt you. [They] can hurt anyone, and the idea is to bypass them quickly. If we bypass them quickly, I think we’re faster and more dynamic on the ball. You know they’ll come in here and fight like everyone else does, but if we can overload our areas, I think it will cause them a lot of problems and create even more chances than normal. I’m excited to see it if [our players] execute it well, but we do have to be wary of what [Birmingham] can give us [going] the other way. “[Leading goal scorer Enzo] Martínez can play anywhere – he has a free role [and] he’ll drop into midfield so we’re working on a lot of that,” continued Head Coach Hogan. “He’ll press with Neco [Brett] up top. Brett has a ton of goals in the league so you have to keep an eye on him but I don’t want to make it just about Enzo. But we have to really keep an eye on where he is, and in moments where he has time and space you have to be careful.”
Vargish’s View:
The loss in San Diego was beyond frustrating: the Switchbacks displayed eye-catching, efficient, and energetic soccer, and then Sunday’s hosts scored with a stunning strike. The Switchbacks acquitted themselves well on their two-match road trip. A win was ultimately deserved in searing temperatures in Phoenix, and the Switchbacks simply never got even an ounce of luck in the defeat in SoCal. Playing at altitude and in front of a home crowd at Weidner Field transforms this Switchbacks team. The Switchbacks’ six home wins are the second most in the USL Championship’s Western
Conference, behind only table-topping Sacramento Republic. Birmingham Legion have not been held scoreless since May 27th and have already won four times away from the Yellowhammer State this season. Friday night’s game will be decided by the speed of transition. If the Switchbacks can return to their free-flowing best, Birmingham will struggle to deal with an attacking intensity they’ve so far not encountered in 2023.
