Rhode Island FC Defeat Birmingham Legion to Advance to USL Cup Semifinal
Atkinson’s attack propels RIFC to victory
Rhode Island FC returned to action Wednesday night after an eleven day break, hosting conference foe Birmingham Legion FC for a USL Jägermeister Cup quarterfinal showdown.
Facing a win or go home situation coach Khano Smith went with a lineup that he considered to be one of the team’s strongest, which meant the inclusion of team captain Koke Vegas, as the Ocean State looked to keep their Cup run alive.
It only took seven minutes for midfielder Matthew Corcoran to be booked by the official, being shown yellow after a hard challenge to win the ball back from Birmingham.The majority of the first half proved to be a back and forth effort between both clubs, with both sides unable to get off a shot attempt.
The rainy conditions of the evening forced Birmingham to make an early substitution in just the 15th minute after forward Tyler Pasher’s pulled up short during an attacking press, going down with what appeared to be a hamstring injury. Rhode Island made its first change of the match in the 57th minute with J.J. Williams entering the game for Aldair Sanchez, looking to make a more offensive push in the second half.
A trio of substitutions took place in the 72nd minute as RIFC swapped Albert Dikwa, Amos Shapiro-Thompson, and Aimé Mabika out for Dwayne Atkinson, Noah Fuson, and Zachary Herivaux respectively.
In the 74th minute it was Atkinson, in just his second appearance with RIFC, who finally found the breakthrough to put Rhode Island ahead and score the club’s first open play goal in 26 days. Getting on the end of the pass from Herivaux, Atkinson was able to take his defender on and drive into Birmingham’s penalty area before beating the keeper at the near post.
In the 91st minute it looked as though Williams would break away for a second Rhode Island goal to put the game away but was taken down as he pushed the ball past Birmingham defender Edwin Laszo, resulting in a red card that left the Legion down a man.
Atkinson’s lone goal proved to be enough as the Amber and Blue punched their ticket to the next round of the Jägermeister Cup. The draw to determine their opponent for the semi-final will take place Thursday morning at 9:30 AM EST.
Rhode Island will travel to Trinity Health Stadium on Saturday for this season’s third El Clamico match-up against Hartford. Kick-off is slated for 7:30 PM EST.