On a beautiful spring night in Birmingham, Ala., South Georgia brought the storm to the Birmingham Legion and easily dispatched the USL Championship club, 2-0.
In the first meeting between Tormenta and this Birmingham side since 2018, the Ibis continued right where they left off with another two-goal victory. While on the world may see this as a “cupset”, absolutely nobody in Tormenta is surprised.
Short Interview with @Tormenta_FC’s Head Coach Ian Cameron. Top class organization. pic.twitter.com/7nmturb9dl
— Kaylor Hodges (@KaylorHodges) April 20, 2022
Early on in the match, Legion FC took early control, dominating the ball and the pace of play, but Tormenta held on strong. Through the first 30 minutes, Legion were outshooting South Georgia 8-1, but shots do not always equal goals.
In the 33rd minute, Tormenta would take a 1-0 lead. And it was just their second shot of the night.
The build up was created with a ball played down the left wing in the Birmingham end of the field. Tormenta’s Kingsford Adjei cut back to his right at the corner of the 18-yard box and fired a low shot into the mixer. The ball found its way through the players in front of goal, forcing the goalkeeper to make a diving save to his left. The rebound would fall to Curtis Thorn who tucked the ball into the back of the net.
Just 13 minutes later, Jake Dengler got himself on the scoresheet just before halftime. After a corner kick, the ball fell to Dengler inside the box and he beat the keeper to score his first goal as a professional. This goal, though early in the game, felt like the dagger through the heart of the Legion’s cup run.
This was not Dengler’s first experience scoring in the US Open Cup, bagging a goal for FC Baltimore Christos (NPSL) in a 1-1 draw against West Chester United. He would eventually set up to take a shot during the penalty, where he calmly tucked it away to keep the Christos alive.
VAMOS 👏 TORMENTA 👏@curtis_thorn puts us ahead in style!#ForThe912 | #VamosTormenta pic.twitter.com/nmJajdjNo1
— Tormenta FC (@Tormenta_FC) April 20, 2022
In the second half, Tormenta continued to showcase their dominance over Birmingham as they completely shut down the Legion attack while also continuing to flex their offensive muscles. Though no more goals were scored, the way Tormenta played was just an overwhelming amount of swagger.
“It is not something that I install, it’s something the entire club installs,” said Tormenta head coach Ian Cameron about his team’s confidence. “We know who we are. We don’t get ahead of ourselves. Everybody is very, very proud to put on the Tormenta badge. Sometimes we get beat, sometimes we win, but no matter what, the spirit of the group will always be there.”
For Tormenta, it was the club’s second straight road win against a USL Championship side, having defeated the Charleston Battery in the opening round.
Tormenta advance to the Fourth Round where they will play a third straight road game, this time in South Florida where they will take on Inter Miami CF (MLS) on May 10.
