El Paso Locomotive FC Fall 3-1 to Birmingham Legion FC
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- El Paso Locomotive FC fell 3-1 to Birmingham Legion FC Saturday night at Southwest University Park, finding it difficult to break past the opponent's defensive block.
"What we did on the field is not even close to what we need to do," Head Coach Wilmer Cabrera said. "We weren't giving a good match in terms of fighting, tackling, defending what is ours, which is our field, our home. I was very disappointed about that. [There's] a lot of work to do and it's my responsibility now, but that was a tough welcome and wake-up [call]. I know what's going on and now I need to work on that."
Birmingham would open the scoring in the 26' and it seemed they would hold on to that lead heading into halftime, but El Paso's Justin Dhillon would come to the rescue, slotting in a cross from Miles Lyons to bring the Locos level.
However, Birmingham would find the net minutes later to take the lead heading into the break. They would score a third in the second half and from there, sit back and absorb any and all pressure from the Locomotive offense. The Legion would hold on until the end and walked away with all three points.
El Paso must now shift its focus to Wednesday, June 5, when it makes the trip to bitter in-state rivals San Antonio FC for an intense Copa Tejas matchup on CBS Sports Network.
NOTES
- Wilmer Cabrera contested his first home match at Southwest University Park since being appointed El Paso Locomotive FC's new Head Coach.
- Justin Dhillon scored his second goal of the 2024 season.
- Miles Lyons registered his first assist this year.
- Petar Petrovic made his first appearance of the 2024 season, coming in as a second-half substitute.
- Ricardo Zacarias returned to the pitch tonight after being out with injury since mid-April.
- El Paso's unlucky winless streak at home has now extended to seven matches this season.
FORECAST: 96ºF, sunny
ATTENDANCE: 5,707
SCORING SUMMARY
- ELP – Justin Dhillon (Miles Lyons) 44'
- BHM – Dawson McCartney (Enzo Martinez) 26', Prosper Kassim (AJ Paterson) 45+3', Tyler Pasher (Kobe Hernandez-Foster) 64'
LINEUPS
ELP – (4-2-3-1) Jahmali Waite, Nick Hinds (Noah Dollenmayer 79'), Brandan Craig, Tony Alfaro, Lucas Stauffer (Miles Lyons 28'), Eric Calvillo – C, Liam Rose (Bolu Akinyode 65'), Joaquin Rivas (Ricardo Zacarias 65'), Tumi Moshobane, Amando Moreno (Petar Petrovic 65'), Justin Dhillon
Subs Not Used: Ramon Pasquel, Yuma, Diego Abarca, Emiliano Rodriguez
BHM – (4-5-1) Matt Van Oekel, AJ Paterson, Phanuel Kavita, Alex Crognale, Derek Dodson, Dawson McCartney (Miguel Perez 69'), Kobe Hernández-Foster, Jake Rufe, Tyler Pasher (Preston Tabort Etaka 84'), Enzo MartÃnez (Moses Mensah 84'), Prosper Kasim (Diba Nwegbo 79')
Subs Not Used: Brock Marlow
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
- ELP – Brandan Craig (Yellow) 29'
- BHM – Tyler Pasher (Yellow) 34', Dawson McCartney (Yellow) 45+7'
MATCH STATS: ELP | BHM
GOALS: 1|3
ASSISTS: 1|3
POSSESSION: 62|38
SHOTS: 13|18
SHOTS ON GOAL: 3|7
SAVES: 4|2
FOULS: 9|12
OFFSIDES: 2|5
CORNERS: 8|2
UP NEXT: El Paso Locomotive FC will make its CBS Sports Network debut when it visits bitter in-state rivals San Antonio FC on Wednesday, June 5 at 7 pm MT. The Copa Tejas match is the first of a two-game series and Locomotive will seek to pick up its first win against San Antonio since 2021.
