The most important part
After the depressing 1-4 loss on Wednesday, the Legion’s chances of a playoff spot got a fair amount weaker. The Three Sparks pretty much need to run the table over the last 6 games and hope that other teams drop points along the way. 2 of those last 6 games are against teams also competing for a playoff spot. One of those is The™ Miami FC. Well, technically they are, at least. That game is a month away yet. Next up though is a nationally televised road game against Indy Eleven (Sunday, 4:00pm, CBS Sports Network).
Indy are currently 9th and just 1 point out of the playoffs. They have been very unpredictable, playing alternately well and poorly. They have lost 4 of their last 6 games. Those were to Loudoun United, Louisville City, the Charleston Battery and Rhode Island. Only the last of those was perhaps a winnable game (the 1-0 score was due to an own goal though). The 2 wins in that stretch were over Miami and, most surprisingly, Hartford Athletic.
So who knows what to expect from this team. They did beat the Legion 1-0 in Birmingham back in June in a game they really should have lost, being pounded with 21 shots and 6 on target, winning with their only shot on target (by Cam Lindley) just 4 minutes into the game.
In that game they played a 5-4-1 but over the course of the season and even from week to week they have used wildly different formations, which could suggest why they are so unpredictable. It also hints as to why they are not very successful, as they do not appear to have a set playing style. Who knows how they wll line up Sunday.
Their primary scoring threat is Jack Blake, who has 9 goals in league play. After him are Romario Williams and Elvis Amoh, both on 5. Some good news on that front: Amoh was red-carded at the very end of the game against Rhody and is on suspension this week. So they are down one major piece.
Prediction: The Legion is winless in the last 7 games, an unconscionable long stretch and has given up points wantonly, and in some cases been somewhat cheated out of a few. After Wednesday’s wasteful showing the team absolutely has to get back on the right track. This is a key game against a relatively weak opponent. Despite the team’s horrible record against such opponents, I believe they will get out of the ongoing funk and get the result.
Best of the rest
Now that the Legion needs some serious help, it’s even more important to keep track of what everyone else is doing, and there are some pretty big games this week. With the Three Sparks playing Sunday, all other games will be open, and they start tonight:
The Miami FC v. Rhode Island FC (Friday, 6:00pm, ESPN+)
This one is major. Rhode Island is holding the last playoff spot and is 5 points above the Legion. Miami is of course last in the conference, a point behind the good guys. a win here would put Miami at least briefly in front of the Legion but would keep Rhody’s lead within reach. Neither team is exactly on fire right now, although Miami did at least break its 4-game losing streak with a 0-0 draw with Las Vegas.
Hartford Athletic v. Pittsburgh Riverhounds (Saturday, 6:00pm, ESPN+)
Hartford are on a roll, with 4 league wins in the last 5 games and a place in the Jägermeister Cup final booked. They are also just 1 point out of the home playoff spots. Pittsburgh in contrast have just 1 win in the last 5, against the Oakland Roots. They are sitting in 7th right now but are not exactly comfortable. This is a big one for both teams and potentially the game of the week.
Tampa Bay Rowdies v. North Carolina FC (Saturday, 6:30pm, CBS Sports Golazo Network)
The Rowdies’ humiliation of the Legion has put them in a much stronger position than they previously were but they still need to keep going. This will be their 3rd game in 8 days and they did look fatigued on Wednesday. North Carolina have Hartford on their tail, just a point behind and they will want to do all they can to keep that last home playoff spot. North Carolina do have a game in hand, and the Legion on tgheir schedule yet.
San Antonio FC v. Orange County SC (Saturday, 7:30pm, ESPN+)
The Three Sparks will travel to San Antonio next Saturday so this should be of great interest. The Texans are 4th in the West but are extremely erratic, but stopped a winless slide last week with a comprehensive 5-2 win over Loudoun. Orange County have dropped out of the playoff spots and are giving up goals like candy. This could be a very unpredictable fixture.
