Thursday, May 7
Birmingham, AL – Miami FC picked up an important road point on Thursday night after battling Birmingham Legion FC to a hard-fought 0-0 draw at Protective Stadium. Behind several key saves from goalkeeper Eloy Room and a disciplined defensive performance, Miami earned a clean sheet away from home.
The opening stages saw Birmingham try to establish early pressure, but Miami remained organized defensively and limited the hosts to mostly blocked efforts from distance. Birmingham’s first dangerous chance came in the 12th minute when Ronaldo Damus found space inside the box, but his shot rolled just wide of the far post.
Miami slowly began finding opportunities of its own through Mason Tunbridge, Gerald Díaz and Jürgen Locadia. In the 18th minute, Brandon Bent cut inside and forced a blocked effort after good buildup play from Díaz. A few moments later, Alessandro Milesi delivered Miami’s best look of the half, arriving into the box and firing narrowly wide after a setup from Tunbridge.
Eloy Room was called into action several times during the first half and delivered once again for Miami FC. The Curaçao international made an important save in the 36th minute, denying Gevork Diarbian after a dangerous through ball from Tyler Pasher.
The match remained physical throughout the evening with both sides combining for multiple cautions and stoppages, while Miami continued to stay compact defensively and dangerous in transition.
Head Coach Gastón Maddoni turned to his bench early in the second half, bringing on Joel Soñora at halftime. Miami began creating more opportunities as the game opened up after the hour mark.
Locadia nearly broke the deadlock in the 73rd minute with back-to-back chances. First, the striker forced a save from outside the box after combining with Rodrigo da Costa, before moments later seeing a header comfortably handled by Birmingham goalkeeper Jassem Koleilat.
Birmingham responded with pressure of its own late in the match, but Miami’s back line held firm. Room produced another key stop in the 63rd minute against Peter-Lee Vassell before making one final save in stoppage time to deny Serge Ngoma and preserve the clean sheet.
Miami nearly stole all three points deep into added time when Soñora tested Koleilat from inside the area, but the Birmingham keeper made the stop as both sides settled for a point.
Miami FC will now return home to host Tampa Bay Rowdies on Saturday, May 16th at Pitbull Stadium in Prinx Tires USL Cup action as the club celebrates World Soccer Night. Tickets are available now by visiting Miami FC or calling 844-MIAMIFC.
