Indy Eleven and Birmingham Legion shared the spoils in a USL Group Stage match that finished 2-2 at Michael A. Carroll Stadium on Friday evening. The result leaves the hosts seven points clear of their visitors in the table, though the gap could have been wider had either side been more ruthless.
J. Hafferty opened the scoring in the 20th minute, giving Indy Eleven the lead before T. Pasher equalised four minutes before half-time. R. Williams then restored the advantage with a goal in the 66th minute, and for a while it looked as though the hosts might take all three points from this encounter.
The drama came at the death. D. Sing dragged the match level with a goal in the 90th minute plus eight, a moment that came after Birmingham had already shown they could hurt the hosts on the counter. And here's the thing — the visitors created more big chances, three to two, but couldn't convert them when it mattered.
Indy Eleven dominated possession at 51 per cent and registered nine shots on target compared to four for Birmingham. The hosts also completed 346 passes against 383 for the visitors, though Birmingham's tally came with fewer errors. Shots accuracy was identical at 50 per cent for both sides, which says something about how clinical both attacks were when they found space.
Birmingham have now lost four of their last five matches, a run that includes defeats to Hartford, Jacksonville and Colorado Springs. Indy Eleven's recent form has been steadier, with a win against Louisville and a draw with Hartford among their last results. By then, this point might not feel like much, but it keeps the hosts within touching distance of the upper half.
The table now shows Indy Eleven on 29 points from 21 games, while Birmingham sit on 18 after the same number of matches. Eleven points separate them, and with both sides having played the same number of fixtures, there is still time for the visitors to close the gap if they can find consistency.
