Sporting JAX beat Birmingham Legion 3-2 in the USL Championship Group Stage at BBVA Compass Field on 23 August 2026. The hosts dominated possession but could not hold on after a late collapse, while the visitors ground out a result that lifted them off the bottom of the table.
R. Damus put Sporting JAX ahead in the 55th minute, and E. Jaaskelainen doubled the lead three minutes later. Birmingham pulled one back through W. Kuzain in the 76th minute, only for R. Williams to restore the two-goal cushion in stoppage time. D. Wilson then scored a late consolation for the hosts in the 90+11th minute.
And here's the thing — Birmingham controlled the tempo for large stretches but failed to convert their advantage. They created two big chances compared to Sporting JAX's one, and their 15 shots to ten showed they camped in the final third. Yet the away side's goalkeeper made six saves to his counterpart's two, and that difference mattered.
By then the statistics told a familiar story. Birmingham held 58 per cent possession and completed 415 of 470 passes, while Sporting JAX managed 256 from 326. The hosts registered 95 attacks to 80, but Sporting JAX were more clinical with their 45 per cent shot accuracy compared to Birmingham's 44.
The result leaves Birmingham Legion 11th with 17 points from 20 games, while Sporting JAX move to 13th on 11 points from 22 matches. The visitors had lost four of their last five before this result, but the win ended a barren spell that had seen them concede 10 goals in three straight defeats.