At 35 years old, DaMarcus Beasley has shown he can still keep up in the rapidly developing MLS. His career has shown no signs of slowing down, and neither has his sprint speed.
At left back, the former US international and Houston Dynamo captain is still a crucial component of both the Houston attack and defense.
By the end of Sunday afternoon’s 3-2 win against the Chicago Fire, Beasley completed 67 passes –10 more than any other Dynamo player – and also had 96 touches on the ball – 25 higher than any other Dynamo player.
As a cherry on top, Beasley made a tackle, was fouled twice, and create one of the Dynamo’s eight scoring opportunities.
“[He has] that personality, that character to receive the ball and go forward,” said Dynamo coach Wilmer Cabrera of Beasley after the match. “Yes, he’s 35, but he plays like he’s 20 years old.”
Beasley was the focal point in the Dynamo attack in the first half. Chicago Fire left winger, Diego Campos, left Beasley, man marking Oscar Boniek Garcia in the center of the field instead.
As a result, Beasley was consistently wide open, and completed 48 passes, 16 more than the next highest Dynamo player in the first half.
“They kind of left me by myself, so I was enjoying it,” Beasley said. “Any time a player gets that kind of space they’re going to try and exploit it.”
He had a few chances to create a goal-scoring opportunity in that half. On one play, Beasley touched the ball deftly around Chicago Fire right back, Kevin Ellis, and found time on the end-line to pick up his head and play a low cross. The pass didn’t connect with a Dynamo player, but was indicative of how active Beasley was in that half.
“It’s no secret that our front three (Romell Quioto, Mauro Manotas and Alberth Elis) are very fast,” Beasley said. “So, if they make runs, I give them the ball.”
The second half was a different story for Beasley. He didn’t have the same space to gallop forward, and, especially later in the game, was more needed to organize the defense.
Beasley completed just 19 passes in the second half. His more passive play was in part because the Fire finally put a defender of Beasley, and in part because Beasley stayed back to help protect the defense.
Houston was in dire need of a veteran player to boost the defense, especially after its last result.
“He doesn’t yell,” Cabrera said. “But his example on the field – the way he plays – is the way he pushes all his teammates to continue moving forward.”
The Houston Dynamo dropped two points last week after a 2-2 draw in Vancouver. Houston held on until the sixth minute of stoppage time, when a set piece resulted in a Whitecap equalizer.
It wasn’t the first time Houston dropped points late in the game, either. On three separate occasions, the Dynamo conceded a goal late in the game to lose the lead. The most notable were the draw in Vancouver, which came from a 96th minute equalizer, and the draw in Washington D.C., which was conceded in the 97th minute.
When the fourth official held up the board, announcing six minutes of stoppage time, Houston fans and players must have had a moment of déjà vu. It’s generally uncommon for referees to give more than five extra minutes, and the Dynamo had made a habit of dropping points in those extra minutes.
“Concentration, that’s it.” Beasley said when asked about how the team dealt with the end of the match. “We knew that any time we play, the ref is going to give 6, 7, 8 minutes on us.
“We know we have to be mentally prepared and have to concentrate for 98, 99, or 100 minutes of football, and we did that today.”
The Dynamo have only kept just one clean sheet in 2018 – a 4-0 victory against Atlanta United in the first match of the season. Despite conceding often, the Dynamo are tied with the Portland Timbers with the fourth best defense in the west, behind Dallas, Seattle, and Sporting Kansas City.
Beasley’s leadership helped hold together the Dynamo backline on Sunday afternoon. The Fire scored two goals in just two minutes, but were otherwise ineffective. Against more defensively sound teams, Houston will have to concentrate for the full 90 minutes– in Houston’s case maybe 100 minutes – to get a result.
Houston Dynamo
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