Americans Abroad

Beasley goes distance, but PSV Eindhoven falls 3-2 in Champions League first leg.

By Robert Wagman
(in Washington, D.C.)
SoccerTimes

(Wednesday, August 11, 2004) -- The season is just starting, but United States midfielder DaMarcus Beasley is firmly entrenched as a starter on the left side of midfield for PSV Eindhoven of the Netherlands Eredivisie.

Beasley acquitted himself well tonight in his first taste of the European Champions League, going the distance in PSV's 3-2 loss to to FK Crvena Zvezda (Red Star) in the road leg of the two-match, third-round series before about 55,000 frenzied fans in Belgrade.

The return leg will be played in two weeks at Eindhoven which must win, preferably by two or more goals. In case of an aggregate tie, the first tiebreaker is road goals.

Beasley started strong and help create a number of chances in the first half. He slowed during the second half, but then finished strong helping PSV create three or four good chances in the last 10 minutes, though none were finished.

PSV coach Guus Hiddink coach singled Beasley out for praise, calling him a "real threat" throughout the evening.

"The thing with DaMarcus is he can get so much better, I still feel, and that's fantastic, " said Earnie Stewart, Beasley's teammate with the U.S. men and a veteran of a decade of Dutch soccer before moving to Major League Soccer and D.C. United in 2003. "He's a very good player with the potential to be a great player. It's a bit different (in the Netherlands) than over here, but he'll manage."

U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard and Manchester United fared better, going on the road to defeat Dinamo Bucuresti 2-1 in Bucharest, Romania, in the opener of their third-round series.

The home team came out attacking and Howard was called on to make a stellar save on a Claudiu Niculescu free kick in the fourth minute. Six minutes later, Howard was victimized by an own goal. Claudiu Niculescu's attempted cross was sent on goal, but when United defender Quinton Fortune got to the ball, he only succeeded in turning it past Howard into his own net for a 1-0 deficit.

United patchwork defense, missing three starters, righted itself and Man. U. midfielder Ryan Giggs scored in the 38th minute to draw United level. A wonderful save by Howard on Constantin Semeghin helped keep the score even at intermission.

Howard made two good second-half saves, especially one on Ionut Balan's blast. Dinamo defender Angelo Alistar then returned the favor, putting a ball into his own net for Manchester's winner in the 72nd minute,

Eighteen-year-old American defender Jonathan Spector was dressed and on the bench, but dod not play for United which will host the return leg at Old Trafford in two weeks.

In another third-round match, Norwegian power Rosenborg defeated visiting Maccabi Haifa FC of Israel 2-1 in the opening leg. American defender Robbie Russell, nursing an injured leg, did not play for Rosenborg.

Robert Wagman is a SoccerTimes senior correspondent. E-mail Robert Wagman.