Late Goal by Beasley Preserves U-17s 14-Game Unbeaten Streak with 2-2 Draw Against England
TAMPA, Fla. (Sunday, June 27, 1999) - In the first-ever international match at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. the U.S. Men's Under-17 National Team drew 2-2 against England today to extend their unbeaten streak to 14 matches, 10 months and 1,240 minutes.
June 27, 1999
"We had a lot of chances today and did not capitalize on them. In New Zealand, scoring opportunities will be few and far. We will need to improve on converting our chances if we want to have a chance of advancing out of our group," said U.S. Men's Under-17 Head Coach John Ellinger. "The heat wasn't a factor today since we had unlimited substitutions. What was a factor was our ability to score."
In the 27th minute English defender Craig Woodman fouled U.S. midfielder DaMarcus Beasley setting up a USA penalty kick. Landon Donovan stepped up and took the penalty kick only to shoot the ball wide-left.
The USA opened the scoring just before half when Landon Donovan threaded a perfectly placed threw ball to the feet of U.S. teammate Kyle Beckerman. Receiving the ball in stride Beckerman faked a shot to the right and pushed the ball by England goalkeeper Sam Russell and slotted the ball into the open net giving the U.S. a 1-0 in the 35th minute.
England came out in the second half and caught the U.S. U-17s flat footed in the 36th minute when England striker Jermaine Defoe, who signed a two-million dollar contract with English Premier League team Chelsea, FC the day before at the age of 16, pounced on a mishandled ball by the U.S. defense. Defoe beat U.S. goalkeeper Delvin Countess and evened the score at 1-1.
Six minutes later England took the lead when Leon Knight received a threw ball from midfield leaving him one-on-one with Countess. Knight hit a low, right footed shot from 15-yards out that found the net at the far post giving the English a 2-1 lead in the 42nd minute.
With only four minutes left to play Donovan again threaded another threw ball, but this time to Beasley who received the ball just outside the English six-yard box. Beasley took one touch to control the ball and then fired a left-footed shot that beat the English goalkeeper to the far post in the 66th minute.
The U-17s will play England again on Wednesday, June 30 in Bradenton, Fla. at the Bollettieri Sports Academy. Following the match on June 30 the U-17s will break for the summer and return home. The team will regroup in late July for the U.S. Amateur Festival to be hosted by Portland, Oregon, August 1-8.
1999 U.S. MEN'S UNDER-17 NATIONAL TEAM GAME REPORT
| Participants: | U.S. Under-17 Men's National Team vs. England's Under-16 School Boy's Team |
| Competition: | International Friendly |
| Venue: | Tampa, Fla. |
| Date: | June 27, 1999 |
| Weather: | Hot and Humid - 88 degrees |
| Scoring Summary: | 1st | 2nd | Final |
| 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 0 | 2 | 2 |
USA - Kyle Beckerman, (Donovan), 35+,
ENG - Jermaine Defoe, (unassisted), 36,
ENG - Leon Knight, (unassisted), 42,
USA - DaMarcus Beasley, (Donovan), 66.
Lineups:
USA - 1-Delvin Countess, 4-Nelson Akwari, 17-Seth Trembly, 14-Oguchi Onyewu, 8-Alexander Yi, 5-Bryan Jackson, 3-DaMarcus Beasley, 7-Kenneth Cutler, 15-Kyle Beckerman, 16-Jordan Cila, 10- Landon Donovan.
ENG - 1-Sam Russell, 2-Paul Thornton, 3-Craig Woodman, 4-Lyndon Duncan, 5-Peter Clarke, 6-Ben Willetts, 7-Jonathan Brewers, 8-Stuart Parnably, 9-Leon Knight, 10-Jermaine Defoe, 11-Leon Britton.
| Statistical Summary: | USA | ENG |
| 14 | 6 | |
| 1 | 3 | |
| 1 | 1 | |
| 5 | 6 | |
| 1 | 5 |
| Misconduct Summary: | ||
| Officials: | ||
| Roger Sill | (Tampa, Fla.) | |
| Scott Segesman | (Tampa, Fla.) | |
| Jon Dowe | (Tampa, Fla.) | |
