With Sporting KC hosting Eastern Conference rivals Houston on Friday evening, I caught up with Dynamo beat writer for MLSsoccer.com, Darrell Lovell, to preview the match. The match will kick off at 7 p.m. CT on Friday with live coverage available on the NBC Sports Network, Sports Radio 810 WHB, and La Gran D 1340 AM.
Jonathon Feyerherm: Damarcus Beasley was a late scratch in Houston's last match. What's his status for Friday?
Darrell Lovell: Beasley is really the only guy that they are monitoring. He said last week that he did not think the injury was a long-term thing and Dominic Kinnear implied on Monday that it wouldn't be a long-term thing. Still, it's a hamstring and those are one of the more touchier, tempermental injuries that you can have so you never know until you know. He's a guy that I think they feel good about having but nothing is set in stone regarding his inclusion for Friday's match.
JF: How are you expecting Houston to approach the match?
DL: The Dynamo have been so tough to get a handle on how they'll approach matches, especially on the road. Some games they come out on the road and they're really going forward and pushing the envelope, like they were at Seattle a few weeks ago in the first half. Then they go to Columbus and you don't see a lot of that. You don't see a lot of the creation and link-up play. It's really tough from a Houston point of view to know. The conventional wisdom is they absolutely need the points, not just one, but they need all three. They've got to pluck a road win once or twice in these next five games. I could see them coming out and taking some more chances although the opponent may dictate a little bit more of cautious approach. But with this team needing the points, I don't think they have any choice but to come out and attack. Hopefully that makes for a good game.
JF: These sides feature two of the top attacking and creative players in MLS in Sporting KC's Graham Zusi and Houston's Brad Davis. What impact do you see those two players having on this match?
DL: If it's going to be a good match, those two are probably going to have their hands over it. Those are two of the more creative guys on the field. If it's an entertaining match or an aesthetically pleasing match, it's going to be because those guys are providing service and putting in the work. But with these games between these two teams, often times it comes down to something beyond that and those two guys can get lost in the shuffle. These games have been very physical but I'm hoping they have an influence on the match. I'm hoping they play the creator role and they provide the good bits of skill they can.
JF: What are you expecting to see and looking forward to for this match?
DL: I think we are going to see a physical match as we always see that between these two teams. We never see guys step out of tackles or shy away from contact. We always see two energetic teams and two high-tempo, pressing teams that aren't afraid to go at it. I don't really see either team compromising that part of their game. I think those make for really fun matches. I'm hoping to see that again with some good skill mixed in.
