TFC’s Beitashour more than happy to fly under the radar

Sportsnet – TORONTO, Steven Beitashour and Justin Morrow are the best of friends off the field who both play the fullback and wingback positions, but go about their jobs in slightly different ways.

Morrow is known for his marauding runs down the left side in Toronto FC‘s five-man midfield, renowned for his attacking forays in the final third of the pitch and delivery of dangerous crosses into the box. He’s also been one of the highest-scoring defenders in Major League Soccer over the past three years and is currently tied as the Reds’ third-leading scorer this season with three goals.

Beitashour makes probing runs down the right flank, and like his teammate on the other side of the midfield, he’s known for his positioning, defensive awareness and consistent play.

But it’s fair to say Morrow gets far more attention and recognition than Beitashour, in large part due to his scoring prowess. While Morrow has a keen nose for goal, Beitashour has only scored twice during his MLS career – and both goals came when he was still playing alongside Morrow with the San Jose Earthquakes, long before he joined TFC in 2016.

Although a regular starter who played a key role in TFC’s march to the MLS Cup final in 2016, Beitashour flies under the radar, his simple but nuanced game going largely unnoticed.

“I’m okay with that. It’s not my job to talk or to score goals. My job is to do all the little things right on the field in my defending,” Beitashour told Sportsnet.

“People obviously take notice of goals, and maybe that’s why I don’t get much recognition because that’s what they watch for. I haven’t scored much, so people will say, ‘We didn’t even know he’s on our team.’ And that’s okay.”