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Beckham tackle leads to fracas
24/08/2007 08:19 - (SA)
Carson - The globetrotting David Beckham was unable to prevent Los Angeles Galaxy from losing their Major League Soccer match 3-0 to Chivas USA on Thursday.
A day after playing the full 90 minutes for England in a
2-1 friendly defeat by Germany in London, Beckham was on the
pitch throughout as the Galaxy slipped to their ninth defeat in
17 MLS games.
Chivas striker Maykel Galindo opened the scoring in the
59th minute, sliding the ball past Galaxy goalkeeper Joe Cannon
after pouncing on a defensive blunder by Kyle Veris.
Ten minutes later, defender Francisco Mendoza set up
Galindo for his second goal, and 10th of the season, with a
pinpoint pass that split the Galaxy defence from the right.
Mendoza made it 3-0 with a perfectly weighted left-footed
shot in the 88th minute, with Cannon stranded, to put the gloss
on Chivas's 10th win of their MLS campaign.
Despite the return from injury of experienced Portuguese
defender Abel Xavier, the Galaxy came under continual pressure
from a spirited Chivas attack, especially in the opening half.
Galindo found space in the penalty area in the 10th minute
but his right-footed blast was parried away by Galaxy goalkeeper
Cannon.
Good save
With the Galaxy defence struggling to maintain structure,
Cannon made another good save in the 26th minute, diving
forward to block a close-range shot by striker Ante Razov.
The Galaxy were fortunate not to concede a penalty in the
31st minute when Xavier, tackling back, brought Francisco
Mendoza down in the area.
Beckham took his first free-kick in the 37th minute but it
was dealt with adequately by the Chivas defence.
One minute later, the former England captain unleashed a
superb corner kick from the left which found defender Kyke
Veris lurking on the right but he sent his diving header wide.
The opening half ended with a fracas on the pitch and
Galaxy midfielder Kevin Harmse and Chivas defender Alex Zotinca
were shown red cards.
Harmse was head-butted by Zotinca in return for a punch to
the stomach, a clash sparked when Beckham squared up to Chivas
midfielder Jesse Marsch after being the victim of a mistimed
tackle.
The Galaxy, who have won only three MLS games this season,
remain second bottom in the Western standings. Chivas stay in
third spot, four points behind the pacesetting Houston Dynamo.
- Reuters
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