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Beckham gets first MLS goal for Galaxy
By The Associated Press
Friday, April 04, 2008 | No comments posted.
CARSON, Calif. — Beckham to Donovan. Donovan to Beckham.
Those are the scorelines the Los Angeles Galaxy had in mind when they brought the English superstar David Beckham to Southern California last year.
Thursday night they finally got to see the combination succeed, and it led to a badly needed win.
Beckham scored his first goal in a Major League Soccer game off an assist from Landon Donovan, the team’s biggest American star, and later returned the favor to help the Galaxy win their home opener, 2-0 over the expansion San Jose Earthquakes.
Beckham took a pass from Donovan at the top of the box in the ninth minute, and fired the ball into the back of the net.
“It’s great to score a goal, usually I’m on the other end assisting,” Beckham said. “I’m happy but I’m more happy that the team performed well.”
Donovan added his own goal from virtually the same spot late in the first half, off an assist from Beckham.
“We understand the game the same way and we see the game the same way,” Donovan said. “Now I know how he wants the ball and he knows where I want it and how I want it. If he puts it in a good area, I have a chance to get to it.”
The Galaxy beat their former coach Frank Yallop, whose Earthquakes returned to MLS after a two-year absence. The team’s previous incarnation became the Houston Dynamo.
Los Angeles was humbled in a 4-0 loss at Colorado in Saturday’s season opener.
“I think we were all a little bit embarrassed after Saturday,” Donovan said.
That defeat, last year’s losing season and the waning novelty of Beckham’s presence gave Thursday’s game an extra sense of early-season urgency. The Galaxy brought in former Dutch World Cup star Ruud Gullit to succeed Yallop in an attempt to turn the pomp and press that Beckham’s arrival brought into wins.
It didn’t take long for Gullit to see his first goal in Los Angeles.
Beckham, who had kept the paparazzi busier than the scorekeepers before his seventh MLS appearance, took a perfect pass from Donovan on his left and scored on an 18-yarder from the right side with 8:16 in that sent the just-seated crowd into a frenzy.
“The energy level was totally different tonight than it was last week,” Beckham said. “Tonight we were more relaxed going into the game. Last week we were a bit tense. Maybe nerves set in as well in the first game.”
Beckham had scored a goal for the Galaxy, on a free kick in a Superliga game against D.C. United on Aug. 15.
Donovan’s goal, which came in the 37th minute, sailed into an empty net after goalkeeper Joe Cannon had charged forward.
Donovan said that he and Beckham had already been gelling, but it hadn’t paid off with scores yet.
“On Saturday, we had two or three moments like that, but when it doesn’t come off, people tend to think that all of the sudden it happened tonight and now it’s working,” Donovan said.
San Jose appeared to start the scoring with a goal in the third minute, but was called for offsides.
Galaxy goalkeeper Steve Cronin didn’t allow a goal that counted and notched his first career shutout.
Cronin kicked the ball soaring into the crowd as time expired and threw his arms angrily into the air, shaking off some of the disappointment that has met the Galaxy including the dismal opener.
Yallop, who went 9-14-7 and missed the playoffs last season with Los Angeles, resigned then returned to San Jose, a team he had coached to two MLS titles in its previous life. Yallop left for a stint with the Canadian national team before joining the Galaxy in 2006.
Those are the scorelines the Los Angeles Galaxy had in mind when they brought the English superstar David Beckham to Southern California last year.
Thursday night they finally got to see the combination succeed, and it led to a badly needed win.
Beckham scored his first goal in a Major League Soccer game off an assist from Landon Donovan, the team’s biggest American star, and later returned the favor to help the Galaxy win their home opener, 2-0 over the expansion San Jose Earthquakes.
Beckham took a pass from Donovan at the top of the box in the ninth minute, and fired the ball into the back of the net.
“It’s great to score a goal, usually I’m on the other end assisting,” Beckham said. “I’m happy but I’m more happy that the team performed well.”
Donovan added his own goal from virtually the same spot late in the first half, off an assist from Beckham.
“We understand the game the same way and we see the game the same way,” Donovan said. “Now I know how he wants the ball and he knows where I want it and how I want it. If he puts it in a good area, I have a chance to get to it.”
The Galaxy beat their former coach Frank Yallop, whose Earthquakes returned to MLS after a two-year absence. The team’s previous incarnation became the Houston Dynamo.
Los Angeles was humbled in a 4-0 loss at Colorado in Saturday’s season opener.
“I think we were all a little bit embarrassed after Saturday,” Donovan said.
That defeat, last year’s losing season and the waning novelty of Beckham’s presence gave Thursday’s game an extra sense of early-season urgency. The Galaxy brought in former Dutch World Cup star Ruud Gullit to succeed Yallop in an attempt to turn the pomp and press that Beckham’s arrival brought into wins.
It didn’t take long for Gullit to see his first goal in Los Angeles.
Beckham, who had kept the paparazzi busier than the scorekeepers before his seventh MLS appearance, took a perfect pass from Donovan on his left and scored on an 18-yarder from the right side with 8:16 in that sent the just-seated crowd into a frenzy.
“The energy level was totally different tonight than it was last week,” Beckham said. “Tonight we were more relaxed going into the game. Last week we were a bit tense. Maybe nerves set in as well in the first game.”
Beckham had scored a goal for the Galaxy, on a free kick in a Superliga game against D.C. United on Aug. 15.
Donovan’s goal, which came in the 37th minute, sailed into an empty net after goalkeeper Joe Cannon had charged forward.
Donovan said that he and Beckham had already been gelling, but it hadn’t paid off with scores yet.
“On Saturday, we had two or three moments like that, but when it doesn’t come off, people tend to think that all of the sudden it happened tonight and now it’s working,” Donovan said.
San Jose appeared to start the scoring with a goal in the third minute, but was called for offsides.
Galaxy goalkeeper Steve Cronin didn’t allow a goal that counted and notched his first career shutout.
Cronin kicked the ball soaring into the crowd as time expired and threw his arms angrily into the air, shaking off some of the disappointment that has met the Galaxy including the dismal opener.
Yallop, who went 9-14-7 and missed the playoffs last season with Los Angeles, resigned then returned to San Jose, a team he had coached to two MLS titles in its previous life. Yallop left for a stint with the Canadian national team before joining the Galaxy in 2006.
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