Beckham sees Galaxy flop to defeat

CARSON, California -- David Beckham could only sit and watch as his new club, the Los Angeles Galaxy, slumped to an unimpressive 3-0 defeat against Mexicans Tigres UANL in a friendly in California.

Beckham, whose scheduled first appearance for the Galaxy against Chelsea on Saturday is in doubt because of a swollen left ankle, watched helplessly from a corporate hospitality suite in the company of club president Alexi Lalas.

The England midfielder, signed by the Galaxy from Real Madrid on a five-year deal worth $32.5 million, had his ankle in an ice-pack.

Beckham twisted his ankle playing for England against Estonia in a Euro 2008 qualifying match last month and aggravated it in his final appearance for Real Madrid 11 days later.

He has undergone regular treatment over the last three weeks and is eager to play for the Galaxy at the Home Depot Center on Saturday in what has become a hotly anticipated debut for the Major League Soccer side.

Beckham can be in no doubt that when he finally puts on the Galaxy jersey for the first time in serious action, he will be undertaking a momentous challenge trying to inspire his new colleagues.

This latest display illustrated why the Galaxy have managed only three wins in 12 MSL games this season and are languishing second from bottom in the Western standings. They also failed to reach the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals after losing 1-0 at lowly Richmond Kickers last week.

Mexican international Francisco Fonseca opened the scoring, running onto a pass by Walter Gaitan and beating Galaxy goalkeeper Joe Cannon in the 11th minute.

Fonseca nearly doubled the lead with a header just wide of the post as Cannon missed an attempted punch clearance from Antonio Sancho's free-kick in the 25th minute.

The Galaxy's first attempt on goal came a minute later, when Carlos Pavon blasted a long-range effort over the Tigres' bar, and the Galaxy could only manage one more attempt before the interval.

USA international Landon Donovan had a shot blocked in the 55th minute.

But the Galaxy's hopes of getting back in the match dipped in the 64th minute, when midfielder Chris Klein was shown his second yellow card for a tackle on Tigres substitute Guillermo Marino.

Gaitan doubled the score for Tigres in the 72nd minute, and substitute Alejandro Vilalobos made it 3-0 in the 89th minute.

"We came out real flat, uninspired," said Galaxy coach Frank Yallop, who admitted Beckham's presence as an onlooker -- and the close scrutiny he has brought to the entire team -- may have unsettled his team-mates. "To me it was very disappointing. We needed a good performance and we didn't get it."

The injury has thrown doubt on Beckham's Galaxy debut, in Saturday's friendly against Chelsea. "He's had a lot of treatment today. It's a little bit better," Yallop said. "We're hoping he will be OK for Saturday."

Yallop had said Beckham's flight from London to Los Angeles on Thursday had worsened the swelling in the ankle, and Beckham is now due to fly from Los Angeles to Denver to attend the MLS All-Star game against Scottish club Celtic on Thursday.

"We'll talk to David to make sure he's OK to travel," said Yallop, who is no doubt well aware that MLS is counting on such appearances by Beckham to raise the profile of the game in the United States.

Already Beckham's arrival has spurred sales of tickets and jerseys.

The Galaxy played up to the marketing hype on Tuesday, starting the match in their pre-Beckham white strip, then changing at half-time to their new all-blue kit.

Yallop said the Galaxy could only try to bounce back against Chelsea as they look to improve their fortunes in the second half of the MLS season.

"We're going to have a tough game on Saturday," he said. "If we respond well, it will set us up for a while."

The Galaxy's match was the first of a double-header and in the second match Chelsea beat South Koreans Suwon Bluewings 1-0.

Didier Drogba's 80th-minute strike settled the issue after Shawn Wright-Phillips, on the right side of the penalty area, collected a pass from Mikel and crossed to the left post.

Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho said that the South Koreans provided just the kind of test his players needed. "They are fast, they are strong physically, and there's no danger of injury because they play fair football," he said.

Now that he has had the chance to watch his players over two matches, Mourinho said he would expect his starting side to play more of the game against the Galaxy.

"Against the Galaxy, it will be the first time I don't play two teams," he said. "Now is the time I start having to make my decisions." E-mail to a friend