Beckham nets but LA lose in Sydney

SYDNEY, Australia -- David Beckham overcame an injury scare to score a trademark free-kick, but his LA Galaxy side were beaten 5-3 by Sydney FC in an exhibition match on Tuesday.

The England midfielder, whose presence attracted a sellout crowd of 80,000 at the Olympic Stadium, seemed to have added yet another injury setback to a troubled year on the pitch when he was clattered late by Brendon Santalab midway through the first half.

And the former Real Madrid and Manchester United star, whose Major League Soccer career has been hampered by ankle problems, limped gingerly around the field before curling a set-piece past keeper Clint Bolton into the top left-hand corner just before the interval.

"I was really happy to score tonight because of the amount of fans and the attention that there has been on myself and this game," said Beckham.

"It's nice once again to get a free kick -- people expect you to do it every time from that position. I practice it enough."

Beckham said of his clash with Santalab: "I was worried at first because I felt as if I'd twisted my ankle again and done the same thing injury I had on the last game of the season with Real Madrid.

"It wasn't as bad, it just caught under the guy that slid in. It's all part of the game. It's fine."

Sydney FC did not take it easy on Beckham in the second half, either.

Robbie Middleby was cautioned for a body check on the Galaxy captain in the 49th minute -- but Beckham got even in the 64th.

He slid in under Middleby, then got up, flashed a smile and hugged the Sydney player as referee Mark Shield produced a yellow card.

"It's part of the game -- you get kicked, but you carry on," Beckham said. "I knew he'd done it on purpose, so I bided my time and gave him a friendly one back. We laughed and joked about it and it was in good fun."

The American team ended the match with 10 men after defender Kevin Harmse received his second yellow card 13 minutes from the end for treading on the arm of Adam Biddle while he was on the ground.

Sydney took a 3-0 lead before the half-hour mark as Alex Brosque scored in the 20th and 26th minutes and Ruben Zadkovich netted soon after, with former Brazil star Juninho setting up two of the goals. Beckham's superb effort pulled one back for the Galaxy, who made it 3-2 through Edson Buddle in the 49th minute.

But Middleby slotted home into an unguarded net in the 54th minute and Iain Fyfe cashed in on a fumble by replacement goalkeeper Steve Cronin to score Sydney's fifth three minutes from time. United States international Landon Donovan ran around Bolton to pull one back for Galaxy in the final minute.

The Galaxy reportedly sold 20,000 jerseys in Australia, while Sydney -- who attract an average of 15,200 for A-League matches -- sold a record number of seats for a domestic club game.

It was the team's first exhibition outside North America and was televised internationally.

Beckham and Galaxy head to New Zealand on Thursday for their second and final tour game against Wellington Phoenix, who also play in the Australian league, on Sunday. E-mail to a friend

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