D.C. United got an up close and personal glimpse at the true dawn of the David Beckham era on Wednesday night, crashing out of the inaugural SuperLiga competition in a 2-0 loss to the Los Angeles Galaxy that featured a man-of-the-match performance from the global superstar.
United enjoyed plenty of possession and took more than twice as many shots as their hosts, but were denied by three of the Galaxy's key performers as Beckham and Landon Donovan scored while goalkeeper Joe Cannon made seven saves.
"I think we played OK," said D.C. midfielder Brian Carroll. "We had our chances against LA -- they came out and they played a solid game and they got themselves a free kick goal, which is Beckham's specialty. We just were not able to finish off some plays and were not able to control their two big guys, Beckham and Donovan, enough."
D.C.'s disappointment is only slightly tempered by the knowledge that they are only the first of many MLS teams likely to be victimized by the former England captain's wizardry in the coming years.
"Yeah, that's why they brought him in, to score goals like that," said Josh Gros. "It was a great goal and that's what you get when you play Beckham, I guess."
Head coach Tom Soehn revisited that disappointing loss during Friday's training session, citing the revitalized Galaxy as an example of how individual performances can inspire an entire squad.
"I'm making sure we walk away from that game having learned something," said Soehn. "[Beckham] is known for his service and free kicks, but what I give him credit for is, he came out and sent some messages with his tackles and the way he addressed the game.
"I think it's a good note for us, that you can always impact the game in ways that maybe aren't your strong suit -- that's definitely not what he's known for and he went out and led his team. I think we can learn from that and I think our guys at certain times can step up and do things that they're maybe not known for, to get the team to respond behind them in big games."
United traveled directly from California to Columbus for Saturday's match with the Crew, and in this case the strain of an extended road trip is more than offset by their desire to put Wednesday's loss behind them.
"We as athletes, the quicker you can go back to work, the better," said Soehn. "You can rectify what you feel you let yourself down with. I think they're excited to get back on the soccer field and take it out on somebody else."
Soehn has a few decisions to make with his lineup against the in-form Crew. After his SuperLiga suspension handed Greg Vanney a start on Wednesday, Marc Burch will be eligible to resume the left back role in which he has excelled of late. Gros spent the first half against L.A. in midfield before dropping into defense -- and for all his versatility, both he and his coach see the left wing as his most comfortable spot.
"Josh has adjusted pretty well," said Soehn. "That's the luxury you have with Josh, is putting him different sides or different parts of the field. Obviously there's some that he's better at than others. We'll try to put him in those situations as best we can."
Playmaker Christian Gomez is steadily recovering from a thigh injury that has limited his minutes in recent weeks, but the United boss was noncommittal about the Argentinean's fitness to go the full 90 on Saturday.
"Any time you're missing him, you're missing the league MVP," said Gros. "So there will be only good things when he gets back to 100 percent. We definitely miss him in there."
The season's second trip to Columbus offers D.C. another opportunity to improve one of their most glaring weaknesses in 2007: their spotty away form. The Black-and-Red have stumbled to a 3-5-1 road record thus far, and their coach knows his charges must learn their lessons quickly with four of United's next five matches taking place away from RFK Stadium.
Charles Boehm is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
