On a night when David Beckham made his debut in Major League Soccer, it was Luciano Emilio's goal that proved to be the difference as D.C. United defeated a 10-man Los Angeles Galaxy 1-0 on MLS Primetime Thursday before a sold-out RFK Stadium.
Emilio's strike from well outside the area in the 27th minute -- which gave him the league lead with 13 goals on the campaign -- was all either team could muster in a game played mostly in a driving rain. Beckham's entrance in the 72nd minute couldn't turn around the Galaxy's fortunes, who had been reduced to 10 men just five minutes earlier when Kyle Martino was sent off with a straight red card.
United coach Tom Soehn made just one change from the lineup that hammered the New England Revolution 3-0 last Sunday, as United attacking midfielder Christian Gomez was kept out of the starting lineup for a second consecutive game. But this time it was Fred -- coming off a red-card suspension -- who took over the Argentinian's playmaking duties, with Josh Gros taking the left midfield slot.
Galaxy boss Frank Yallop made two changes to the team that played to a scoreless draw against Toronto on Sunday, as his team desperately playoff contention. Kyle Martino and Quavas Kirk came into the team for Peter Vagenas and the injured Troy Roberts, as Yallop reverted to a 4-4-2 scheme after playing with three forwards in Canada.
United striker Guy Roland-Kpene handed Galaxy goalkeeper Joe Cannon his greeting card less than a minute in, knocking the Galaxy goalkeeper to the turf as he scooped up Fred's chipped through ball at the top of the penalty box.
Cannon was at the center of the action again in the eighth minute when he raced off his line to dive at Gros' feet as the rangy midfielder tried to lift a shot over him just beyond the left-hand post. Though the contact sent Gros flying to the turf, referee Jair Marrufo decided that Cannon had gotten a touch on the ball and waved play on. Gros got another decent look at goal just seconds later, but the veteran netminder denied him again, dropping low to gobble up his shot to the near post.
Emilio completely lost marker Kelly Gray on a corner kick in the 14th minute but United's leading scorer wasted Ben Olsen's glorious delivery, heading over the top from close range.
RFK's upper deck, rarely used for MLS matches, was teeming with fans anticipating a glimpse of Beckham. But the cascade of boos that greeted Landon Donovan every time he got near the ball made clear that United's supporters saw the U.S. star -- who has run riot in his recent outings at the venerable old stadium -- as the main danger to their team's hopes.
The Galaxy No. 10 nearly quieted his detractors in the 20th minute when he cut in from the right flank and snuck a far post left-footer past Perkins, with the netminder's view obscured by traffic in front of the net. But the low shot dribbled just wide of the post.
But it was United's top hitman who drew first blood and sparked the occasion to life with a sensational long-range blast in the 27th minute. Thus far Emilio had been pestering L.A.'s defense on aerial challenges and holding the ball well for his teammates -- but when Marc Burch's well-placed pass gave him a chance to turn at goal he made the most of it, drilling a shot towards the upper corner that a leaping Cannon got his hands to, but could not parry away from the net.
The crowd roared into life again soon after -- some boos, some cheers -- when Yallop directed Beckham to warm up on the grass behind the visiting bench, and the fans' swelling anticipation seemed to add urgency to the action as both teams pushed the tempo up a notch.
Galaxy left back Ante Jazic was showing more attacking ambition as the half wore on, and his 43rd-minute jaunt down the touchline led to an angled endline cross that would have been easy pickings for Donovan had Devon McTavish not backtracked to slap the effort to safety.
The tackles were flying in left and right now and Marrufo finally elected to rein in the enthusiasm, producing a yellow card when Xavier left Kpene in a heap at midfield with a heavy challenge from behind.
Burch set off on a swashbuckling run just seconds before halftime, galloping into the box and leaving Xavier for dead with a nifty chip -- but his athletic side volley narrowly missed the target, rippling the outside of the net.
While many of the sellout crowd were breathlessly awaiting the introduction of the world's most famous footballer in the second stanza, a cheer went up when Soehn made the only chance at the half, inserting United legend Jaime Moreno for Kpene.
Bobby Boswell's mis-hit header nearly gave the Galaxy a fortunate equalizer in the 57th minute, allowing Gordon to nod the ball into Donovan's path -- and though the Galaxy playmaker fell to the turf under McTavish, Marrufo denied L.A.'s penalty appeals and waved play on.
Moreno was making his presence felt in D.C.'s final third, orchestrating play as the Black-and-Red strung together attractive passing sequences around the Galaxy box, and he nearly stunned Cannon at the hour mark when he lifted the ball off the turf and clipped a long-range shot just wide of the target.
As the deluge continued, United took a stranglehold on possession and L.A.'s flagging hopes were further drenched when Kyle Martino caught Fred's ankle with a lunging challenge that drew a straight red card from Marrufo, forcing the Galaxy to finish the match shorthanded. But Yallop, his team badly in need of points, had little choice but to go for broke with a bevy of attacking substitutions.P
In the 69th minute, substitute Edson Buddle took control of Donovan's downward header and scooted around a slipping Boswell to hit a low shot on goal, but Perkins was well-placed to grab the effort with minimal fuss.
Not long after, the crowd finally erupted in a tremendous collective scream with the arrival of the historic moment everyone had been waiting for: Beckham's first MLS regular-season appearance. The England legend came in for Quavas Kirk to a deafening din of noise and took up a central midfield role -- but D.C.'s possession dominance meant that his occasions on the ball were few and far between.
Moreno was chasing his own piece of history, just one goal away from setting the all-time MLS goals record, and he came agonizingly close in the 80th minute, only to be denied by a sharp save from Cannon.
A D.C. foul along the Galaxy's left flank gave Beckham his inaugural MLS free kick opportunity five minutes from the end, and he duly bent in an inviting near-post service that substitute Carlos Pavon headed over the top.
Beckham then drove a defense-splitting through ball into Donovan's path, prompting Perkins to flirt with disaster as he raced out to launch a slide tackle at the edge of his penalty box, but Marrufo was on the scene and indicated that the D.C. netminder had not handled the ball outside the line as he dispossessed Donovan.
Buddle came ever so close to a precious equalizer in the dying moments after Pavon headed Xavier's booming long ball over Gros, but he slipped at the crucial moment and Perkins watched gratefully as his soft shot dribbled wide of the mark and United escaped with a vital three points.
Charles Boehm is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
