Beckham, Galaxy too much for TFC

LA midfielder posts goal, assist in shutout victory over Toronto FC

Beckham provided the spark for Los Angeles all evening, putting his side ahead in the ninth minute before assisting Buddle on the second goal in the 83rd. He also provided solid defense in the midfield, helping to keep the influence of TFC's Dwayne De Rosario and Julian de Guzman to a minimum.

The win sees Los Angeles extend their margin in second place in the Western Conference with 41 points from 26 matches, still just two points behind the Houston Dynamo with a game in hand. Toronto FC started a two-game road swing with a sixth consecutive game away from BMO Field without a victory.

With an all-star lineup of players patrolling the same midfield, Saturday night's match was bound to be a battle around the center circle right from the opening whistle. Each side pushed hard in the game's opening minutes, looking to assert its dominance and control the tempo of the match, but it was Los Angeles who broke through first.

Finding space on the right side of the midfield, Beckham dumped the ball out wide to Chris Birchall and headed toward the top of Toronto's penalty area. Birchall sidestepped his defender and sent the ball right back to Beckham, who drilled the ball into the far right corner of Stefan Frei's net to put the Galaxy ahead.

Fueled by the leadership of De Rosario and new signing de Guzman in the midfield, Toronto began pushing back around the quarter-hour mark. The visitors enjoyed some spells of good possession, but were a bit disjointed in their final pass and were unable to force any real saves from Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts.

Beckham again made his presence felt in the 25th minute, taking advantage of a successful Los Angeles counterattack. The Galaxy had sprung Eddie Lewis on the left flank, but the veteran was taken down by de Guzman just outside the box. Beckham lined up and sent a curling free kick toward the near post that almost skipped past Frei thanks to a bit of fancy footwork from Landon Donovan.

Toronto came right back at the Galaxy, almost breaking through in the 31st minute. After a nice string of passes through the midfield, de Guzman slotted a pass into Ali Gerba at the 6-yard box. The Canadian international quickly turned and fired, but a brilliant kick-save from Ricketts kept Los Angeles ahead.

Los Angeles nearly doubled its lead just before halftime, with Beckham again providing the offensive magic. Lewis sent a cross into the Toronto box from the left flank that was headed out of the area by de Guzman. The clearance fell to the feet of Beckham, who slammed a low shot at the far post that bounced off the woodwork to keep LA's lead at 1-0 heading into halftime.

Toronto came out firing in the opening minutes of the second half. The best chance came when Chad Barrett found some space in the center of the pitch and threaded a clever ball into the path of Gerba on the right side of the area. Gerba chipped a shot over Ricketts, but his effort bounced off the crossbar and out of play.

The Galaxy began to find their footing at the hour mark, once again relying on Beckham to lead the charge. The Englishman was everywhere, providing good defense on De Rosario and de Guzman and sending good crosses into the box from the right flank. LA came close to doubling their lead just beyond an hour when Buddle got on the end of a Beckham cross, but headed his shot just wide right of the net.

Buoyed by the additions of Lesly Fellinga, Pablo Vitti and O'Brian White, TFC pushed forward in search of an equalizer as the final 15 minutes of play ticked over. Spurred on by De Rosario on the right side, TFC attacked the Los Angeles box with numbers. De Guzman had the best look at net, blasting a howitzer that sailed just over the crossbar.

Beckham's lively night created the second goal. Pressuring a TFC defender on the touchline, he knocked the ball away and streaked into the corner to claim it. He sent a low pass into Donovan, who flicked onto Buddle right in front of the goal. Buddle slotted the ball into the lower right corner to double the Galaxy lead.

Toronto pushed forward in the game's closing minutes, but plucky defending from Los Angeles helped the team close out its ninth shutout of the year. The Galaxy now head to Columbus to battle the Crew next Saturday while Toronto continues its road trip against Chicago.

Jeffrey King is a contributor to MLSnet.com

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