SuperLiga: DC get bent, LA thru

Not since A Christmas Carol has a crippled Englishman been the subject of so much attention. But tonight Tiny Tim got his revenge, as Los Angeles rode a stellar 63 minutes from their new captain David Beckham to a 2-0 win over MLS rivals DC United 2-0 in the semi-finals of SuperLiga 2007 at The Home Depot Center.

Los Angeles will host Pachuca in the final of the inaugural SuperLiga tournament on August 29.

The Galaxy saw more of the ball in the opening 45 minutes, but there were also a few anxious moments for the crowd, as Beckham hit the dirt twice in the the first half. One of those instances came in the 18th minute, when he dove in on Jaime Moreno and received his first yellow card for his new club.

Beckham's first MLS goal came in the 27th minute, as he caught goalkeeper Troy Perkins cheating to his left with a bending ball to the top right of goal.

But DC also threatened several times, forcing Joe Cannon to make several superb saves. Cannon was nearly caught cheating off his line by Moreno who lofted a ball from near midfield that Cannon was forced to tip over.

Los Angeles burst out to 2-0 just two minutes into the second half, when new captain Beckham sent former Galaxy captain Landon Donovan through on goal and Donovan finished neatly with a low right-footed shot.

DC would have cut the lead in half in the 51st minute if not for a incredible reflex save off of a Luciano Emilio shot from close range.

As good as Donovan and Beckham looked, Edson Buddle's play was the polar opposite, as the former Toronto forward struggled with his touch and passing all game.

After another through ball to Donovan in the 56th minute, a pass to Kyle Martino resulted in a foul by Ben Olsen from 30 yards. This time, though, Perkins was up to the challenge and snatched the Beckham's attempt out of the air.

With the 2-0 lead, Beckham, who said his ankle was at 75%, was substituted for Peter Vagenas in the 63rd minute to a standing ovation from the crowd.

With the entrance of Christian Gomez at halftime for Greg Vanney, DC managed some quality chances but could not finish and Cannon maintained his shutout.

SuperLiga.com, no doubt using the Telefutura feed, littered their broadcast with shots of various hot women but managed not to miss any goals with cutaways to the Babe Cam. Nice work.

MLSnet.com Match Report