SuperLiga: LA lose final, Beckham injured

Despite a valiant attempt, a battered and bruised Los Angeles Galaxy lost 4-3 on penalty kicks to Mexican club Pachuca in the inaugural SuperLiga final at the Home Depot Center last night.

And just when you thought things couldn't get worse, the decision to play David Beckham, despite his recent glut of games and a nagging ankle injury led to fresh woe for a club that GM Alexi Lalas called "the gem of Major League Soccer," as MLS's most expensive signing was forced out of the match in the 33rd minute after sustaining a knee injury that he later called a "ligament strain."

The injury, sustained after a challenge by Pachuca's Fernando Salazar, could put Beckham back on the sideline for six weeks and keep him out of England's Euro 2008 qualification.

The Beckham injury was in keeping with the tone of the first half that saw the home side struggle mightily against the CONCACAF Champions Cup winners. And then things went from bad to worse, as L.A. midfielder Peter Vagenas put the ball into his own net, giving Pachuca the 1-0 lead.

One bright spot for the Galaxy was the play of Joe Cannon who was superb and managed to keep the Galaxy in the match during their dreadful first half.

In the second half, the Galaxy battled back with a few near misses of their own and Cannon kept things close. In the 86th minute, Los Angeles' hard work finally paid off, through a stunning 90th-minute equalizer. After launching an all-ouy attack, Mike Randolph's header his the crossbar and was clumsily cleared to Chris Klein, whose spectacular bicycle kick found the target to make it 1-1.

After a scoreless overtime, the match went to penalties. Pachuca keeper Miguel Calero saved the first shot attempt from Pete Vagenas, but Cannon brought the sides level by saving Gabriel Caballero's attempt. After Pachuca's fifth shooter hit the crossbar, Landon Donovan stepped up with a chance to win for the Galaxy, but the U.S. Nats best PK-taker was denied by Calero who dove right to make the save. Now in sudden death, Carlos Rodriguez buried his attempt and Abel Xavier, experiences Portuguese national stepped up needing to convert, but he missed the target.

Scoring Summary:
PAC -- Own Goal (Peter Vagenas) 28
LA -- Chris Klein 1 (Troy Roberts ) 93+

Penalty-kick shootout:
PAC -- Rafael Marquez Lugo (Goal)
LA -- Peter Vagenas (Saved)
PAC -- Luis Gabriel Rey (Goal)
LA -- Cobi Jones (Goal)
PAC -- Gabriel Caballero (Saved)
LA -- Chris Klein (Goal)
PAC -- Julio Mansur (Goal)
LA -- Edson Buddle (Goal)
PAC -- Marvin Cabrera (Crossbar)
LA -- Landon Donovan (Saved)
PAC -- Carlos Rodriguez (Goal)
LA -- Abel Xavier (Wide Right)

MLSnet.com's Match Report