You wouldn’t have known it given the number of fans sporting his signature No. 23 jersey, but David Beckham wasn’t at Toyota Park for Wednesday night’s match between his Los Angeles Galaxy and the Fire.
But regardless of the presence (or lack thereof) of MLS’s biggest name star — who was serving a one-match red card suspension — the Fire still expected a big test from the Galaxy.
“They’re not a one-man show,” Fire coach Denis Hamlett said. “They’re a good team. They’ve shown it before Beckham was there when they had a good stretch of games and we expect a team that’s going to come out and be very competitive and organized.”
And the Galaxy still has Landon Donovan, who recovered from the swine flu well enough to score the insurance goal in a 2-0 Galaxy victory.
Mike Magee put the Galaxy ahead in the 26th minute when he cut back in the box to beat Fire defender Dasan Robinson before firing a 12-yard shot past goalie Jon Busch from the left side of the box and inside the far post for his second goal of the season.
The Galaxy stretched its lead in the 54th minute courtesy of U.S. national team star Donovan, who is now tied for the league lead in goals scored with 11.
Donovan ran half the length of the field before blasting a right-footed shot past a diving Busch from a tight angle inside the far post.
Despite a concerted effort to attack throughout the match, the Fire was unable to create many scoring chances.
