Beckham bends it for LA
FOOTBALL fans were treated to a spectacle of goals in the Philippine Azkals vs. LA Galaxy friendly last night at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
Unfortunately, most of them were against the home side as the Philippine team dropped a 6-1 loss to Major League Soccer’s LA Galaxy.
English football legend David Beckham provided the first goal of the night with his signature bend from just outside the penalty area, beating Edward Sacapaño for a 1-0 score.
The goal came after a teasing 30-yarder from the former England captain sailed just high, forcing an out-of-position Sacapaño to scramble back to his goal.
Despite getting a goal down, the Philippines didn’t get discouraged and fought for the equalizer, with Phil Younghusband hitting just high in the 20th and Emilio Caligdong’s left-footer inside the box in the 24th was saved.
In the 30th, Caligdong took a shot with his right but again missed and in the 35th, a lovely buildup from Manny Ott and Carli de Murga led to an Angel Guirado shot that was blocked.
Phil got the rebound but again missed, and showing their quickness in the counterattack, the Galaxy, which beat an Indonesian selection, 1-0, three days ago, made the hosts pay with Mike McGee scoring off a feed from Landon Donovan, making it 2-0 with six minutes to play.
But the Philippines got one back with Younghusband hitting a curling left-footer just inside the box, repeating his move that led to the second goal against Vietnam in the Suzuki Cup last year.
De Murga could have made it 2-2 but his teasing chip from six yards just sailed wide.
And in the second half, the LA Galaxy cranked up on the offensive end, needing just 52 seconds to score the third goal, and Donovan headed in a Beckham corner to a waiting Robbie Keane for a simple tap-in to make it 3-1.
Another Donovan move led to another header by Adam Cristman for 4-1, while Anton del Rosario gave up a penalty in the 80th, giving Gregg Berhatter a perfect chance to score. Cristman banged in the final goal in the 85th.
As expected, yesterday’s game was packed with celebrities and political personalities.
Rep. Manny Pacquiao, who arrived a minute before half-time, cause quite a stir when Beckham sought him out to give the boxing star his jersey.
Unfortunately, most of them were against the home side as the Philippine team dropped a 6-1 loss to Major League Soccer’s LA Galaxy.
English football legend David Beckham provided the first goal of the night with his signature bend from just outside the penalty area, beating Edward Sacapaño for a 1-0 score.
The goal came after a teasing 30-yarder from the former England captain sailed just high, forcing an out-of-position Sacapaño to scramble back to his goal.
Despite getting a goal down, the Philippines didn’t get discouraged and fought for the equalizer, with Phil Younghusband hitting just high in the 20th and Emilio Caligdong’s left-footer inside the box in the 24th was saved.
In the 30th, Caligdong took a shot with his right but again missed and in the 35th, a lovely buildup from Manny Ott and Carli de Murga led to an Angel Guirado shot that was blocked.
Phil got the rebound but again missed, and showing their quickness in the counterattack, the Galaxy, which beat an Indonesian selection, 1-0, three days ago, made the hosts pay with Mike McGee scoring off a feed from Landon Donovan, making it 2-0 with six minutes to play.
But the Philippines got one back with Younghusband hitting a curling left-footer just inside the box, repeating his move that led to the second goal against Vietnam in the Suzuki Cup last year.
De Murga could have made it 2-2 but his teasing chip from six yards just sailed wide.
And in the second half, the LA Galaxy cranked up on the offensive end, needing just 52 seconds to score the third goal, and Donovan headed in a Beckham corner to a waiting Robbie Keane for a simple tap-in to make it 3-1.
Another Donovan move led to another header by Adam Cristman for 4-1, while Anton del Rosario gave up a penalty in the 80th, giving Gregg Berhatter a perfect chance to score. Cristman banged in the final goal in the 85th.
As expected, yesterday’s game was packed with celebrities and political personalities.
Rep. Manny Pacquiao, who arrived a minute before half-time, cause quite a stir when Beckham sought him out to give the boxing star his jersey.
Comments
At this point I don't want to offer any perspective of the game, that's back seat right now, 10 rows behind me. Let me be a mere prisoner-of-the-moment fan. Azkals vs. LA Galaxy 2011 is reason #1 to believe why I believe in our football journey. A lot of very good things will come out of this moment in our football history.