LA Galaxy wilt in heat - Beckham watch MSL
Ruud Gullit has never been known for his teams' defensive prowess and that has certainly been the case so far for LA Galaxy, who shot to the top of the Western Conference on the back of the attacking flair of the likes of David Beckham, Landon Donovan and Edson Buddle, but their record of goals conceded is pretty diabolical. That situation was even more evident on Sunday lunchtime in Washington DC, where the Galaxy were thrashed 4-1 by DC United.
The circumstances were hardly ideal for Beckham and Co, with the game played at noon so that it could be part of a TV double-header with the Euro 2008 Final. As well as time differences meaning that noon in DC is only 9am for the LA players, it also coincided with incredibly hot and humid temperatures that really took their toll on both sides, particularly the visitors, who had to chase the game from early on.
"It was hot out there but that affects both teams, although after all, they train in it week in and week out. Though, it wasn't just that today," said Beckham afterwards. "Of course, like I said it was hot but we didn't play a good game -- we didn't play well enough. We didn't challenge hard enough and the best team won on the day. I can obviously blame the humidity, obviously it was hot out there, like I said, but it was more than that today."
Galaxy fell behind to Jaime Moreno free kick after just five minutes, and saw an equaliser correctly ruled out for offside in the 11th minute after Landon Donovan converted a delightful Beckham cross. Buddle did make it 1-1 soon after after comedy defending by DC United, but two goals from Luciano Emilio and one from Marcelo Gallardo put the game back in the home side's grip again and earned them a 4-1 win.
