David Beckham Delighted With Toronto Turnaround For Los Angeles Galaxy

Last week when the Los Angeles Galaxy took to the pitch at the Home Depot Center in the MLS, the team was handed a 3-6 thrashing by FC Dallas. The sluggish defense was torn to shreds by the pace of Jeff Cunningham in particular. This time out, however, was a different story. A resolute defensive display blunted Toronto FC's attack in a convincing 2-0 win.

“A great response from last week’s fiasco,” Galaxy coach Bruce Arena said of his team's turnaround. “The effort by our guys, the concentration, the defending that needed to be done was excellent. This is one of those games where, for ninety minutes, we looked like a team, as opposed to last week, there were very few minutes in that entire match where we looked like a team.”

Arena claimed he didn't do anything differently in the week's training leading up to both games, saying, “I can't explain it.” But star midfielder David Beckham certainly felt a change.

“This week, we worked hard in training. The manager shouted at us every day, and sometimes you need a kick on the backside to get going. We deserved it,” he said after the match.

It certainly worked, especially for Beckham. The Englishman scored the game opener early in the match and was still hustling in the 83rd minute as he stripped TFC captain Jim Brennan and raced down the flank to set up his team's second.

Arena made one tactical shift after the Dallas game that may have given Beckham more freedom to attack. Midfielder Chris Birchall came in on the right flank, pushing captain Landon Donovan up top and providing some defensive security. He even assisted Beckham's goal.

“Bruce was determined to tighten up the midfield after last week and he gave me a specific role which I felt I did quite well tonight,” Birchall said. “I think with me playing holding midfield, it gives a license to David to go forward and take a bit of a risk because I’ll be there filling in behind, which is the way I like it.”

Aside from a glorious chance for Ali Gerba that drew a clutch save from Donovan Ricketts, Toronto failed to create much. In fact, that was the team's only shot on target.

“There's no penetration and not too many goal opportunities except for Gerba's,” bemoaned rookie Sam Cronin. “At this point of the year we've got to be creating more chances than that. We're slowly creeping our way out of the playoff picture.”

TFC has four games left to go in which to haul itself back into contention for a playoff slot. One player ready to do that is new signing Julian de Guzman, the club's first designated player, who made his debut against LA.

“Each game becomes more important than the other,” he said. “Our next game is going to become even more difficult than today's game. We have a week to go over our mistakes. It's do or die in the game against Chicago. The guys are pretty down for the moment, but we'll get over it in the next couple days.”

Forward Chad Barrett was even more adamant about putting the game behind him and focusing entirely on the next match, going as far as to proclaim, “There's really nothing to take from the game.”

For Toronto, that may be true. But for the Galaxy there's the ability to bounce back quickly, a rejuvenated designated player, and three valuable playoff points.

Zac Lee Rigg, Goal.com

For more on Major League Soccer, visit Goal.com's MLS page