Superliga - LA Galaxy over Pachuca, FC Dallas and Chivas draw

LA Galaxy 2  Pachuca 1
No David Beckham, and still the Los Angeles Galaxy got their first victory since the English superstar joined the team.  Landon Donovan scored in the 81st minute and the Galaxy defeated Pachua 2-1 in their opening match of the SuperLiga tournament on Tuesday night. It was the Galaxy's first win since Beckham's splashy introduction on July 13. They had lost to Tigres -- Beckham didn't play -- and Chelsea in his debut last Saturday.

"The whole emotional buildup to David arriving, I'm not blaming him, but he finally arrived," Galaxy coach Frank Yallop said. "We played poorly against Tigres, came out against Chelsea and decided to have a go and we did. Tonight, in spells, we showed what we can do."

The inaugural SuperLiga involves four Major League Soccer teams and four from the Mexican first division in a round-robin tournament. FC Dallas and Chivas played to a 1-1 tie in Texas.

"It's about time we gave our fans a win," Galaxy midfielder Kyle Martino said. "We've put together good performances, but we can only say that so many times. Once you put together a good performance and get a win, everybody comes back into the locker room and it's more than a pat on the back."

The Beckham sightings came on the stadium's big screen. He didn't dress for the match because of a nagging left ankle injury that has prevented him from training since he joined the team.

"The more we can get him ready to play the full 90 minutes, that's where we are," said Yallop, who seemed doubtful that Beckham would play Saturday night.  We had a good chat yesterday and I said to him, `There's no pressure to play until you're ready.' Because he doesn't want to play when he doesn't play well. That's the important thing, to not come out and show badly."

His absence gave the Galaxy a rude reminder of life before Beckham. There were plenty of empty seats in the 27,000-seat stadium and a decided lack of camera flashes. The announced attendance was 19,317. Even without him on the field, six yellow-jacketed security guards strung a plastic cord around the Galaxy's bench to keep photographers at a safe distance after they had swarmed within inches of Beckham at his debut. The sight of Beckham on the big screen drew a mix of boos and cheers, provoking a smile from him. He was dressed in a brown T-shirt and sat in a box with his youngest son, 2-year-old Cruz, on his lap. The English superstar's mother and sister also joined him.

After a scoreless first half, Galaxy captain Donovan sent a pass to Gordon, who chested the ball and fired a 16-yard shot inside the right post. After Gordon scored, Beckham was shown with his arms wrapped around his son, clapping and smiling. A rock-star moment occurred when Beckham exited the box on an upper balcony. Fans below spotted him, causing a mad rush as they whipped out cell phone cameras and women screamed.

Gordon and Pachuca's Aquivaldo Mosquera later received yellow cards for a shoving match in front of the goal. Pachuca tied the match in the 78th minute when Rafael Marquez Lugo scored off a pass from Damian Alvarez, delighting a small but vocal section of Pachuca fans. The Galaxy came back three minutes later to score the go-ahead goal. Cobi Jones passed to Donovan, who jumped high and the ball deflected off his right leg and into the net.

The Galaxy's next SuperLiga game is against Chivas on Saturday at the Los Angeles Coliseum, where it was moved to accommodate an expected huge crowd as a result of Chivas' Southern California fan base. Pachuca, Mexico's oldest club team founded in 1901, became the country's first team to win a South American club title last year. Nicknamed "Los Tuzos," or the Gophers, Pachuca has won four Mexican league titles and the CONCACAF Champions Cup since 1999.

FC Dallas 1  Chivas 1
Antonio Olvera scored a disputed goal in the 67th minute to lift Chivas Guadalajara into a 1-1 draw with FC Dallas on Tuesday night in a contentious first match of the inaugural SuperLiga tournament.  The SuperLiga pits four MLS clubs and four from the Mexican first division in a Champions League-style competition for North American club soccer supremacy.

FC Dallas, in second place in the MLS Western Conference, is 4-1-2 in its last seven league games, but also lost two friendlies to Mexican club Tigres UANL last week, and defeated Atlanta in a U.S. Open Cup game during that span. Chivas, which opens its Mexican league season on Aug. 5, outshot Dallas 16-8, including 11-2 in the second half. Ray Burse kept Dallas in the game, making five saves, including several outstanding diving stops. Burse played in place of usual starter Dario Sala, who sat out with an MCL sprain in his left knee and is day-to-day.

After a scoreless first half, Arturo Alvarez, who has just one goal in 15 MLS games this season, gave FC Dallas a 1-0 lead in the 56th minute. Taking a nice lead pass from Carlos Ruiz, Alvarez charged into the penalty box and deftly chipped a left-foot shot over goalkeeper Ernesto Michel. Olvera, who entered the game a minute earlier, then tied it for Chivas. Dallas argued that the goal should be disallowed because replays showed Olvera touched the ball with his left hand as he got past Juan Toja to gain possession. He then sent a left-foot shot into the upper left corner of the goal.

FC Dallas played a man short from the 72nd minute after defender Drew Moor was issued a red card. After getting knocked down in the Guadalajara penalty box by Chivas captain  Hector Reynoso, Moor retaliated by dropping Reynoso with a shove to the face.  A full-scale pushing match resulted, involving nearly every player on the field. Even though the game was played at FC Dallas' home field, the majority of the 12,641 in attendance rooted for Chivas and booed Moor as he was led off the field. FC Dallas next faces Mexican club Pachuca Saturday. Chivas will travel to Los Angeles to take on David Beckham and the Galaxy.