Beckham Draws 66,000 For First MLS Start

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) _ David Beckham brought back memories of Pele and Franz Beckenbauer, reviving soccer interest in the New York area for a night. <br/><br/>Playing before a record crowd of 66,237,

Saturday, August 18th 2007, 8:53 pm

By: News On 6

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) _ David Beckham brought back memories of Pele and Franz Beckenbauer, reviving soccer interest in the New York area for a night.

Playing before a record crowd of 66,237, Beckham made his first Major League Soccer start and set up a pair of goals by Carlos Pavon in the first eight minutes. But the New York Red Bulls rallied for a wild 5-4 win over the Galaxy when Juan Pablo Angel scored his second goal of the game in the 88th minute.

Giants Stadium is nearly empty for most Red Bulls' games _ the team's average of 11,573 for its first 10 home matches was next to last in the league. The crowd that came out for Beckham was the largest in franchise history and the largest there for a U.S. league game since the Cosmos drew 70,312 against Fort Lauderdale on June 22, 1980.

Fans even showed some support for the home team, many booing Beckham when he took a free kick midway through the second half. But they cheered as he walked _ shirtless _ off the field after the match.

Jozy Altidore, a 17-year-old whose play should soon get him a callup to the U.S. national team, scored a pair of second-half goals for the Red Bulls, raising his season total to seven. Clint Mathis had a first-half goal for New York (10-7-3).

With the Galaxy trailing 4-2, Landon Donovan scored in the 71st minute and Edson Buddle got the tying goal in the 82nd after Beckham's corner kick was headed off a post by Kyle Veris. Angel poked in a shot in the 88th for the go-ahead goal, extending the Galaxy's MLS winless streak to five games (0-3-2).

It was only the 11th time in MLS history teams have combined for nine or more goals in a game.

Bringing what he termed ``glamour and glitz'' to a sport in desperate need of both in the United States, Beckham was the center of attention at Giants Stadium, clearly visible in white boots. The crowd displayed a soccer shop full of jerseys. While there were plenty of Beckham Galaxy jerseys, there were just as many England jerseys in the stands. Whenever Beckham took a restart, fans rose from their seats and took plenty of pictures.

The 32-year-old midfielder, slowed by an ankle injury since joining the Galaxy last month, played the full game, on the stadium's artificial turf no less.

He created Los Angeles' first goal in the sixth minute with a corner kick on the left side that was headed in by Carlos Pavon at the far post. Two minutes later, Beckham took a 37-yard free kick on the right side _ too far to score off of _ and fed an open Pavon, who beat goalkeeper Ronald Waterreus with a diving header. They were the first two MLS goals for Pavon, a Honduran forward who also signed with the Galaxy this year.

His play was somewhat choppy in the second half, when three free kicks were blocked by defenders and he gave the ball away to Mathis, creating a Red Bulls threat. But he also had a brilliant through ball in the 56th to Donovan that nearly led to a goal.

Beckham's injured left ankle, hurt while playing for England and Real Madrid in June, caused him to miss five of eight games since he joined the team. He played the last 16 minutes against England's Chelsea on July 21 and the final 21 minutes in his MLS debut at D.C. United on Aug. 9. On Wednesday, he started for the first time in a SuperLiga semifinal at home against D.C. United and scored his first goal for the Galaxy, on a 26-yard free kick. He played the first 63 minutes, raising his total with the Galaxy to 100.

He will be plenty busy in coming days. He is set to make his 97th international appearance for England in an exhibition game against Germany at Wembley on Wednesday night, then jet eight time zones away to play in MLS's version of a ``derby'' the following night when the Galaxy play Chivas USA in Carson, Calif.

Notes: With 45 goals in all competitions, Mathis set a MetroStars/Red Bulls record, one ahead of Giovanni Savarese. ... The Red Bulls' Claudio Reyna, the former U.S. captain, didn't start because of a groin strain. The Galaxy were missing defender Abel Xavier, who skipped his second straight game on artificial turf because of a knee injury. ... Galaxy D Ante Jazic left in the 17th minute after spraining his right ankle.