CARSON, Calif. -- No David Beckham, and still the Los Angeles Galaxy recorded its first victory since the English superstar joined the team.
Landon Donovan scored in the 81st minute and the Galaxy defeated Pachua 2-1 in its 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.
