Beckham, at last

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David Beckham put his injured ankle behind him and finally made his MLS debut last night, coming off the bench in the 72nd minute to a giant roar from a crowd of 46,686 and hundreds of flashing cameras at RFK Stadium.

"It was a great reaction for me and I feel honored," Beckham said. "I was so happy to get out there on the pitch and kick a soccer ball around for 20 minutes. ... It was great atmosphere out there in front of 45,000. That's what the sport needs."
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However, the Englishman did little to help the struggling Los Angeles Galaxy, which lost 1-0 to D.C. United.

Beckham admitted that his left ankle was still a problem.

"There's tenderness there," Beckham said. "There was hesitation because I haven't played or trained for eight weeks on the field, so tonight was the first time I've done anything competitive. I was happy to be out there and finally get 20 minutes in my first game. ... There will be a reaction [from the ankle] tomorrow, but it was a big forward step for me tonight."

As soon as Beckham entered the field he was in the action, putting in a tough tackle.

It took four minutes before Beckham made one of his famous long passes, but the effort was canceled out by United goalie Troy Perkins.

"There's a lot more to come from David and the team, and it was a big step for us tonight," Galaxy coach Frank Yallop said.

Beckham took his first free kick in MLS in the 83rd minute. From 40 yards out, he curled the ball into the penalty box and it found Galaxy striker Carlos Pavon, but the Honduran ace headed it over the bar.

Before last night, Beckham had played only 16 minutes in an exhibition game against Chelsea on July 21. He sat out the next four games with an injured left ankle, disappointing ticket buyers in a number of cities.