TORONTO - Star midfielder David Beckham was pulling the strings and hitting the woodwork but the Los Angeles Galaxy still had to settle for a scoreless draw with Toronto FC on Wednesday night.
Beckham was in form for his first game appearance at BMO Field since the 2008 Major League Soccer all-star game. The former England captain showed his deft touch and crafty ball movement on a chilly evening in front of a sellout crowd of 22,453.
The Galaxy captain unveiled one of his classic bending free kicks in the 70th minute. Beckham curled the ball around the Toronto wall but rang it off the post to the left of goalkeeper Stefan Frei.
"There is a buzz most definitely because the big man's in town," said Toronto defender Adrian Cann. "People take to the guy."
Beckham, who turns 36 next month, wasn't an overwhelming standout but he helped guide the Galaxy attack with his consistent play.
"When he receives the ball, before he turns with it, he knows exactly where it's going to go," Cann said. "When he hits the ball, it's picture perfect. Right on the guy's foot and that's what kills teams. That's what makes him Beckham, right?"
Toronto (1-1-3) did have some chances after a sluggish start. Substitute Joao Plata had a great opportunity late in the second half but his header off a free kick was stopped by Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts.
Los Angeles (2-1-3) kicked off its three-game East Coast road swing last weekend with a hard-luck draw against D.C. United. The Galaxy settled for a 1-1 tie after giving up a goal on a penalty kick in the final minute.
Beckham was frustrated that Los Angeles was again denied three points.
"We had the chances but we just couldn't put them away," Beckham said. "I think when you have that many chances sometimes you need a bit of luck on your side. We just didn't have it.
"We hit the post, we hit the crossbar a couple of times and we had the majority of the play and the majority of the chances. It's disappointing."
Toronto extended its unbeaten streak to four games even though Alan Gordon sat out with a groin injury and fellow forward Maicon Santos was a late scratch with the flu.
"I'm not content with the draw, especially at home," Cann said. "We've got to get the three points. I think tonight was alright because we didn't have the forwards up top."
Los Angeles controlled the play early on with midfielder Sean Franklin testing Frei in the opening minute. Franklin had a glorious chance from just inside the box but Frei dove to his left to make the save.
A minute later, the crowd got the chance to see the first free kick from Beckham, who floated a cross into the area that Frei corralled at the six-yard box.
It was forward Chad Barrett's first game against Toronto since he was dealt to the Galaxy in the off-season and he nearly burned his former team in the 12th minute. After Toronto forward Alen Stevanovic was dropped by a hard tackle near midfield, the Galaxy attacked and Barrett's strike from about 20 yards out hit the crossbar and was cleared.
Toronto looked disorganized early on as missed passes, poor dribbling and sloppy play was the norm over the first 20 minutes. The home team's first good scoring chance came in the 27th, when Gianluca Zavarise used his head to graze a free kick from Jacob Peterson. However, Ricketts was positioned well and made the save.
Los Angeles outshot Toronto 6-5.
Beckham picked up a yellow card late in the first half after catching Toronto's Julian de Guzman with a sliding tackle. It was one of six yellow cards issued by Terry Vaughn for reckless tackles.
Beckham was not impressed with the referee.
"They're becoming the stars of the MLS and that's obviously not what teams want and clubs want," Beckham said. "You want the players to be playing out there. You want it to be fair and I just don't think the consistency is there. I think there's bad calls and we've had our majority of bad calls over the last few games.
"But it's ruining games, it's ruining our preparation for games. So, I'll probably get in trouble but it's gone on too long now."
Notes: The Galaxy will continue their three-game East Coast swing with a stop in Chicago on Sunday. Toronto will continue its three-game homestand Saturday against D.C. United. ... Reporters were allowed into Toronto FC's locker-room after the game. It was the team's first home game since MLS commissioner Don Garber said the club must follow league policy by opening its doors to the media. New coach Aron Winter had previously informed reporters that the room would be closed as part of his bid to "create a real football environment." As it turned out, the players did most of their interviews in the workout room down the hall. ... Gregg Berhalter (knee), Adam Cristman (knee) and Hector Jimenez (wrist) were out with injuries for the Galaxy. Toronto FC midfielder Elbekay Bouchiba sat out with a knee injury. ... The teams also played to scoreless draws in their two meetings last season. The Galaxy will host Toronto FC on June 11.
