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Eager to earn more respect for the status of their league, the MLS All-Stars beat England’s West Ham United 3-2 today to record a fifth straight win over foreign opposition.
Newly capped England striker Dean Ashton scored both goals for the Premier League side, but goals by Christian Gomez, Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Dwayne DeRosario gave the MLS team the win.
“The MLS players showed we have good players in our league, not only good players but great players,” All-Stars coach and former Liverpool fullback Steve Nicol said.
Los Angeles midfielder David Beckham played the entire game in his first All-Star appearance. He came close to scoring in the 40th minute, but his low free kick was headed away.
The England international had two more opportunities early in the second half, running onto a loose ball inside the 18-yard box but shooting high and just wide. He missed wide again on a free kick minutes later.
“I’d read about the last five years not losing so I was kind of nervous and hoping that we would win,” Beckham said. “As soon as we started I knew we were capable of winning it because of the quality we’ve got in the team.”
The MLS All-Stars beat Mexico’s Guadalajara 3-1 in 2003 and, after returning to an East-West format in 2004, defeated English team Fulham 4-1 in 2005. After beating Chelsea 1-0 in 2006, they downed Scotland’s Celtic 2-0 last year.
“The MLS is gaining momentum week in and week out,” West Ham manager Alan Curbishley said. “In Europe, we see lots of the games, we keep in touch with it. You’re probably going to find more European players attracted to the league.”
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