Los Angeles Galaxy star David Beckham is praised by teammate Landon Donovan and head coach Bruce Arena for gutsy performances despite injury

LOS ANGELES -- Enjoying his finest season with Los Angeles since joining the Galaxy in 2007, David Beckham did something Saturday he hadn’t done in 16 years: score unassisted off a corner kick.

Beckham’s spinning low-hit corner bounced through a crowd and past Chicago Fire goalkeeper Sean Johnson in the 65th minute, adding to his assist on a Landon Donovan goal seven minutes earlier for a 2-1 Galaxy victory. Beckham admitted after the game that he was almost taken off by Galaxy coach Bruce Arena before the decisive goal.

“I didn’t expect to play 90 minutes, and with [30] minutes to go Bruce said I’m going to give you five minutes, and I seemed to get a second wind,” Beckham said. “I told him that, and he left me on, and thankfully he did because obviously I got the goal.”

The England international, renowned for his set piece ability, last scored from a corner kick during a loan spell with Preston North End in England in the 1994-95 season.

While Beckham’s trademark free kicks and television appearances receive most of the attention, coaches and teammates marveled at his ability to stay on the field. It was Beckham’s first start in nearly a month after suffering a stress fracture to his spine.

“He’s really a tough athlete,” Arena said of his star midfielder. “He looked a little bit fatigued, but he hung in there. He wanted to play and he wanted to win.”

Team captain Landon Donovan praised the 36-year-old for giving his all despite playing through an extreme pain.

“From what I hear, playing with the injury he’s playing with is really painful,” Galaxy captain Landon Donovan said. “He’s a warrior, man.”

Donovan, who famously criticized Beckham for a lack of commitment in the 2009 book The Beckham Experiment, said his teammate had fought through a lot of injuries this season.

“He’s spent a lot of time off the field, so I think he wants to do everything he can this year to play as much as possible and he’s playing through a lot of pain,” Donovan said. “I’m impressed.

ARTICLE SOURCE : WWW.GOAL.COM