Beckham scores in Galaxy's cruise

(AP)

David Beckham scored his first goal of the Major League Soccer season to help the Los Angeles Galaxy to a 2-0 win over the San Jose Earthquakes on Thursday. The England midfielder also laid on his side's second for Landon Donovan, helping his team to their first victory of the campaign following last weekend's opening defeat to the Colorado Rapids.

Playing the full 90 minutes, Beckham was played in by Donovan's eighth-minute pass and his low right-foot shot beat visiting goalkeeper Joe Cannon.

Beckham's chipped through ball returned the favour in the 36th minute, Donovan lobbing Cannon from the edge of the area.

After the game, Beckham expressed delight with his match fitness, admitting it is a far cry from last season. "Last year, I was probably 50 per cent fit when I started," he said. "I was playing in games I shouldn't have been and it just sort of went downhill from there. I feel great after two games and my England game, so I'm ready to get on with it. Last year, there were a lot of distractions and I think I suffered from that and so did the team. Last year, I wasn't even training and I was playing. It wasn't good."

Beckham's goal was just his second for the Galaxy but he chose to focus on the team's display, saying: "I think tonight was a good team performance. After our first game, which was difficult to take, we worked hard tonight and played well."

The Los Angeles coach Ruud Gullit agreed with Beckham's assessment. "I thought we played an excellent game," he said. "Tactically, I thought we had a good awareness of the team. You could see the difference in the work rate from the last game."