Aug. 16 (Bloomberg) -- David Beckham scored his first goal for the Los Angeles Galaxy in his opening start to help the Major League Soccer team reach the SuperLiga final.

Beckham, curbed by an ankle injury since joining last month, hit a trademark free kick to put the Galaxy on course for a 2-0 semifinal victory over D.C. United last night at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. He followed up with his first assist as Landon Donovan scored to seal a place in the Aug. 29 final against Mexico's CF Pachuca.

The 32-year-old Beckham received a standing ovation from the crowd of 17,223 when he left the field in the 63rd minute, with the Galaxy on course for a third win in eight games. Beckham is the highest-profile U.S. soccer signing since Pele joined the New York Cosmos in 1975 and has said his aim is to lift the sport to a ``different level.''

``It was nice to get the early goal,'' Beckham said in an interview with match broadcaster Telefutura. ``But tonight was not just about my goal and Landon's goal. It was a team performance that was exceptional, we worked hard as a team and played hard as a team and we won as a team.''

Beckham was mobbed by teammates after beating goalkeeper Troy Perkins with his curling 27-yard free kick into the top left corner of the net. It was the team's first goal in four games. His pass from the center circle two minutes after halftime rolled into the path of Donovan and the U.S. forward ran on to shoot low past Perkins.

Beckham, captaining the team, received a yellow card in the 18th minute for a foul on Jaime Moreno. He forced a diving save from Perkins with another free kick in the second half before being replaced by Peter Vagenas.

Fan Frustration

Before yesterday, Beckham had been limited by the injury to about 35 minutes of action in two games, sparking impatience from some supporters. Banners including ``Bench it Like Beckham'' and ``David, welcome to America, where people like you get paid to do nothing,'' were displayed at Galaxy games.

``I've always said that everybody has to be patient,'' added Beckham. ``I had to let nature take its course with my ankle. It's an injury and there wasn't much I could do about that.''

The former England national team captain signed with the Galaxy in January before officially joining in July. He injured his left ankle playing for England on June 6 and aggravated it in his final game with Real Madrid almost two weeks later.

Beckham made his Galaxy debut July 21 by playing 15 minutes of an exhibition game against English team Chelsea. After missing four more games, he made his first MLS appearance as a second- half substitute against D.C. United in front of 46,686 fans on Aug. 9. The Galaxy is second-to-last in the MLS Western Conference standings with just three wins in 15 games.

The SuperLiga is an eight-team club competition between Mexican and MLS teams. The Galaxy beat Pachuca 2-1 in an earlier round and will host the SuperLiga final.

Beckham signed a five-year contract that will pay him an MLS-record base salary of $5.5 million annually and may be worth as much as $250 million with endorsements and profit-sharing clauses.

To contact the reporter on this story: Dan Bollerman in New York at dbollerman@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: August 16, 2007 03:56 EDT