CARSON, Calif. (AP)—A rusty David Beckham couldn’t give the Los Angeles Galaxy a victory, so they settled for a tie that kept their slim playoff hopes alive.
Jozy Altidore’s header in the 16th minute helped the New York Red Bulls to a 1-1 tie Thursday night, when Beckham played for the first time in 1 1/2 months.
A loss would have eliminated the Galaxy (9-13-7). Now, they need a win at Chicago on Sunday and help from other Major League Soccer teams to prolong their up-and-down season.
“We’re still in it, so that’s a good thing,” Galaxy coach Frank Yallop said. “A win would have been a lot better situation for us.”
The Galaxy will be rooting for Real Salt Lake to win or tie at Colorado, and Kansas City to lose at FC Dallas on Saturday. They need those results to make the game at Chicago meaningful.
“Our destiny is in those games,” Yallop said.
Beckham entered the game as a substitute in the 68th minute with the score tied, drawing a huge cheer from the announced crowd of 27,000. He took five corner kicks in 22 minutes, but the Galaxy couldn’t score on any of them.
“He hasn’t hit many corners in a while. He’s rusty,” Yallop said. “He was dying to get out there.”
The midfielder had missed 10 consecutive games after spraining his right knee in the SuperLiga tournament final on Aug. 29. He already was playing with an injured left ankle that occurred before he joined the Galaxy in mid-July.
After the game, Beckham didn’t speak with reporters, having left the locker room before the media was allowed in.
Yallop said the plan was to play Beckham no more than 25 minutes.
“He’s not hindered by the injury, which is good,” the coach said. “Match fitness is the biggest problem.”
Los Angeles had won five in a row coming into its final regular-season home game.
“Thankfully, we didn’t lose, but clearly we wanted to win,” Landon Donovan said. “The run we went on was amazing, but at the end of the day, we were in a really big hole. We’ve needed help along the whole way.”
The Red Bulls (12-11-7) already have a date with New England in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Troy Roberts’ header into the right side of the net gave Los Angeles a 1-0 lead in the 15th minute off a cross by Donovan.
But New York came right back on Altidore’s header off a cross by Dave van den Bergh on the left wing.
“We put ourselves in position to win at the end,” New York coach Bruce Arena said. “Our defense was much better as a group the entire evening. We created the best chances in the game.”
The Galaxy had several good scoring chances late in the game, including a pass by Donovan intended for Carlos Pavon that sailed across the mouth of the empty goal.
The Galaxy’s Kyle Martino earned his sixth yellow card of the season in the 54th minute, triggering an automatic suspension that will keep him out of Sunday’s game.
New York’s Dane Richards earned a yellow card in the 63rd minute.
In the teams’ other meeting this season, the Red Bulls won 5-4 in front of 66,237 at Giants Stadium on Aug. 18, when Beckham made his first MLS start.
It was a sentimental evening for the Galaxy’s Cobi Jones, who played all 90 minutes of the final home game of his career. The 37-year-old midfielder plans to retire after the season, having spent his entire 12-year career with the same team—the only player in MLS history to do so. Jones was a stalwart on the U.S. national team, too.
“Cobi means a lot to this city, this club and this league,” Yallop said. “He’s been one of the best American players that’s played the game.”
Jones’ teammates warmed up wearing No. 13 white T-shirts with `Cobi’ on the back. A video tribute aired before the game and MLS commissioner Don Garber was on hand as Jones’ jersey was retired. The team gave him a ski vacation to a destination of his choice.
“Most importantly, I want to say thank you to all the fans who’ve been here from day one,” Jones said.