Beckham sits out Galaxy draw

Beckham had all but ruled himself out of a place in the Galaxy squad 24 hours earlier as he had failed to recover from an ankle injury sustained in June playing for England and aggravated in Real madrid's push for La Liga title.

To the disappiointment of a 20,522 record crowd in Toronto, his prediction proved correct and although he took a seat on the Galaxy bench before kick-off he was dressed in a suit and tie.

Galaxy came into the game following a thrilling 6-5 SuperLiga victory over FC Dallas on Tuesday but it was Toronto, missing eight first-choice players through injury, who had much the better of the match.

Mo Jonston's side not only created the better chances but also stopped the visitors from finding their rhythm. An in-swinging corner from the left by Welsh international Carl Robinson in the fifth minute caused problems for the Galaxy defence when Toronto defender Tyrone Marshall rose above them to send a glancing header just past the far post.

And goalkeeper Joe Cannon had defender Ty Harden to thank for clearing off his line when Toronto striker Andrea Lombardo nudged the ball over his head as he rushed from his goal to collect a Todd Dunivant through ball. Galaxy were again caught out in the eighth minute when Dunivant again put through Lombardi. The striker slotted the ball beyond Cannon and into the net but it was ruled offside.

The first attack from the Galaxy came four minutes later when captain Landon Donovan cut inside from the left and sent a reverse pass in to Alan Gordon, who went down under a challenge from Marco Reda before he managed to shoot.

Toronto's constant pressure when Galaxy had possession had a physical edge and Donovan was unhappy with a Robinson challenge in the 16th minute. Yet it was two Galaxy names that went into the referee's book first, Troy Roberts and Kelly Gray in the 18th and 25th minute respectively. A crude challenge from Robinson on Donovan, however, ensured the Toronto midfielder joined them in the 33rd minute.

With the game scoreless at the break, Galaxy tried to freshen things up by replacing right-back Roberts with winger Kyle Martino. But Toronto were still the more potent going forwar, captain Jim Brennan firing a left-foot shot from long range that Cannon was forced to push round his post in the 52nd minute. Kevin Harmse had already become the third Galaxy player in the book for a foul on Chris Pozniak and tema-mate Ante Jazic followed him in an otherwise eventful second half.

Manchester-born Andy Welsh, coming on as a Toronto sub in the 81st minute, nearly stole the glory with a blistering run into the box during injury time but his shot was straight at Cannon and the sides settled for a share of the points.