Not even an August rainstorm could cool down Luciano Emilio as DC United rode the Brazilian's 27th minute goal to a victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy on Thursday night in front of 46,686 fans at RFK Stadium.

The only bright spot on the night for the sluggish Galaxy came in the 72nd minute when David Beckham made his league debut, showing few signs of a nagging ankle injury that had kept him sidelined for several weeks. But Beckham alone could not propel Los Angeles over the offensive hurdle they faced after Kyle Martino was sent off in the second half for a clumsy from-behind challenge.

The weary Los Angeles defense was nearly penetrated in the eighth minute when Joshua Gros chased down a loose ball in the box, only to get tripped up by a sprawling Joe Cannon as the Galaxy keeper extended to clear the ball away. Gros would also be denied two minutes later when his shot was easily smothered by Cannon.

In the 20th minute, Landon Donovan pushed forward and fired a low, screaming shot from the corner of the box, but the captain's left-footed effort was just off-target, barely missing the far post.

Three minutes before the half hour, Emilio ran onto a pass from former Galaxy player Marc Burch and blasted a hard shot goalward. Cannon was able to get both hands on the ball, but could not make the save.

With a disgruntled look on his face, Beckham began stretching about 10 minutes before halftime, drawing cheers and flashbulbs from the sell-out crowd. One of United's supporters groups hung a large banner reading "We sing better than your wife!"

Donovan would have another good look early in the second half as he received the ball in the box with his back to goal. Using a crafty spin move, Donovan created enough space to take a quick shot, but was again just wide of the target.

Referee Jair Marrufo would draw Donovan's ire in the 57th minute for failing to call a penalty kick in his favor. Taking on two defenders at once, Donovan was dragged down in the box from behind by Devon McTavish, only to see Marrufo signal for him to get up as play continued.

DC continued to push for an insurance goal and nearly got one in the 64th minute when Emilio did his best Beckham impression, taking a shot that bent just wide of the net, denying him another two-goal game.

The Galaxy lost almost any chance of getting back into things three minutes later as Kyle Martino was sent off for a sliding tackle that took United's Fred out from behind at the ankles. Marrufo wasted no time pulling out his red card, sending Martino to the showers early and reducing Los Angeles to 10 men for the remainder of the game.

As the rain let up in the 72nd minute, Beckham walked to the sidelines and quickly changed into his jersey, ready to enter the game. Coming on for winger Quavas Kirk, Beckham immediately assumed a central role in midfield for the Galaxy, getting involved frequently and running with no sign of being bothered by his tender left ankle.

The best chance for Los Angeles to net an equalizer came in the 80th minute as Chris Klein made a run down the right side and centered the ball into the box. Second half substitute Carlos Pavón got a head to it, re-directing towards the back post, but again the effort went just wide.

With play advancing at the other end of the field, MLS veteran Jaime Moreno nearly tallied his 109th career goal when he received a soft chip behind the Galaxy defense. The 33-year old settled the ball with his thigh and quickly sent a volley on frame, but Cannon made a big save to keep his team in the game once more.

Five minutes before the end of regulation, Beckham got his first opportunity to take a free kick after the Galaxy drew a foul deep in the DC zone. Administering his trademark bend to the ball, it was Pavón who got to it first, but the Honduran's header sailed high over the crossbar.

United keeper Troy Perkins alertly came off his line to preserve his shutout in the 86th minute, breaking up a late chance for Los Angeles. A picture-perfect pass from Beckham found Donovan in space, looking set to score, but Perkins had other ideas, laying out to take the ball away as he attempted to get around the keeper.

In stoppage time, Edson Buddle chopped at a ball in the box from 10 feet out, but missed it completely, hitting it off of his heel and out of play just before the final whistle.

With the debut out of the way, Beckham can now fully concentrate on turning the struggling Galaxy's fortunes around, with their road trip continuing in New England on Sunday. Los Angeles has taken only 14 points from their first 14 games, leaving them 12th out of 13 teams in Major League Soccer.

DC United moves into second place in the East with the win, and now trail the Revolution by just three points. Their next competitive game will be against this same Los Angeles team in the semifinals of SuperLiga 2007.

Scoring
DCU - Luciano Emilio (Marc Burch) 27'

Line-ups
DCU - Troy Perkins; Bryan Namoff (Greg Vanney 89'), Bobby Boswell, Devon McTavish, Marc Burch, Ben Olsen (Brian Carroll 70'), Fred, Clyde Simms, Joshua Gros, Luciano Emilio, Guy-Roland Kpene (Jaime Moreno 46')

LA - Joe Cannon; Chris Klein, Ty Harden, Abel Xavier, Ante Jazic, Quavas Kirk (David Beckham 72'), Kelly Gray (Carlos Pavón 77'), Kevin Harmse, Kyle Martino, Landon Donovan, Alan Gordon (Edson Buddle 62')