David Beckham’s first pre-season game of 2008 had a disappointing ending as his Los Angeles Galaxy side lost 1-0 to Japan’s Gamba Osaka in the first Pan-Pacific Championship semi-final on Wednesday in Honolulu.

The former England captain played the whole game at Aloha Stadium but was unable to prevent his team losing to their J-League opponents. He was involved in an angry exchange with Brazilian Lucas after a heavy collision in the second half.

Brazilian striker Bare scored the winning goal in the third minute, firing a left-foot shot past goalkeeper Steve Cronin.

“It’s always disappointing when you lose the game, but when you don’t start off properly that happens. For the first 15 minutes we were terrible. The second half was a lot better,” Beckham said. “It’s nice to be back on the pitch and we’re still trying to get our fitness back.”

Galaxy’s new coach, Ruud Gullit, was pleased with Beckham’s contribution, despite the defeat. He said the team’s slow start was caused by unfamiliarity with the artificial turf, and a new gameplan.

“We thought David might only play 30 minutes because we were concerned about the artificial turf, but he felt good out there so we kept him on,” Gullit said.

“We haven’t found yet what system to play. We know the principles of the game. But how we want to play is still a puzzle.”

The turf made the ball difficult to control, causing it to skip and bounce high.

Galaxy will face the losers of Wednesday’s second semi-final between Houston Dynamo and Sydney FC in the third-place playoff tomorrow.