Chelsea Football Club player Frank Lampard signs a football for a fan at an autograph session in Macau, yesterday. Chelsea face Chengdu Blades in today before heading to Malaysia and then Russia for the Railways Cup. (AFP)

TORONTO • David Beckham was a winner in his first Major League Soccer All-Star Game here Thursday, the English midfielder helping the MLS All-Stars defeating England’s West Ham United 3-2.

Dwayne De Rosario netted a penalty kick goal in the 69th minute for the winner as the MLS select lineup improved to 5-0 against international foes since the format began in 2003.

Christian Gomez and Cuauhtemoc Blanco scored first-half goals for the MLS squad while Dean Ashton netted both goals for West Ham United before a sellout crowd of 20,844.

Beckham, who contributed an assist with a stellar set-up pass, said the MLS lineup was motivated despite the match being only a mid-season exhibition and players more acustomed to going against one another rather than teamwork.

“Every player out there was committed to winning the game. We said we were going to take it seriously and we wanted to win the game, and we did that,” Beckham said.

“We also wanted to put in a good team performance because we are a bunch of players that play against each other every week and haven’t played with each other. But we proved that we can come together. We played as a team, worked as a team and we won as a team so overall, it was a very good performance.”

Beckham boosted the league’s global profile when he jumped to the Los Angeles Galaxy last year after playing out his Real Madrid contract, a landmark $250m deal that has only a $5.5m salary base for playing matches this season with sales and incentives a major part of the deal.

MLS teams have defeated Mexico’s Chivas of Guadalajara, England’s Fulham and Chelsea and Celtic of Scotland in prior all-star matchups.

The Hammers used the match as a tuneup for the upcoming English season.

“I think for everyone concerned, it has been a success,” West Ham manager Alan Curbishley said. “There were goals scored, some chances created. There could have been a bit more of a score line, but I think everybody came away with something.

“We needed the fitness work, and we certainly got it tonight. The MLS players scored two terrific goals, and it was a good evening. Everybody can be well-pleased with their efforts.”

The Hammers opened the scoring in the 26th minute when Ashton ran onto a through ball from Carlton Cole and blasted a right-footed shot into the net. But West Ham’s lead lasted less than a minute, with Beckham playing the ball to Blanco, who back-heeled it to Gomez, who blasted the ball past goalkeeper Robert Green.

Beckham had his first free-kick chance in the 39th minute from 30 meters when Blanco was fouled, but the ball was cleared by Hammers captain Lucas Neill after curling around the wall.

Mexico’s Blanco lifted the MLS lineup to a 2-1 half-time lead with a goal in the 44th minute, zipping a right-footed shot through a jumble of players and inside the far post.

West Ham drew level in the 67th minute when Ashton blasted in a shot off a defender’s head.

Again the North American side answered, Houston midfielder De Rosario being brought down in the box by Neill in the 70th minute. De Rosario booted the ball in off the crossbar for the decider. Former Aston Villa striker Juan Pablo Angel found the net seconds later but an offside call wiped out the tally.

Meanwhile, Brazilian striker Jo has vowed to repay Mark Hughes’ faith and score a hatful of goals for his new club Manchester City next season.

The 21-year-old was Hughes’s first major signing at Eastlands since he replaced Sven-Goran Eriksson as manager when he inked a four-year contract this month in a $38m move from CSKA Moscow.

“I know it’s not easy to play in England, but I can score a lot of goals,” he told the New Paper here where Brazil are training ahead of the Beijing Olympics.

Asked if he could better the 32 goals that Fernando Torres scored for Liverpool last season, he replied: “I can’t say that I’m better than him, but my job is the same as his – to score lots of goals.”

Jo, whose full name is Joao Alves de Assis Silva, is a left-footed forward who joined several fellow Brazilians at CSKA in 2006 when he moved from Corinthians.