Beckham is worthy hero

David Beckham shrugged aside fears for his family's safety last night to score the goal that helped Manchester United into the last 16 of the Worthington Cup.

Beckham, shaken at the weekend by revelations of an alleged plot to kidnap his wife and sons, rejected the chance to stay away from the clash with Leicester. Instead, he scored from the penalty spot 10 minutes from time to set up United's 2-0 victory.

The night turned sour for United's neighbours, Manchester City, however. Kevin Keegan's side lost 1-0 at Wigan and saw two key defenders suffer injuries which rule them out of Saturday's Premiership derby.

At Old Trafford, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson described Beckham's contribution as 'great' and stressed how keen he was to play. But it was Leicester boss Micky Adams who contributed the most glowing tribute to England's favourite footballer. He said: 'David
Beckham is the ultimate professional. He has to deal with pressures that ordinary players don't face. It's a tribute to him that he comes out here and performs the way that he does.' Beckham - who played in central midfield last night and was booked early on - scored after Leicester defender Andy Impey was adjudged to have pulled down Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

In the last minute, 18-year-old Kieran Richardson scored his first senior goal for the club after coming on as a substitute. Ferguson said: 'I am glad that we did well. We have been criticised in the past for playing a weakened team but that can't be said tonight.'

Keegan, though, admitted that he wished he had rested some of his top players when he saw defenders Steve Howey and Sylvain Distin hobble off. Howey suffered a toe injury after 17 minutes while Distin limped out of the action with hamstring trouble after half an hour. Wigan's winner came in the 35th minute from Neil Roberts.

Keegan said: 'I wish I had put out the kids now, but that's the problem when you stick to what you believe in.'