The reported crowd of 20,426 that braved the sun on Sunday afternoon at the Home Depot Center in Carson were treated to an entertaining and intriguing Galaxy match versus Toronto FC.

Galaxy Coach Ruud Gullit used the same line up that produced the 2 - 0 result against San Jose in the home opener a little over a week ago. From early on, the Galaxy controlled much of the game, creating many scoring opportunities, but repeatedly being denied by Toronto 'keeper Greg Sutton.

David Beckham played a vital role in the blue and gold attack, but he also appeared to not be completely comfortable with the Southern California sun. Someone should let him know that it is OK to not wear long sleeves when the weather is over 85 degrees.

While seemingly uncomfortable, Beckham produced some stellar opportunities for the Galaxy.

In the seventh minute, Beckham sent a cross from the right flank which bounced across the Toronto goal. Galaxy rookie midfielder Ely Allen managed to get a head on the bouncing ball, but sent the ball wide of goal.

As the first ten minutes expired, Beckham setup Galaxy forward Landon Donovan who found himself streaking in on Sutton from just outside the penalty area. Sutton came off his line to meet Landon and deflected Landon's hard shot over the goal.

In the twenty sixth minute, a give-and-go with Beckham produced another breakaway for Landon, but Sutton was once again up to the challenge and easily stopped Landon's slow rolling shot.

Beckham's dominance continued throughout the game, and in the thirty ninth minute he once again connected with Landon who was breaking in through the middle of the pitch. Landon dribbled past two defenders, around the goalie and then promptly shot the ball over the empty net and into the stands. Three breakaways and zero goals.

Meanwhile, Toronto proved to be the epitome of efficiency.

The "Reds" seemed content with playing for a tie for the majority of the game. Recent acquisition and former MLS MVP, Amado "El Lobo" Guevara was mostly invisible, thanks in large part to the great work of Galaxy midfielders Alvaro Pires and Brandon McDonald.

However, in the forty third minute, Guevara reminded everyone why he was once an MVP, creating one of the few opportunities the Reds had in the half. Picking up a ball about forty yards from goal, Guevara sent a thirty yard pass into Toronto forward Danny Dichio. Galaxy defender Greg Vanney was unable to clear the ball or contain Dichio. Dichio then ripped a low lying shot that beat Galaxy 'keeper Steve Cronin who was coming out to meet the threat, giving the visitors their first lead.

Just seconds after the Toronto goal, Galaxy defender Chris Klein found Landon a bit outside the penalty area. The noticeably upset Landon slapped a hard shot past the outstretched Sutton and into the goal, pulling the Galaxy even just before the half ended.

The second half produced more goals.

In the fifty third minute, the Reds took the lead again. Cronin gave up a wild rebound after a Toronto free kick from about 25 yards out. The Reds' Jarrod Smith beat his defender to the ball and easily headed the ball into the open net, making the score 2 - 1.

Just a few minutes later, Beckham put another cross into the Toronto area. Toronto defender Marco Velez was called for a hand ball and a penalty was awarded to the Galaxy. Landon put the ball in the back of the net, once again bringing the Galaxy even.

Toronto came close to breaking the tie in the sixtieth minute after another Toronto free kick, but Cronin made a great save to preserve the tie.

The Galaxy threatened to score a few more times as the minutes wore on, with the clearest chance coming around the eighty fifth minute when Ely Allen received a ball in front of the Toronto goal with Sutton out of position. Ely struggled to control the ball and the Reds' defense was able to recover and eliminate the threat before Ely could take a shot.

With two minutes left in regulation, Reds' forward Jeff Cunningham broke the tie, fighting off Vanney while picking up a long pass from deep in the Toronto half. His hard shot from the top of the box easily beat Cronin, bringing the final score to 3 - 2 for the visitors.

While entertaining, this match also seemed to highlight the Galaxy's problems: defense. All three goals by the Reds were largely due to defensive failures. At the same time, numerous scoring opportunities were wasted.

The Galaxy have put a lot of emphasis on making sure this year's team is capable of producing quality, entertaining soccer. However, this seems to only go as far as ensuring that the team scores goals. Without the support of a solid defense, this game could foreshadow how much of the rest of the season will pan out. If the team gets into a scoring drought, it could be worse.

On the positive side, the Galaxy did show some grit and did not give up when they were down, twice being down and twice scoring to tie it. Even in the dying minutes of injury time, they almost came close to pulling even.

This is a nice change from the last few seasons when it seemed as though the team would appear to collectively give up after going down.

There is still plenty of season left, but let's hope the Galaxy can sort out their defensive woes quickly.

Photo by wiemann via Flickr