Galaxy midfielder Alvaro Pires scored his first MLS goal in the early minutes as the Galaxy battled the Colorado Rapids for the Western Conference lead in front of a near sellout crowd of 25,129 at the Home Depot Center last night.

At the 32nd minute, the blue-and-gold added a second goal when forward Edson Buddle blasted home a shot from the right side of the Colorado penalty box and going into the locker room with a 2 - 0 lead.

It seemed as though the Galaxy were en route to easily avenging their 4 - 0 season opening loss to the Rapids when at the 50th minute, Galaxy rookie midfielder Ely Allen got a great lead pass into space from fellow midfielder Pete Vagenas, then scored his first career goal.

But, a few minutes later, the wheels started coming off....

The Galaxy gradually began to lose control of the game after Allen's goal. As the game reached the 65th minute, much of the action was taking place in the Galaxy half. Expulsions to Galaxy forward Alan Gordon and Rapids defender Facundo Erpen at the closing of the first half had left both teams with 10 men. The extra space opened the game up, with Rapids seeming to benefit the most.

Unable to control possession, the Galaxy allowed the Rapids to generate numerous offensive opportunities. Rapids forwards Colin Clark and Herculez Gomez were able to capitalize at the 73rd and 82nd minutes, bringing the score to 3 - 2 towards the dieing minutes.

The Rapids' midfielder, and for MLS MVP, Christian Gomez was licking his chops, motoring the Rapids offense to the last minute, but was unable to help generate the tieing goal.

For the Galaxy, I am sure that head coach Ruud Gullit will have something to say for their effort in the second half. The victory gives the blue-and-gold first place in the Western Conference, but the team will need to work on putting in a full game's worth of effort if they expect to stay there long.

Photo by John M. Padilla/used with permission