Galaxy, Chivas USA Victorious

Galaxy forward Landon Donovan converted a penalty kick in the first half to give the blue-and-gold a 1 - 0 advantage over the visiting New York Red Bulls at the Home Depot Center on a night on which Galaxy midfielder Chris Klein celebrated his 300th career game.

A spectacular save by Galaxy 'keeper Donovan Ricketts earlier in the half kept the teams even, although the Red Bulls had a slight advantage in a lackluster first half. The Galaxy had struggled in the midfield and spent a good portion of the first half in their defensive third. As the half wore on, the L.A. side generated a few runs at the New York goal but were unable to convert. The blue-and-gold would eventually earn the penalty kick when New York midfielder Seth Stammler was called for a hand ball on a Donovan cross in the Red Bulls penalty area.

The foul seemed unintentional, but nonetheless, the penalty was called and the Galaxy would take a 1 - 0 lead into the break after Donovan converted.

After the break, the Galaxy seemed a bit more organized in the midfield. As the second half wore on, the blue-and-gold seemed to have the upper hand and generated some better chances for themselves, including a near miss on a header by forward Edson Buddle at the 73rd minute. Red Bulls responded late, threatening in the dying minutes of the game and into injury time, but Ricketts was up for the challenge, preserving the Galaxy lead until the final whistle. The victory was the Galaxy's first on the season.

Chivas USA ended their game with a similar scoreline over San Jose on a goal by forward Justin Braun at the 53rd minute. The victory was the club's sixth on the season and extends their league lead to 6 points over Seattle.