Three is Galaxy's Magic Number
Three was the magic number for the Galaxy last night.
Galaxy forward Edson Buddle scored his 3rd goal of the season at the 30th minute to give the blue-and-gold a 1 - 0 victory over Chivas USA in the second leg of the Honda SuperClásico. The victory extends the Galaxy win streak to three games, all of which have come by the same scoreline. Coincidentally, the combination of yesterday's loss by Chivas USA and a Seattle victory over Houston drops the red-and-whites to third place in the standings.
More importantly for the blue-and-gold, the win brings them within three points of Chivas USA on the Western Conference standings and helps them keep pace with Colorado as teams start to position themselves for a playoff run.
The Galaxy dominated the first half and kept Chivas USA 'keeper Zach Thornton busy throughout. Mike Magee put in his best performance in a Galaxy uniform and factored heavily in the fluidity of the Galaxy attack, including the play that led to the goal. The red-and-whites struggled to match the pace and sloppy midfield play limited their offensive chances. Landon Donovan and Todd Dunivant nearly extended the lead minutes after Buddle's goal as the red-and-whites found themselves pinned in their defensive half.
Chivas USA Head Coach Preki Radosavljevic moved to correct the situation at the start of the second half. Forward Eduardo Lillingston came in for Bojan Stepanovic to provide more offensive prowess. Lillingston's presence immediately made a difference and the red-and-whites quickly started getting some scoring chances after having gone through the entire first half without registering a shot on goal.
Maykel Galindo nearly tied the score at the 48th minute when the ball bounced to him at the six yard box. The ball found him with his back to the goal and while he was able to make a great turn to get a shot off, his aim wasn't quite there. The play would foreshadow the remainder of the second half in which play opened up and Chivas USA had the advantage, nearly bringing the teams even on multiple occasions.
The Galaxy defense, however, was up to the challenge, putting in another solid performance to hold the line until the final whistle to secure a win for the blue-and-gold.