Galaxy Win, Chivas USA Routed
Galaxy forward Jovan Kirovski celebrates his game winning goal with teammate David Beckham. Photo by Brian Snyder/REUTERS.
The Galaxy pressured the New England Revolution defense from early on and quickly took control of the game at Gillette Stadium. The increasing pressure on the Revolution defense led to some errors in the back line and it wasn't long before the blue-and-gold got some quality shots on goal. At the 21st minute, New England once again struggled to clear a Galaxy attack and after a series of volleys, the ball made its way to Donovan just outside the penalty area. Donovan then sent a perfectly placed bending shot towards goal and gave L.A. the lead with his 9th tally of the year.
Play evened out for the remainder of the first half and through the early part of the second. Kirovski doubled the Galaxy lead at the 52nd minute when he too capitalized on a defensive error by New England which left him unmarked in front of the goal with Revolution 'keeper Matt Reis caught out of position. New England, however, steadily gained momentum throughout the second half as the second goal by the Galaxy forced the home side to further chase the game.
The blue-and-gold struggled to contain the attack and retain possession, but the defense held firm. By the 70th minute, New England was controlling much of the pace and ratcheted up the pressure on the Galaxy defense. The pressure would lead to a defensive mistake yielding a penalty kick to New England as the game entered its final 10 minutes. Steve Ralston would convert for the Revolution at the 83rd minute to cut the Galaxy lead in half and give the home side a chance at a point.
New England sensed a tie within their grasp and continued to increase the pressure. The Galaxy back line, however, was up to the task and held down the fort through the end to take the road victory. The win is the Galaxy's fifth in their last six league matches and helps solidify the team's positioning in the Western Conference standings by moving them to the second spot.
The Galaxy's MLS counterparts -- Chivas USA -- continue to struggle offensively and now also at the defensive side. Chivas USA fell behind early at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Colorado and were unable to recover in a match pitting the two teams vying for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Backup 'keeper Lance Parker made his MLS debut for Chivas USA due to an injury to Zach Thornton and was left wondering if anyone got the license plate numbers. Colorado's Pablo Mastroeni gave him his welcome early in the game by scoring off a 30 yard blast at the 1st minute. Things would only get worse from there for Parker and company. Colorado forward Conor Casey would add two goals of his own before the first 30 had elapsed, then completed the hat trick on a penalty kick as the final seconds of injury time ticked away in the first half. Casey's penalty conversion gave the Rapids' a 4 - 0 lead at the break, but came by way of a controversial call that also served to put the red-and-whites a man down.
The penalty had been awarded as a result of a foul committed on Colorado forward Omar Cummings by Chivas USA defender Shavar Thomas. The controversial part was that the foul not only appeared to have been committed outside the penalty area, but Cummings also appeared to be in an offside position on the play that led to the foul. Regardless, Thomas was not only called for a foul -- and penalty -- then earned a red card for denying a scoring opportunity as the last defender.
The combination of being a man down and being down by 4 goals would be a tough challenge for any team. Chivas USA, however, did their best and in the early part of the second half it seemed as though they may be able to pull one or two back. Eventually, the task would prove too difficult and Colorado would regain control of the game. Cummings would nearly make it 5 for the Rapids, but the crossbar would deny him and the game would end at 4 - 0 in favor of Colorado.
The loss gives Colorado an advantage over Chivas USA in the standings and pushes the L.A. side out of the playoff picture with Real Salt Lake only a point below them too.