Galaxy Hold Off Fire, Chivas USA Take On D.C.

Bizarre plays late in the second half canceled each other out as the Galaxy held on for 1 - 0 victory over the visiting Chicago Fire last night at the Home Depot Center.

The goal came by way of a great lob over Chicago 'keeper Jon Busch by Galaxy forward Landon Donovan. The opportunity presented itself when the speedy forward managed to get into space behind the Fire defense and found himself on a one-on-one against the Windy City 'keeper. Busch immediately came off his line to challenge, but Donovan's one touch lob was perfectly executed and well out of Busch's reach.

Donovan's strike came at the 42nd minute, although, the L.A. side could have easily opened the scoring on multiple occasions prior to that. Galaxy midfielder Chris Klein had multiple hard and close range shots deflected wide by Busch. Teammate Chris Birchall and Donovan also kept Bush busy with a couple of warning shots of their own. Busch had a busy game as the Galaxy provided the majority of the offense throughout the game while Chicago seemed complacent sitting back in a defensive shell, hoping to earn a 0 - 0 draw.

However, Donovan's goal forced Chicago to rethink their plans, although it wasn't until the final ten minutes of the match that they really began to threaten. Herein is where the game took a turn for the bizarre.

It all began innocently enough. Seeking support, Birchall sent a ball back towards Galaxy 'keeper Donovan Ricketts, who then scooped up the ball at the edge of the penalty box and readied himself to blast it down the field. But, just as he was about to clear the ball, referee Alex Prus blew the whistle and called a rare illegal use of hands foul on Ricketts, possibly the first time ever against any Galaxy 'keeper.

The Windy City side was awarded an indirect free kick at the edge of the box at the 85th minute. Anxiety took hold of the Home Depot Center. The late game foul offered Chicago a golden opportunity to tie the game and would surely help grow the momentum the Fire had been building in the minutes leading up to the play. It seemed destined that if the goal went in, the chances of a favorable result for the blue-and-gold would be minimal.

Chicago stepped to the ball and things took an even weirder turn. As Fire teammates settled on the strategy and readied to restart play, the ball was prematurely tapped ever so slightly, putting it into play. However, Chicago -- thinking that play was still dead -- didn't react and instead continued to discuss strategy amongst themselves. Galaxy forward Mike Magee recognized what had happened and quickly moved to take possession. Fire players were caught completely off guard, turning to Prus for an explanation and a whistle, but Prus simply motioned for play to continue.