Chivas USA fell to their second defeat in four days Saturday evening, dropping a tough 1-0 decision to the LA Galaxy. The loss puts the Red-and-White into fourth place in the Western Conference with just more than two months left to play in the season.
The result hands the 2009 Super Clásico trophy to Los Angeles with a 2-0 aggregate over three matches. Chivas USA has now failed to score on the Galaxy in more than a year, failing to find the back of the net against their rivals since last August 14.
The Red-and-White saw a host of solid performances on the evening, but were ultimately unable to capitalize on a number of good offensive chances. Jesús Padilla and Sacha Kljestan were active all evening on the outside flanks, and strikers Maicon Santos and Galindo kept the Galaxy defense on its toes with strong pace and good footwork.
Saturday's game battled started at a blistering pace. Both goalkeepers were active from the start, with each team seeking to assert its dominance with early offense.
The Galaxy had the better of it, enjoying some good spells of passing through the midfield under the guidance of Landon Donovan and David Beckham. The two linked up for a give-and-go in the ninth minute that almost sprung Beckham in front of the net, but his final touch was a bit too heavy and skidded out past the touchline.
Chivas USA began pushing back. The Red-and-White got some good service from Jonathan Bornstein and Sacha Kljestan, the latter nearly finding the back of the net in the 12th minute when he skirted around his defender and blasted a shot that bounced off Donovan Ricketts' chest. He was busy again just two minutes later, feeding a ball to Maicon Santos that the Brazilian drilled along the ground just right of the LA goal.
The match settled into a more even pace as time went on. The Galaxy continued to rely heavily on Beckham and Donovan for much of its offense, funneling a majority of their possession down the right side. Chivas USA, meanwhile, were lead by Kljestan and Padilla on the left and right wings, respectively. Neither side looked dominant as they took turns attacking the opposing goal with numbers.
While it was the Chivas USA wings that were providing much of the team's offensive spark, strikers Santos and Maykel Galindo were also active at the top of the Red-and-White attack. Galindo's electric pace proved difficult for the LA defenders to follow, with the Cuban almost catching Ricketts way outside of his net when he beat the Galaxy goalkeeper to a loose ball in the 28th minute.
Santos, too, was proving an effective target man. The Brazilian seemed at ease plucking a number of long balls from his defenders out of the air and heading toward net. While his final pass was sometimes amiss, he was certainly earning his wage in the first 40 minutes of the match.
Chivas USA almost took the lead twice in the closing minutes of the first half, with Kljestan and Galindo hooking up on both occasions. Kljestan twice fed a nice through ball into Galindo on the left side of the area that the Cuban twice fired at the Galaxy near post. His first effort forced a quick save from Ricketts and his second skittered wide left to keep the score at 0-0 going into halftime.
The Galaxy came out of the locker room firing. They marched down the field with their very first possession, Donovan earning a free kick just outside the right side of the Chivas USA area. Beckham fired the dead ball straight at the penalty spot, but his effort was cleared away by the Red-and-White defense after a few bobbles in a cluster of players in the area.
Beckham continued firing volleys into the Chivas USA area from the right flank as the game continued. He found Mike Magee in the 51st minute, who burst forward and fed Eddie Lewis right in front of the net. His curling effort beat a diving Lance Parker, but skipped wide to keep the teams locked at 0-0.
The Red-and-White began to find some footing at the game's hour mark. Buoyed the continuing solid play of Kljestan, Chivas USA pushed toward the Galaxy net. The best chance came in the 63rd minute when Padilla, still in his first week in MLS, broke free down the center of the pitch and fed a through ball to Galindo. Galindo found himself free and clear in front of the net, but was offside by a yard or two and was called back.
Chivas USA set up camp in LA's end and continued to pound their rival's penalty area. Santos who, like Padilla, is still in his first days in MLS, nearly took his side ahead in the 64th minute. Employing a bit of fancy footwork, he darted around Eddie Lewis and broke toward net. He passed the ball across the area looking for Galindo, but his effort was just touched out by a retreating Dunivant.
Bolstered by the addition of Chris Klein in the 68th minute and Alan Gordon in the 75th, the Galaxy began to push back into Chivas USA's end. The white shirts attacked with numbers, taking advantage of their fresh legs up top. Donovan had the best look of it, breaking past Yamith Cuesta and shooting a low scorcher toward the right post, but Parker smothered it quickly.
Los Angeles finally broke the deadlock in the 81st minute. Dunivant tossed a long throw-in toward the Chivas USA penalty spot from the left flank. After ricocheting off a few heads, the ball fell to the feet of David Beckham. The English veteran hammered a half-volley at the net that bounced off the left post and into the back of the net to take LA ahead 1-0 with just nine minutes left in regulation.
Chivas USA's chances of finding an equalizer were dealt a serious blow just a minute later when Galindo was given a direct red card for elbowing Gregg Berhalter, leaving the Red-and-White with 10 men.
The final 10 minutes saw Chivas USA make a serious go of tying the match, but the visitors were ultimately unable to cash in on a few solid chances. The final whistle signaled the team's second loss in as many tries and dropped the team into fourth place in the Western Conference.
The Red-and-White now have a weekend off before playing host to the New England Revolution on Sept. 13.
Jeffrey King is a contributor to MLSnet.com
