Chivas USA attempted a comeback but fell short in the second match of the Honda SuperClásico on Sunday, losing to the LA Galaxy by a 2-1 score. Edson Buddle and David Beckham gave the Galaxy the lead in the first half, while Alan Gordon struck back for the Red-and-White in the second half, scoring his first goal for the club.
The result leaves Chivas USA with a record 7-15-4 (W-L-T) on the season, and officially eliminates the team from the playoffs. The Galaxy improve to 16-6-5 in 2010, and maintain their first place position in the Western Conference. Added to their win earlier in the season, the Galaxy were able to capture the Honda SuperClásico trophy for the fifth time.
Both teams hit the woodwork early in the match, with a deflected shot from Giancarlo Maldonado in the 8th minute striking the post to Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts’ left and going out of play. Just one minute later, Buddle got behind the Red-and-White defense and shot over goalkeeper Zach Thornton, but the ball struck the crossbar and was then cleared.
The Galaxy took the lead in the 23rd minute, when Michael Stephens played a ball over the top of the Chivas defense. Buddle ran onto the ball and struck it with his first touch from just outside the box, finding the lower corner at the far post.
In the 39th minute, midfielder David Beckham doubled the Galaxy’s lead. Carlos Borja committed a foul just outside the box, and Beckham struck a free kick past the wall and just out of Thornton’s reach for his first goal of the season.
The Red-and-White introduced two new players at halftime, adding Jorge Flores and Rodolfo Espinoza in place of Maldonado and Zemanski, and the team responded with more chances and shots. Chivas finally broke through in the 63rd minute when a cross from captain Jonathan Bornstein found Alan Gordon, whose header was parried by Ricketts into the net. It was Gordon’s second goal of the season, and first in a Chivas USA uniform.
Chivas USA continued pushing forward and took a man advantage in the 76th minute when Eddie Lewis was ejected for stepping on Espinoza. The Red-and-White outshot the Galaxy 9-4 in the second session, and 15-10 in the match.
