Game Day: Chivas USA vs. Galaxy
Posted by Bobby on August 23, 2007
If you want to know why I haven’t been posting until this point, read the pregame blog and thank the WNBA 
We join the action 12 minutes into the game:
12m: Finally, ESPN coverage has begun! Wynalda and O’Brien immediately inform us that Beckham had yet another “scary moment” with his ankle.
13m: Geeky shot of Bornstein walking through an airport with an iPhone and an iPod.
15m: “Pavon is the kinda guy who will stick his nose where most guys won’t”- Eric Wynalda. This could mean any number of things.
16m: “If you ever get the opportunity to hang out with David Beckham, he’s a really nice guy and a joy to be around”- Eric Wynalda. Thanks for the tip.
19m: Suarez cleats Buddle but is able to get away with it somehow. Wynalda makes another smart-ass comment after he confuses a player from Saudi Arabia with a player from Mexico.
20m: Didn’t notice until now, but Landycakes is NOT starting for the Galaxy. He’s sitting on the bench and he looks very hung-over: some pretty extreme jetlag. Wynalda points out that Beckham deserves to be captain since he’s man enough to play tonight. Donovan sitting isn’t much of a surprise to me.
26m: Magnificent pass by Galindo, leading to a great chance for Chivas to take the lead. Cannon rushes and is able to snatch the ball away before a good shot is taken.
27m: A booking was issued to Chivas’ Orlando Perez after a hard tackle on Cobi Jones.
29m: Galindo dribbles end-to-end and almost gets off a shot against Cannon. Less than a minute later, he receives a pass and fires off a hard shot from just outside the 18. High and to the right.
31m: Razov shoots for the far post and wins a corner. A point-blank chance off the corner bounces off Canon. A long ball goes into the 5, but Xavier absolutely crushes Mendoza and breaks up the play. Probably should have been booked.
35m: Beckham’s first corner of the match swings out and barely misses 3 heads. Good cross, but no result.
37m: Beckham attempts a long ball and earns a free kick off a Chivas hand ball. Keeper way off the line. Beckham’s cross is cleared by Chivas. Beckham didn’t really have any options, as there were only 4-5 Galaxy players in the box.
39m: A full-blown mariachi band is spotted in the crowd, complete with violins, guitars, a cello, and drums. They appeared to be in the Chivas section.
40m: Lawson Vaughn makes a stupid tackle on Beckham and earns a yellow card. This game is starting to get chippy. The ensuing free kick is taken by Beckham and chipped wide off Pavon’s head.
43m: Buddle becomes the third Galaxy player in a row to head the ball wide of the cage.
45m+: Chaos ensues after a poor challenge prompts Beckham to get in the face of a few Chivas players. Punches and Zidanebutts were thrown, and two red cards were given. Kevin Harmse from the Galaxy and Alex Zotinca from Chivas are out of the game. GET YO POPCRN RDY!
HALFTIME: Looks like the second half will be 10-on-10. Hopefully this opens things up a little.
46m: Abel Xavier has moved up to the midfield to play alongside Beckham. This will either be extremely disappointing or unbelievably awesome. Edson Buddle has been replaced by Troy Roberts.
46m: Chivas are still playing with two forwards despite only having 10 men. On the other hand, the Galaxy leave Pavon stranded alone up front in typical USA “win the midfield battle” tactics.
49m: Galindo gets free and got a little too cute with his shot, which was well-struck but off-target by a pretty good distance.
53m: Beckham takes another corner that sails over the mixer. David seems to have a different gameplan than his teammates. Given the Galaxy’s performances over the course of this year, I’ll take Beckham’s side. Now he takes a good strike from about 30 meters, but it goes wide. Would have been saved if it was on target.
56m: Landon Donovan is starting to warm up and has a camera following him. The Landon Cam’s popularity is debatable. He’s not helping himself by hiding behind barriers.
58m: While I was typing that last sentence, the Galaxy commit a horrible mistake and give up a goal. Kyle Veris just demonstrated every single defensive mistake in the book. He attempted to chip the ball back to Cannon, but instead gave it right to Galindo. Easiest goal one could possibly score.
60m: Landycakes is already shouting at the ref after being on for a grand total of 8 seconds. He appeared to be stepped on by a Chivas player.
61m: Martino takes his mandatory test-of-fate foul and earns a yellow card. Almost a red.
64m: Beckham plays an awesome ball to Donovan, but they play was called offsides. It was an extremely close call.
69m: Kljestan sends a ball up to Mendoza, who finds Galindo wide open on the run. Galindo easily scores his second goal of the game, 10th goal of the season. Beckham looks too tired to be angry, and the crowd has gone extremely quiet. Wynalda says they should be booing, and I’d agree.
72m: Alan Gordon comes on for Kyle Martino, which means that Beckham will once again go the whole 90 minutes. He already looks gassed (understandably), so I wouldn’t expect much out of him or the Galaxy.
76m: Landon Donovan again proves his worthlessness by playing a horrible ball intended for Gordon, ending one of the few offensive buildups the Galaxy have had.
78m: Gordon just came on, but he still looks like one of the laziest, slowest players currently out on the pitch.
81m: Beckham sends another corner to Veris, who is able to connect and put a header on target. The ball is saved off the line by one of the defenders covering the right post.
85m: Randolph’s shoe has been untied for the last 5 minutes, but he hasn’t tripped yet.
87m: Chivas again execute a 3-on-1 goal that looks like a practice drill. Mendoza notches his first of the year to salt away the wound and embarrass the Galaxy.
89m: Wynalda takes a shot at Donovan’s inability to head the ball, saying “Donovan can’t jump on anyone, so he’s not gonna. Those crosses aren’t gonna work. That’s not Brian McBride down there, that’s Landon Donovan.”
90m: Three minutes of added time. Very unnecessary.
This game finally whimpers to an end. Beckham can barely even walk off the pitch. There were absolutely no positives to take from this game, unless you’re one of Chivas USA’s 4 fans. Also here’s a fun fact: the Galaxy have given up more goals in the last 2 games than they’ve scored all year in MLS play. Luckily the MLS’s flawed playoff system means that they still have a chance to win the cup…. somehow.
Black Coffee & Bourbon said
Great post. The match last night was horrible for Galaxy fans! I am glad Beckham was able to make it through the entire game though. We need some points, and fast!
Bobby said
Even though I understand the need to show the guy off and play him in big matches, I still think Yallop made a horrible decision in allowing Beckham to start (much less play the full 90). Now we’re pretty much screwed for the Colorado game tomorrow. But yes, I’m also glad Becks didn’t die out there.
CandyShopGirl said
Hail!
What do you think about love? >:)
casey said
ok thanks that will be good for my soccer homework!!!!!!!!!! this is great thnxfor making this post!!!!!!!!!!!:))))))))
BeawstiliaWes said
Think about it… Sometimes I can’t help but surrender to my uncomfortable foreigner I have a nice joke for you) What is the difference between a fisherman and a lazy schoolboy? One baits his hook, while the other hates his book.
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