With an hour of the match in the books, the LA Galaxy have taken the upper hand and lead Chivas USA 1-0. The goal was scored my Chad Barrett, who has been quite the productive striker with four shots in the first half. These included a bicycle kick that was saved by Dan Kennedy.
The attempt that finally went in was a header, with the cross coming in from Adam Cristman. The announced sellout crowd which is dominated by Galaxy fans let out a loud roar, as they’ve on pins the entire match. The clasico always gets a rowdy crowd, and this one is no different.
It was a first half that looked different than it’s reality. To the naked eye, the Galaxy were dominating every phase of the game with a prolific offense. However, Barrett was the only player to take a shot, and his attempts were less than glorious.
His 2’ attempt found him alone with only the keeper to beat. Trying to dribble around the GK, he allowed Andrew Boyens to get back on the line and clear it. His 18’ bicycle kick was saved, then his 39’ header of a David Beckham free kick bounced off the left post. Finally his header just before halftime went wide right.
Chivas has actually been the more prolific team, but their finishing has been without threat. It’s a familiar tale in the Galaxy-Chivas series. The Goats play wide open with nothing to lose, can’t finish, and then get beaten to boot.