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Braces from Donovan and Keane lead Galaxy in rout of Chivas USA

GyasiZardesLAGalaxy1-ChivasUSA (USATodaySports)

By DAN KARELL

The first two games between the Los Angeles Galaxy and Chivas USA were tight affairs that were close through the final whistle. On Sunday, the Galaxy made sure to put the game away early.

In a match that showed just how big the talent gap currently stands between the two sides, the Galaxy routed Chivas USA, 5-0, with four of the goals coming in the first half. Both Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane scored two goals each, and Donovan’s goals tied him atop the MLS scoring charts, level with Jeff Cunningham.

The Galaxy identified Chivas USA right back Mario de Luna as the weak link in the backline and unleashed speedy rookie Gyasi Zardes on a number of occasions down the left wing that turned into multiple Galaxy goals.

Zardes supplied the crosses on the Galaxy’s first two goals in the 6th minute (Keane) and 21st minute (Donovan), with the homegrown product scoring a goal for himself in the 26th minute, getting past De Luna once again and finishing inside the near post of Chivas USA goalkeeper Dan Kennedy.

Four minutes before halftime, Donovan scored his second on a delightful chip over the head of Kennedy to place the Galaxy forward at the summit of the MLS scoring list with 134 goals, tying him with Cunningham.

Keane added the Galaxy’s fifth when he collected broke the offside trap, collected a chip cross and with plenty of time, scored his second of the game to complete the impressive Galaxy performance. The result keeps the Galaxy in fourth place in the Western Conference on goal differential, tied with the Colorado Rapids with three games remaining.

Galaxy and U.S. Men’s National Team centerback was substituted at halftime with what was reported as a “left adductor issue.” It remains to be seen if it affects his USMNT status, after being called into the USA squad for their final two World Cup qualifiers.

Here are the game highlights:

Comments

  1. Donovan’s first goal made Boca look young and inexperienced. LD broke towards the spot and then peeled off behind Boca while Boca went looking for ghosts. It was a gorgeous move! Sorry Carlos but it is what it is…

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  2. Galaxy could have won 15-0. Half of Chivas’ players wouldn’t start for Sky Blue FC. At his point, poor Bocanegra is probably wondering if he’ll be allowed at the World Cup as a spectator.

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  3. If the Galaxy averages more than 20K fans and Chivas averages more than 7K fans and the stadium they share seats 27K, how can they only have 19,117, 14,575 and 21,160 at the three games when they are playing each other? Do Galaxy fans hate being around poor people? Are Chivas fans allergic to success? Anybody out there have answers? Thanks.

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    • CUSA numbers are HUGELY inflated at 7k average. Many games I would be shocked if there are 2k in the stadium; and knowing CUSA’s history with tickets . . . they probably had to give away 4x that to get 2k in the stadium.

      I would be shocked if CUSA’s season ticket holder base is greater than 1k. As for why the only average what they do, it usually comes down to the day of the week. This year all the games were on Sundays, which is usually a poor draw because a Galaxy home game on Sunday is usually 2pm . . . and the heat keeps away the casual fan. When it is a Chivas Sunday game it is usually late evening, and folks just don’t want to fight the traffic and be home 10pm Sunday evening.

      Summary: It is an LA thing and MLS is banking that the required Sunday games are scheduled with a team that will get Galaxy fans out. If you make that a Sunday game with Galaxy vs nearly anyone else and it would probably be closer to a 12k showing.

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    • BTW, don’t buy into the rich vs poor thing. Both teams are owned by billionaires. Additionally, Galaxy have a very strong base support of latinos (mostly central american) stemming from the early days of Cinfuegos, etc.

      We all know why CUSA is a joke and I won’t waste time beating that dead horse.

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      • Galaxy tickets range from $20-$216 while Chivas USA range from $17-$101. I suppose I was exaggerating a little bit but clearly the Galaxy are attracting “different” fans considering they sell more tickets at higher prices.

      • Chivas markets itself to the Mexican and Mexican-American population in SoCal, which alienates non-Guadalajara fans and non-Mexicans. Also, a lot of Mexican-Americans support the Galaxy, so it’s not like they’re an untapped demographic.

  4. Chivas were so poor it seemed as if they were a man down the whole game. Donavan is a legend. Once he breaks the record it will be a long time till that pinnacle is summited.

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