The Los Angeles Galaxy visit Toyota Park tonight to take on the Chicago Fire in what amounts to a must-win match if LA hopes to resurrect its faint playoff hopes. The Fire will be looking to avoid a three-match losing streak, and a three-match skid against Western Conference opponents at that.
If you figure Chicago is the favorite being at home, think again. Chicago is one of just two teams (FC Dallas being the other) that doesn't have more wins than losses at home. The Galaxy is coming off its first win in three months, but the way the offense looked against DC, coupled with how bad Chicago's defense looked against FC Dallas, makes this one even more interesting.
If you will be watching tonight's match (9pm, ESPN2) please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below.
Enjoy the match.
Ives Galarcep is an American soccer columnist for ESPNsoccernet.com and creator of SoccerByIves.net.
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Starting Line-Ups
Chicago Fire
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1 Jon Busch
6 Brandon Prideaux
25 Gonzalo Segares
4 Bakary Soumare
22 Wilman Conde
11 John Thorrington
10 C. Blanco
21 Justin Mapp
7 Logan Pause
20 Brian McBride
17 Chris Rolfe
LA Galaxy
-----------------
Josh Wicks 31
Chris Klein 7
Troy Roberts 12
Ante Jazic 4
Sean Franklin 28
David Beckham 23
Landon Donovan 10
Greg Vanney 3
Eddie Lewis 6
Edson Buddle 14
Alan Gordon 21
Posted by: ManicMessiah | September 25, 2008 at 09:14 PM
The last time these teams played, Donovan Beckham and Blanco all missed the game because of international duty. Needless to say, this should be a better game.
Posted by: ManicMessiah | September 25, 2008 at 09:17 PM
Lets go Fire!
Posted by: kyle | September 25, 2008 at 09:24 PM
4th minute- Free kick coming from the Fire, pretty well centered. Blanco took it, but right at the keeper. Disappointing, there.
Posted by: ManicMessiah | September 25, 2008 at 09:39 PM
9th minute- Blanco played a ball back to Chris Rolfe who took a shot that forced a nice save from Wicks!!
Posted by: ManicMessiah | September 25, 2008 at 09:43 PM
when did the fire get electronic message boards? From what i've seen this year they had the ones that turned but not electronic ones.
Posted by: shawn | September 25, 2008 at 09:46 PM
12th minute- GOAL CHICAGO!!!!
Rolfe took a shot which I thought was fairly innocuous but it's in the back of the net. Rolfe nearly lost the ball, but took a shot from near the top center of the penalty area, and put it near the bottom right corner.
Chicago was knocking on the door before that with a couple of corners, and a Soumare shot that was close to being a goal. Deserved 1-0 lead for Chicago.
Posted by: ManicMessiah | September 25, 2008 at 09:48 PM
I know I love the electric boards it looks classy.
What a shot! 1-0 Chicago
Posted by: rpks08 | September 25, 2008 at 09:49 PM
Wow. Terrible keystone cops defense by the Galaxy that lead to that goal.
Posted by: quakes fan | September 25, 2008 at 09:50 PM
21st minute- Landon Donovan might as well be away on international duty for the little impact he has had tonight.
Posted by: ManicMessiah | September 25, 2008 at 09:56 PM
26th minute- Jazic takes a shot which deflects off of Conde, but Busch makes a great save!! It clearly changed directions but he stayed with it.
Posted by: ManicMessiah | September 25, 2008 at 10:01 PM
30th minute- Beckham with a low cross to Donovan, who lays it off for Gordon who takes a shot which Busch saves easily. Still, it was a rare moment of well worked play from the Galaxy.
Posted by: ManicMessiah | September 25, 2008 at 10:05 PM
Good crowd in Chicago.
Posted by: Phillip | September 25, 2008 at 10:06 PM
The Crowd is killing.
Posted by: rpks08 | September 25, 2008 at 10:07 PM
35th minute- GOAL GALAXY!!!!
Lewis finishes a great ball from the right flank, not from Beckham but from Klein! Good quick passing between Beckham Vanney and Donovan to give Klein that opportunity.
1-1.
Posted by: ManicMessiah | September 25, 2008 at 10:10 PM
37th minute- Only minutes after scoring, Blanco plays a ball from the right, it ends up right on Thorrington's foot but Wicks makes a save! It was just about point blank too. Thorrington will be upset not to have re-taken the lead.
Posted by: ManicMessiah | September 25, 2008 at 10:12 PM
40th minute- Beckham with a long central run with the ball from his own end, jumps over a sliding challenge at around the halfway line. He played a beautiful ball to his right to a streaking Buddle, who took a shot that missed barely to the left post! Had he put it on net, I'm not sure Busch would have stopped it.
It wasn't a terrible shot by Buddle, but he wasn't under much pressure so he probably should have done better with it.
Posted by: ManicMessiah | September 25, 2008 at 10:16 PM
43rd minute- A sequence just ended where Chicago made a couple of nice crosses, which LA defenders did well to get in the way of.
Posted by: ManicMessiah | September 25, 2008 at 10:17 PM
are those electronic boards new?
Posted by: Don | September 25, 2008 at 10:20 PM
45th minute- Blanco is down on the ground right now after challenging for a ball with Roberts, but running into the Galaxy keeper.
Posted by: ManicMessiah | September 25, 2008 at 10:20 PM
47th minute- Blanco is up and looks like he's staying in, especially how close it is to half time.
Posted by: ManicMessiah | September 25, 2008 at 10:21 PM
announcer 2: blanco said it in spanish: 'no'
announcer 1: how do you say it in spanish?
Posted by: josh | September 25, 2008 at 10:22 PM
Half time, 1-1 is the score.
Posted by: ManicMessiah | September 25, 2008 at 10:24 PM
I don't mind Harkes but he has a stick up his butt about Donovan. The Galaxy can't the ball out of their end for first twenty minutes and Harkes says that DOnovan hasn't made an impact. What, he supposed to play Keeper, too?
Posted by: Tony in Quakeland | September 25, 2008 at 10:26 PM
The electronic boards are for tonight only. The fire did this one previous time as well:
Posted by: kebzach | September 25, 2008 at 10:32 PM
What happened to the Fox Soccer Channel show with Harkes and the nerdy guy a few years ago? For my tastes, that was about the best TV effort I've seen on American soccer. When will the day come when MLS gets extended highlights, sort of match of the dayesque?
Posted by: huricano | September 25, 2008 at 10:32 PM
Bad news about the boards. I love those things
Posted by: Jacob | September 25, 2008 at 10:36 PM
Blanco looks sort of disinterested. I believe this is his last year in MLS.
On Harkes- at least he is critical for once.
When he does Nats games he sounds like Suni Guliti(sp?) son in law who works in the family business.
Posted by: Tom P | September 25, 2008 at 10:36 PM
Harkes is still way better than Wynalda though!
Posted by: Kaiser | September 25, 2008 at 10:41 PM
2nd half begins
---------------
48th minute- a failed Clearance by the Galaxy defense leads to a cross/shot that forced Wicks into a save.
Posted by: ManicMessiah | September 25, 2008 at 10:42 PM
53rd minute- Beckham just had 3 consecutive crosses, 2 from corners. He played 3 great balls, 1 short, 1 in the center, and 1 long.
Posted by: ManicMessiah | September 25, 2008 at 10:47 PM
56th minute- GOAL CHICAGO!!!!
Blanco ends up on a break with 2 defenders trying to close. The keeper came out and made a mess of trying to intercept Blanco, who got around and shot into an open net.
The keeper actually collided with Roberts watching the reply. Bad defending, but good hustle from Blanco.
2-1 Fire.
Posted by: ManicMessiah | September 25, 2008 at 10:51 PM
59th minute- GOAL CHICAGO!!!
Rolf goes in all alone, takes a shot which Wicks saves but not completely, with the ball trickling into the net rather anticlimactically. Blanco played Rolfe in.
3-1 Fire.
Posted by: ManicMessiah | September 25, 2008 at 10:53 PM
62nd minute- Chicago looks much more likely to score twice more before the Galaxy scores once. I might cut away from the game early if LA continues to show what it is showing right now.
Posted by: ManicMessiah | September 25, 2008 at 10:56 PM
Segares played the thru ball to rolfe.
Posted by: kebzach | September 25, 2008 at 10:56 PM
63rd minute- LA sub, Alan Gordon out for Peter Vagenas.
Posted by: ManicMessiah | September 25, 2008 at 10:57 PM
My bad kebzach, you were right.
Posted by: ManicMessiah | September 25, 2008 at 10:59 PM
68th minute- Klein serves in a ball on the ground from the right for Donovan running in diagonally to the nesr post, but can only put the ball way over the bar.
Posted by: ManicMessiah | September 25, 2008 at 11:02 PM
71th minute- Donovan played in oveer the top from the right side, and Donovan tries to volley but pushes it over the bar. Twice he has had golden chances to score and wasted them in the last 4 minutes.
Posted by: ManicMessiah | September 25, 2008 at 11:05 PM
On that cross to Landon in the 68th Landon did a great job of feeding the ball out wide then making a dummy far post run to set up his near post run.
Posted by: kebzach | September 25, 2008 at 11:08 PM
Donovan should have scored. This is why I worry about how he would fare in Europe.
Posted by: Ben | September 25, 2008 at 11:09 PM
They don't miss shots in Europe?
Posted by: Joel | September 25, 2008 at 11:09 PM
I've been noticing Chicago getting really solid crowds this year. Even against low-profile teams
Posted by: Scott A | September 25, 2008 at 11:09 PM
Joel: Not like that. A top striker in Europe would have buried that last chance Donovan had.
Posted by: B | September 25, 2008 at 11:11 PM
And it's also about Donovan. If he misses a couple of shots here he is still a lock starter. He misses shots like the ones he had and he could find himself having trouble getting minutes in europe.
Posted by: ManicMessiah | September 25, 2008 at 11:12 PM
79th minute- Justin Mapp comes out for Mike Banner.
Posted by: ManicMessiah | September 25, 2008 at 11:14 PM
Whoever said that Donovan was a striker that was on the same level as the too tier European guys? Why not compare him to pele too?
Posted by: kebzach | September 25, 2008 at 11:14 PM
Brian Jordan ... how more opportunities will this guy get before they send him back to Portland? I've seen him play in the past living here in Seattle, but since he's been in MLS he hasn't done a thing.
Posted by: B | September 25, 2008 at 11:15 PM
I would like to see Donovan do well. All I'm saying is opportunities to put one away like that are few and far between in the top European leagues. You miss too many of those and you're on the bench in favor of someone who will.
Posted by: Ben | September 25, 2008 at 11:17 PM
Buddle came out for Bryan Jordan in the 77th, and Vanney came out for Brandon McDonald in the 80th. Rolfe left in the 84th minute for Steven King.
Posted by: ManicMessiah | September 25, 2008 at 11:19 PM
His (Donovan's) first look would have been tough for any forward. His second was a missed opportunity. I don't think that proves he's not ready for Europe though. There are players much better than LD who have missed better chances than those. His runs have been good.
Posted by: Joel | September 25, 2008 at 11:20 PM
86th minute- Bryan Jordan did well to earn a corner kick for the Galaxy.
Sean Franklin got his head on to it but he drove it towards the ground rather than on net.
Posted by: ManicMessiah | September 25, 2008 at 11:20 PM
Holy moly ... another chance goes begging. Franklin muffed a free header in front of goal. Beckham must be pulling his hair out.
Posted by: Ben | September 25, 2008 at 11:21 PM
88th minute- Yellow card for McDonald, and Blanco is subbed out and Gutierrez coming in.
Posted by: ManicMessiah | September 25, 2008 at 11:23 PM
Weird. Is it normal for Blanco to go right to the dressing room instead of to the bench when he gets subbed out? I take it he's getting tired of MLS.
Posted by: Ben | September 25, 2008 at 11:23 PM
90th minute- yellow card to Roberts, I think. I missed it. Not that it matters much at this point.
3 minutes stoppage time.
Posted by: ManicMessiah | September 25, 2008 at 11:24 PM
No its not normal for blanco to go straight to the showers. He hates to come out of games no matter what the situation is.
Posted by: kebzach | September 25, 2008 at 11:27 PM
93rd minute- Offsides on Donovan.
Full Time.
Chicago wins 3-1.
Definitely a deserved win.
Posted by: ManicMessiah | September 25, 2008 at 11:28 PM
You guys need to lay off Donovan's shots. The first was nearly an impossible angle.. if anything he should have let it go through his legs or something. The second shot is a difficult ball coming from over his shoulder and he still nearly put it in the upper V.
Posted by: Mike | September 25, 2008 at 11:39 PM
If Donovan was an MVP he would have atleast tied the game up. Oh Well, no more talk about that, Galaxy is done for! Haha
Posted by: bc6 | September 25, 2008 at 11:43 PM
Wicks belongs back in AYSO
Posted by: CD | September 26, 2008 at 02:15 AM
Am I alone in believing that Wicks positioning cost LA at least one, if not two goals? He was, no doubt, busy tonight (due to the fantastic LA defense) but the guy is killing me! He needs to make more saves rather than punching it clear.
Posted by: Nick | September 26, 2008 at 05:59 AM
You're not alone. Wicks is not MLS quality
Posted by: Scott A | September 26, 2008 at 07:45 AM
Blanco is suffereing from a hip pointer which is also why on sunday he left at like the 60th minute
Posted by: EDB | September 26, 2008 at 07:58 AM
And thus we see why 1) LA blows, and 2) won't make the playoffs
Posted by: KingSnake | September 26, 2008 at 09:29 AM
tough to blame wicks solely... i mean his defense blew it just as badly
Posted by: brett | September 26, 2008 at 10:01 AM
Of course it wasn't just Wicks
Posted by: Scott A | September 26, 2008 at 10:59 AM
No, it's not just wicks but at the same time, he's over his head at this level.
Posted by: kebzach | September 26, 2008 at 11:34 AM
wont deny that, but pointing out the flaws that LA has had all season, rather then lumping so much on the GK.... i mean even Guzan looked terrible for awhile when CUSA was playing poorly...
Posted by: brett | September 26, 2008 at 03:35 PM