CARSON, Calif. - For so long, the Los Angeles Galaxy has basked alone in the glory in southern California. Even when Chivas USA came to be, the Galaxy dominated their in-stadium rivals with relative ease.
Not anymore. Thursday night, Chivas USA won their second game in 12 all-time meetings with the Galaxy and did so in convincing fashion.
"We're happy because we won and happy because there was only one team out on the field, and that was Chivas USA," Chivas forward Maykel Galindo said.
Galindo had a brace and Francisco Mendoza added a late goal as Chivas beat the Galaxy 3-0 before a sellout crowd of 27,000 at The Home Depot Center.
The victory was significant for a number of reasons, said goalkeeper Brad Guzan.
"It's a big win for us on more than one level. We move up in the standings a bit and get closer to Dallas," said Guzan, who beat the Galaxy for the first time in his career. "And obviously anytime you beat them in a game like this where the atmosphere is great and everyone's adrenaline is pumping, to come out on top is pretty sweet."
The match was energized by David Beckham's presence. The Galaxy star played 90 minutes for England on Wednesday but started the match despite that and the 11-hour London-to-L.A. jaunt.
The Chivas players said they respected Beckham's decision to play and his performance on the field.
"I have a lot of respect for him to come halfway around the world to try and help his team win tonight. He's shown a lot of passion in winning and has always wanted to win," Chivas midfielder Sacha Kljestan said. "He's not one of these guys who comes out and says 'OK, I'm playing for my paycheck.' I think he wants to help the Galaxy win."
That he tried to do so on Thursday and could not made the victory that much better, Kljestan said.
"We beat them once before but that was without Landon (Donovan) and (Chris) Albright and then everybody says 'Oh, they beat them without Landon and Albright,'" Kljestan said. "We beat them with their players tonight and we showed the league that we're a pretty good team."
Donovan entered the match after Galindo opened the scoring in the 58th minute. Donovan replaced Cobi Jones one minute after Galindo's eighth goal of the season, a shot from the top of the penalty area he had after he took advantage of a Galaxy defensive breakdown.
Beckham finished the game on the field and Donovan, after playing 64 minutes for the U.S. at Sweden on Wednesday, wound up playing a total of 95 minutes on two continents in roughly 32 hours.
"I almost felt bad because knowing what soccer players go through with the travels and what not, it's pretty crazy for him to be out there," Chivas forward Ante Razov said about Beckham playing the entire match. "I know he wants to do what's right and try to play but man, he's not 25 anymore either. I hope common sense wins out in that regard."
Even with Beckham putting forth an honorable effort, he could not help the Galaxy overcome a confident and ever-improving Chivas side. The club picked up its second shutout in the last three matches and are within three points of FC Dallas and four of first-place Houston with two and three games in hand respectively against each club.
Additionally, Chivas has a 19-point edge over the Galaxy having played just two more games than their rivals.
"We're just kind of rolling along here and winning games and it's a good feeling," Razov said. "It's important to leave teams further back in the standings. We feel good about what's going on here."
While the Galaxy now face a seemingly Herculean task of reaching the playoffs, Chivas is in line to reach the postseason for the second time in as many seasons. Having taken a giant leap toward that goal at the Galaxy's expense was a special twist to the latest edition of the Super Clasico.
"We stepped up to the occasion of this Clasico," Razov said. "We put our footprint on it and I think we're in it now with that."
Chivas' Jesse Marsch also might have made a literal footprint on Beckham. In first-half stoppage time, Marsch slid from behind and hit Beckham in the midsection with his right foot. Beckham fell, sprung to his feet and charged angrily at Marsch.
In the fracas that ensued, the Galaxy's Kevin Harmse and Chivas USA's Alex Zotinca were sent off while Marsch walked away with a yellow card.
"It was a competitive game. It was a Clasico," Marsch said. "There's a lot of emotion out there and I felt he got me a couple of plays before that. And then he's on a little bit of a break. I may have fouled him more than I would have liked to but we needed a foul at that point."
Marsch said he tried to talk to Beckham after things settled down about the play.
"It was a little bit overboard and I apologized to him. I hope he knows that I respect him. It was just the competitive nature of the game," Marsch said. "He just gave me a nod. There wasn't a whole lot of dialogue. I just apologized and told him I respected him and he gave me a nod."
Luis Bueno is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
