CARSON, Calif. – LA Galaxy Insider Adam Serrano provides his “Three Points” to the LA Galaxy’s frustrating 1-1 draw to Chivas USA in the SuperClasico.
MCBEAN GOAL HELPS LA GET THE POINT
WATCH: Jack McBean's goal
Jack McBean has been knocking on the door of the LA Galaxy first team and on Sunday, he showed why he should be considered a major part of Bruce Arena’s rotation with a goal in the SuperClasico.
McBean entered the game in the 64th minute, replacing Jose Villarreal, and was immediately active as the Galaxy looked to break the deadlock. In the 83rd minute, McBean and the Galaxy finally broke through. A.J. DeLaGarza made a run down the right side of the Chivas midfield and played a quick one-two with Sean Franklin inside the penalty area before playing a short pass to Mike Magee. Magee’s clipped ball deflected off a Chivas USA defender, but McBean was able to react to the deflection and loop a header into the net despite a touch from Dan Kennedy.
With the Galaxy entering into a period of heavy match congestion with MLS and CONCACAF Champions League commitments, as well as the loss of Robbie Keane to international duty, expect McBean to see more playing time against the Colorado Rapids.
ALVAREZ SCORES IN MLS DEBUT TO STEAL A POINT FOR CHIVAS
WATCH: Carlos Alavrez's goal
McBean put the Galaxy ahead, but a goal in the 89th minute for Los Angeles-native Carlos Alavrez allowed 10-man Chivas USA to steal a point in the SuperClasico first SuperClasico of 2013.
Alvarez, who made his MLS debut coming on as a halftime substitute for the Rojiblancos broke through with just a minute remaining in regulation. The play began as Eric Avila bypassed the Galaxy defense and found Carlos Borja, who fired a low cross through the box and across the face of goal for Alvarez to tap over the line.
The draw was the first in the SuperClasico since April 2009 and while the Galaxy are now 6-1-1 in the SuperClasico dating back to the start of the 2010 season.
PHYSICALITY REIGNS
The SuperClasico is always a spirited and physical affair and Sunday’s edition was no different.
Scoring may have been a premium, but there was no shortage of fouls and crunching tackles. From the outset, there were hard challenges galore as both teams looked to set the tempo and dominate the run of play. This led to 30 fouls – 22 on Chivas USA and eight on the Galaxy –and four yellow cards –three for LA and one for the visitors – for a variety of challenges including elbows and in one case, a boot to the face.
In the 40th minute, the color of the cards turned from yellow to red as referee Ricardo Salazar sent off Chivas USA center back Joaquin Velazquez for a challenge on Colin Clark. The sequence was a curious one as Salzaar mistakenly awarded the 37-year-old defender a yellow card and then issued a straight red.
Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog at LAGalaxy.com/Insider and contact him at LAGalaxyInsider@Gmail.com
