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Played
November 14, 2009 4:25 AM EST
Home Depot Center, Carson, Calif.
Referee: Terry Vaughn
November 14, 2009 4:25 AM EST
Home Depot Center, Carson, Calif.
Referee: Terry Vaughn
120′ +2
That's it for me after one night everyone will be talking about for quite some time. Look for more reaction in the Monday MLS Breakdown bright and early Monday morning. Make sure to check in tomorrow night at 8:00p.m. EST as Greg Lalas takes you through live commentary. Thanks for following along and enjoy the rest of your admittedly truncated night.
120′ +2
The game that wouldn't end finally ended. Los Angeles goes through, but it was Houston that brought more to the game. A harsh result on the visitors, but these are the sorts of games the Galaxy has won time and again this season.
120′
Full time.
120′
Houston hits its second bar of the night. Think it was Robinson with the header. Nice service from Holden from a corner kick.
119′
Landin scythes down Donovan. Probably his primary contribution. Kinnear should send him home with one of Peter Vermes' fitness plans.
119′
Yellow Card L. Landin
116′
Houston looks out of gas. It's a shame because the Dynamo has contributed so much to this game.
112′
Beckham nearly tucks home the 30-yard free kick at the far post. Well struck, but just a whisker off.
111′
Donovan gets his tail up and starts to run at Houston defense. Boswell hacks down Donovan and says that'll be enough of that.
111′
Yellow Card Bobby Boswell
109′
Donovan goes right down the middle with Onstad expecting it to his left. Game, set and match.
109′
Penalty Goal Landon Donovan
109′
It's Alan Gordon with the run down the right and into the penalty area. He manages to get around Boswell before Clark rather hastily jumps in to concede the penalty.
109′
Penalty!
107′
Dynamo conceding far too many free kicks right now. Tired legs will do that, but it's dangerous every time.
Great header across from Gonzalez. Much better view of it the second time on the replay. Tough header. He just wanted it more than everybody else.
105′
End of the first half of extra time.
105′
One minute of stoppage time.
103′
Beckham lofts a free kick into the far post. Header across, Robinson can't clear and Berhalter sidefoots home with the touch of a striker. Scrappy goal, but they all count the same at this point.
103′
Goal Gregg Berhalter
101′
Lewis comes on for Magee. That'll force L.A. into a reshuffle and may allow them to push Donovan higher up the field.
101′
Substitution 
Mike Magee 
Eddie Lewis
Mike Magee Eddie Lewis
100′
Cheers to all of those on the East Coast who are still up watching this game and/or reading this commentary after 2am EST...
98′
Cameron has slotted on the right flank with Corey Ashe now over on the left side. Not a massive change, but the Dynamo certainly loses something without its two wingers. Those guys run their socks off.
96′
Davis is out of gas, so Robinson comes on and Cameron presumably moves into midfield.
96′
Substitution 
Brad Davis 
Eddie Robinson
Brad Davis Eddie Robinson
96′
Hopkins says Arena nearly took off Magee, but opted to send Gordon on for Buddle instead.
96′
Substitution Edson Buddle Alan Gordon
Edson Buddle Alan Gordon
94′
With the right weight on his pass, Donovan could have sprung Magee. Instead, he hit the pass a bit too hard, Magee had to drag out wide and the chance went by the time Magee fed Buddle inside the goal area.
91′
We're underway in ET.
Should be status quo for Houston at this point. A bit unfortunate not to have snatched a late winner, but we'll see if the Dynamo can keep it up.
It'll be interesting to see how the Galaxy reacts to extra time. L.A. didn't finish the second half well. is there a surge of energy to carry the Galaxy through right now?
90′ +2
End of regulation time.
90′ +1
Two minutes of stoppage time.
89′
Donovan about a half an hour late with a sliding tackle on Cameron. Easy yellow card.
89′
Yellow Card Landon Donovan
85′
The Galaxy desperately needs a spark. Quite frankly, L.A. should be pleased to get to extra time at this point. Houston has improved considerably over the course of the second half. Just grinding away as per usual.
83′
Ashe comes on to add some pace on the right after Mullan submitted another tireless shift.
83′
Substitution Brian Mullan Corey Ashe
Brian Mullan Corey Ashe
81′
"I'm not sure where the foul was." - Harkes. Always what you want to hear when a goal gets wiped off in the 80th minute of a tie game.
80′
Goal! Or not so much. The whistle blows before Hainault nods a corner kick home. All of the momentum with the Dynamo right now. Galaxy can't get on the ball.
79′
Stunning save from Ricketts. Great ball from Mullan on the right and a stooping header from Ching. The veteran rose well over Franklin, but Ricketts punches onto the bar.
77′
Holden gets free down the right wing and tempts Kovalenko into a reckless sliding challenge. Another day, another yellow card for Dema.
77′
Yellow Card Dema Kovalenko
77′
When did Becks check out of this game? After the first power outage, perhaps?
73′
Landin on for the disappointing Oduro. Is Landin fit enough to influence the proceedings with a moment of magic?
72′
Substitution Dominic Oduro L. Landin
Dominic Oduro L. Landin
71′
Buddle tumbles in the area under Cameron's challenge. It's not a penalty and it's rightly waved away by the referee.
69′
Turnover by the Galaxy allows the Dynamo to go the other way and win a corner kick after DeLaGarza tackles away from Ching over the end line.
67′
Kirovski has taken up a role in central midfield with Beckham now out on the right flank. Anything to force Beckham into contributing to this match, I suppose.
66′
Decent spell of possession here from the Dynamo. They'll need more of this in remaining 25(+) minutes.
64′
Two headers scuffed in a matter of seconds as Ching can't nod home a corner at the far post, while Donovan heads straight into the ground away from goal from a Beckham service.
63′
Substitution Chris Klein Jovan Kirovski
Chris Klein Jovan Kirovski
62′
Smart save by Ricketts as Davis gets down the left, beats Franklin and lashes near post.
59′
Houston has to be careful right now. Galaxy once again start the better of the two teams after the second power outage.
57′
Hainault does well to close down Magee's volley after Franklin wriggles free and provides a good far-post service from the right.
52′
18 minutes, 15 second delay by the ESPN watches.
51′
Game on...again.
51′
Goal.com's Andrea Canales: "The Galaxy have come out of every break sharper." Good point. Can Houston counteract that?
51′
Hopkins says this is a "rolling blackout" and the lights should come on in the next five minutes.
51′
How will this outage change the game? I'm not sure. Alexi thinks it benefits Houston. I think it just benefits annoyance.
51′
Story time with Harkes as we wait to figure out how long we have to wait.
51′
Just before the blackout, it looked like Ching and Ricketts collided and the L.A. keeper is down. Fortunately for Ricketts, he'll have some time to recover.
51′
"You've got to be kidding me." - Harkes. The lights go out again.
48′
Hainault strikes well from distance and Ricketts has to beat it away at the near post.
46′
There's Donovan influencing the play. Nice turn to dodge Cameron before cutting inside. Left footed shot to the far post dribbles away from Onstad and out for a corner kick.
46′
We're underway in the second half. Let's keep the lights on for 45 straight minutes, eh?
As for the Dynamo, they need to move the ball more quickly and find Ching more often in the attacking third. Oduro is a non-entity so far, so bringing him into the play might not be a bad idea either.
The Galaxy needs to do a better job of creating space for Beckham and Donovan. Simply not enough from them in the first half. This match is exactly why they make the big bucks, so they need to show up and deliver in the second half.
Time for a cookie break. While I'm away searching for some milk and some Girl Scout cookies, you should log on to Twitter and add @Goalcom and @kylejmccarthy.
Fair to say that the quality of play dipped significantly after the 18-minute break due to the power outage. That's really disappointing considering the entertainment on offer in the first 18 minutes or so.
45′
Halftime.
45′
Super, super tackle by Cameron to halt Donovan in the open field. Donovan chases him for 30 yards because he's ticked off to lose the ball.
44′
Davis' free kick comes to nothing after Cameron flicks towards goal. Looks like we'll get to the break deadlocked at 0-0.
41′
I'd like to see more out of Buddle and Magee up top. Not enough movement, not enough contribution from the Galaxy frontrunners.
35′
Houston has improved over the past five minutes or so. Quite frankly, both of these teams need to get to halftime at this scoreline, regroup and rediscover the rhythm.
34′
Davis' drive from distance forces Ricketts to make a save. Not particularly dangerous, but why not have a go?
32′
The ball just sticks to Brian Ching. Say what you want about the consistency of his final touch, but he knows how to take a ball down and find someone running off of him.
30′
Ricketts punches a wayward, but dangerously drifting, Davis cross over the crossbar. Couldn't take the chance.
29′
18 minute, 14 second delay in total...according to ESPN. If you're counting in Houston, the Dynamo has taken the past 30 minutes or so off if you're including the stumbles out of the delay.
28′
Oduro one on three down the right wing and manages to draw a foul on Berhalter. Why is a veteran centerback committing that foul out there? Needless.
27′
...and Onstad does very well instead to push the ball outside the near post. Well struck from Beckham and well saved by Onstad.
26′
Mullan goes through the back of Edson Buddle and picks up a deserved yellow card for his troubles. Beckahm to hit from 25+...
26′
Yellow Card Brian Mullan
25′
Onstad goes on a walkabout in his defensive area and Donovan nearly heads home into the vacated net. Holden again with the defensive header to save Houston's bacon.
23′
Galaxy has surged out of the impromptu break. Dom Kinnear must be fuming after watching his side lose the momentum after that 15- to 18-minute break.
22′
Cameron steps in hard on Kovalenko and the notorious hardman goes down without a touch. Sets up a Beckham freekick but Holden nods it away.
19′
Hope you enjoyed the brief intermission, but we're back on the field after an 18-minute delay. Thank goodness.
19′
You know who is happy with the delay? The ESPN beancounters. More commercial time, baby.
19′
Foudy with a good point: how do you get back into the game right now? It will be a challenge for the first five or ten minutes. Can one of these teams sneak a goal?
19′
Goal.com's Andrea Canales: "A power grid shift caused a power dip." Ok, then.
19′
Alexi thinks Galaxy aren't playing well. I agree with him. L.A. must do better when the game restarts in rural Peru.
19′
Now ESPN has Don Garber on the phone. Let's just say he's probably not happy with the situation.
19′
ESPN just panned to Beckham. I bet he's wondering why he's not in Doha right now.
19′
Goal.com's Andrea Canales said SoCal Edison is on the scene and is working to get the lights up and working within the next 10 minutes.
19′
Well, that takes all the steam out of an interesting opening period and all the momentum out of this livecommentary. Now that you have some extra time, here's a recommendation: open up your Twitter account and make sure to add @kylejmccarthy and @goalcom. May as well make this time useful, right?
19′
Action delayed because of a broken circuit breaker. Glad to see that the press box lights are still available. Not so glad to hear that the delay might last 15 minutes.
18′
Where are the lights? Oops. They went out. I can just hear the cackles of "pub league" from Covent Garden.
17′
Not that anybody should be surprised, but Houston doesn't look awed by the situation or the moment. Good interplay in the final third, but the finishing touch is lacking a bit.
14′
Kovalenko goes right through Holden. Referee Terry Vaughn doesn't look particularly bothered by it.
13′
Holden makes a fantastic late run from midfield and Mullan feeds him into the penalty area. Instead of tucking home, Holden wastefully lashes wide of the near post. The run is why Holden will head to Europe after the season, but the finish is why he should contemplate staying for a year or two before heading abroad.
12′
Why is Beckham holding onto the ball long enough to allow three Dynamo players to swarm him? Needs to play the ball quickly through the midfield, especially he wants to get it to Donovan on the left.
10′
Ching holds up well and slots through for Oduro. The Ghanaian striker decided to shoot near post instead of squaring for a run through the middle. Poor choice. A bit too much space for both sides in the opening stages.
8′
DeLaGarza heads away Davis' far-post cross. Harkes talking about the 'unsung' Davis. It's unfortunately true because he was the best left-sided player in the league this year without getting nearly the corresponding credit for that fact.
4′
Shoddy Dynamo defending at midfield sees two defenders get mixed up and sets Magee free. Magee feeds Donovan, who gets to the byline and cuts back for Magee. Onstad does well to save and push the effort away.
2′
Like the move by Arena to stick with Chris Klein on the right and leave Chris Birchall on the bench. Birchall can tuck in and let Beckham float to the right wing, but Klein is more dangerous and the Galaxy has to press the initiative a bit on its home pitch.
1′
And we're underway at the Home Depot Center...
What should we expect tonight? It should be tight and physical. Houston likes to set the physical tone and the Dynamo will need to do so in order to limit the time and space afforded for David Beckham and Landon Donovan. As for the Dynamo, they'll look to get on the ball to keep it away from Beckham and Donovan and expose the Galaxy backline with Dominic Oduro over the top.
Team News: Both teams are forced into changes at left back. Houston opts for Wade Barrett in place of the suspended Mike Chabala. Todd Dunivant is ill, so Los Angeles rookie A.J. DeLaGarza will make his playoff debut. If you're wondering why both of these teams have made it this far, take one look at the quality of player they can pull off their bench. Barrett and DeLaGarza would start for more than a few teams in MLS.
Welcome to the Home Depot Center. Or my couch. One or the other. It's Kyle McCarthy here to take you through all of the action in the Western Conference final between L.A. and Houston. Should be a good one; I'm just hoping the game ends before New Zealand-Bahrain starts at 2:00a.m. EST.
Results
Times In EST
Top Scorers
| Player | Goals | Penalties | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Kenny Cooper
Striker NY Red Bulls |
11 | 2 |
|
Chris Wondolowski
Striker San Jose Earthquakes |
11 | 1 |
|
Thierry Henry
Striker NY Red Bulls |
9 | 0 |
|
Saer Sene
Striker New England |
7 | 1 |
|
Maicon Santos
Striker D.C. United |
7 | 0 |