Galaxy Advance To Pan-Pacific Cup Final Over Oita

Galaxy had a new look to the squad with both David Beckham and Landon Donovan missing. Eddie Lewis tucked back into the left defense, pushing forward to provide width as Jovan Kirovski cut in from the left flank. World Cup veteran Tony Sanneh anchored the defense next to rookie Omar Gonzalez.

A paltry 5,624 fans watched as Galaxy won a scrappy 2-0 match thanks to goals from Edson Buddle and Kirovski. LA will now face Korea's Suwon Samsung Bluewings, who defeated Chinese champions Shandong Luneng 1-0 earlier in the day. The final and third-placed match will feature as a double header on Saturday, again in the Home Depot Center.

First Half:

The game began like a it was: a pre-season encounter. Both teams set up narrowly and the pace was subdued. However, both spurned early chances.

In the second minute, Oita's Brazilian striker Ueslei Raimundo Pereira hit a powerful shot from the edge of the box, but it only found of the side netting. On the other side of the pitch, Sean Franklin crossed and Edson Buddle found himself free in front of the net, but could not connect with his head.

Minutes later, Galaxy had the ball in the back of the net. What looked like a Chris Klein shot sliced through the defense. Alan Gordon trapped and slotted home, but the goal was called back for offsides. Gordon had found plenty of room inside the box, but at the expense of the offsides rule.

In the 15^th minute, the game turned a tad testy. Two Oita defenders muscled Jovan Kirovski off the ball and while he was on the ground, he lashed out at one. He avoided a card, perhaps as a testament to the relaxed nature of pre-season games.

From there the game continued its scrappy nature. Roberto De Figueiredo clattered into Gordon in the 20^th minute to earn the game's first yellow. That was followed by two rough Galaxy tackles, from Gordon and hard-nosed midfielder Dema Kovalenko.

Galaxy earned their first yellow in the 38^th minute. Josh Tudela took out a player in the buildup to a play. Referee Kevin Stott allowed play to continue and Pereira hit another shot from distance, but it was too weak to trouble Josh Wicks in goal. Afterward, Stott booked Tudela for his tackle.

The first goal of the game came a minute before the first half closed. A poor defensive pass was intercepted by Buddle, who unleashed a sizzling shot which beat Shusaku Nishikawa near post.

Second Half:

The second half opened with rookie Kyle Patterson replacing goal-scorer Edson Buddle. Kirovski, who had been tucking in from the left flank to act as playmaker, moved up front with Gordon, with Patterson covering the left flank.

After a pair of corners in the 52^nd minute, Oita defender De Figueiredo pulled down Omar Gonzalez in the area, resulting in a penalty. Taikai Uemoto picked up a yellow card for dissent on the play, before Kirovski hit the PK right down the middle to double LA's lead.

Oita responded with a set piece of their own. After some quick passing, they earned a free-kick just outside the box. Pereira hit it well, but it nestled into the top of the netting, rather than in the goal.

From there the Japanese were limited to long-distance shots.

Mike Magee made his official Galaxy debut as a substitute for Gordon, and wasted no time getting into the thick of things. A cross came in from the left, and he burst into the box to get a head on it, but couldn't direct the ball towards goal.

As the substitutions continued to rain in, the game opened up. Each team's shape broke down a bit and the match had much more back-and-forth flow to it. Galaxy almost capitalized on an Oita attack, when Tudela led a counterattack. At the top of the arch, he was taken down, earning Shingo Suzuki a yellow. Eddie Lewis smashed the resulting free kick narrowly over.

From there the game died down, and LA's two goal lead was hardly tested. Both teams will be eager to improve play and sharpness by Saturday's matches, but have made that much more progress in their pre-season plans.

Zac Lee Rigg, Goal.com