Under Beckham and Donovan, Galaxy defeat Chicago Fire 2-1: A fan’s recap

Although the Chicago Fire looked pretty good in the first half, David Beckham and Landon Donovan scored second-half goals to give the Los Angeles a 2-1 victory.

Now, their unbeaten streak has been extended to 12 games.

In the first half, the Chicago Fire looked to be the stronger team. Up top, Patrick Nyarko proved to be a threat. Yet, Josh Saunders made several saves to keep the score at nil. The Galaxy offense, however, failed to make hardly any shots. Gregg Berhalter made a good attempt at a header on David Beckham's corner but couldn't get a good angle on it. The first half ended 0-0.

In the second half, three goals were scored within 12 minutes.

The first occurred after Paolo Cardozo helped the Galaxy get a free kick. In the 58th minute, Beckham delivered the kick to the far post and Landon Donovan was able to head the ball in. With nine goals, Landon Donovan is now tied with Thierry Henry for the most goals in the 2011 MLS season.

Four minutes later, Patrick Nyarko made a cross into the box and Cristian Nazarit nodded it past Saunders.

Shortly after, Beckham answered the Galaxy's need to score with a self-sufficient corner kick. The corner bypassed the keeper and several players before going into the net. This game marked Beckham's second goal and eighth assist of the season. Considering Beckham has been suffering from a back injury made his efforts even more impressive. After the match, Beckham was "heavily taped and iced."

Then, things started to heat up more. Chris Birchall tackled Nyarko hard. The late tackle led to Chicago Fire players surrounding Birchall. The confrontation ended with Josip Mikulic receiving a red card for dissent and Birchall, a yellow.

Despite missing A.J. DeLaGarza, Sean Franklin, Mike Magee, Chad Barrett and Donovan Ricketts due to injury, the Galaxy put up a good showing. Bryan Jordan made his first start of the season.

With the win, the Galaxy received a much-needed three points for a total of 39 points. After playing the Seattle Sounders in the Open Cup and Real Madrid for the World Football Challenge, the Los Angeles Galaxy will face the Columbus Crew on July 20 for MLS regular play.

Melissa Matters is a long time Los Angeles resident and devoted Los Angeles Galaxy fan.

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