Tempers flared as the Los Angeles Galaxy beat the New York Red Bulls 1-0 at Red Bull Arena, in their Western Conference semi-final first leg match.
Mike Magee’s early goal off a cross from David Beckham was enough to give the Galaxy the win, and they only need a draw at home on Thursday to progress to the Conference Finals.
Magee ran onto a great 45-yard pass from Beckham, and while most of the Red Bulls players looked for an offside flag, Magee ran on and slotted the ball past New York goalkeeper Frank Rost.
But it was not Magee’s goal that everyone was talking about after the match. Instead it was the melee after the final whistle in which both New York’s Rafael Marquez and Los Angeles’ Juninho were shown red cards/
The incident began after New York’s Rafa Marquez threw the ball at Galaxy’s Landon Donovan. In the ensuing scuffle Juninho threw a punch at Red Bulls defender Stephen Keel, and Marquez took a swing at Galaxy’s Adam Cristman. Both Marquez and Juninho will miss the second leg on Thursday, a loss that will hurt the Red Bulls more than the Galaxy.
In other games played over the weekend, Houston Dynamo won 2-1 in Philadelphia Union. Andre Hainault had given the Dynamo the lead in the fifth minute. Sebastian Le Toux pulled one back for Union before Calen Carr gave the Dynamo a big advantage heading home to Houston.
In an upset, Sporting Kansas City beat 10-manColorado Rapids 2-0 with Teal Bunbury scoring grabbing both Sporting Kansas goals.
