ROBBIE KEANE BAGGED his fifteenth goal of the season with a spectacular volley but it was not enough to prevent LA Galaxy going down 2-1 to Real Salt Lake on Saturday night.
Keane’s goal came on 17 minutes but the Galaxy lead was to last just eight minutes before two goals in as many minutes by Fabian Espíndola gave Real the win.
The result sees Real cement their second place in the MLS Western Conference and, while Galaxy have already secured a playoff spot, they will be worried by the fact Landon Donovan limped off before the final whistle.
[YouTube Credit]
Elsewhere, Chicago Fire have moved up to second in the Eastern Conference with a 2-0 win over the New York Red Bulls on Saturday.
After a goalless first half Dutch forward Sherjill MacDonald broke the deadlock in the 65th minute when he fired home after dribbling past two Red Bull defenders.
MacDonald doubled the visitors’ advantage with another well-taken finish after a fine pass from Daniel Paladini.
New York enjoyed most of the possession, but failed to convert that dominance into shots with Fire goalkeeper Sean Johnson only called on to make one save throughout the match.
The result leaves the Red Bulls down in fourth place in the Eastern Conference with DC United moving up to third thanks to a 1-0 win at Toronto.
The match looked headed for a draw until Albanian substitute Hamdi Salihi bobbed up with the winner in the 88th minute.
The San Jose Earthquakes maintained their 12-point lead at the top of the Western Conference with a 4-1 victory over the Colorado Rapids.
After Marvin Chavez opened the scoring in the second minute, Chris Wondolowski added a second nine minutes later.
Wondolowski scored his second shortly after the break before completing his hat-trick in the 83rd minute.
The only downside for the Earthquakes was the late red card to defender Jason Hernandez, which resulted in a penalty that Andre Akpan converted.
In other results, the Philadelphia Union edged New England 1-0 thanks to Jack McInerney’s 73rd-minute strike, while the Houston Dynamo and Montreal Impact played out a 1-1 draw.
