Sep 17, 2007, 2:50 GMT
Carson, CA - The Los Angeles Galaxy added to their forgettable season Sunday evening at The Home Depot Center, dropping their eighth Major League Soccer fixture in their last nine games, the latest to the Houston Dynamo, 3-1.
A ball bouncing in the six-yard box was knocked in by Ryan Cochrane, a penalty kick was scored by Dwayne De Rosario, and another defensive blunder that saw two Galaxy defenders give up on a ball that was knocked in by Ricardo Clark was enough for the Dynamo to retake the Western Conference lead.
Houston currently has a one-point lead over second-placed CD Chivas USA in the West, but the Goats have two games in hand.
The Galaxy, on the other hand, have the least amount of points in the league with just 17 and look like they will certainly be left out of the playoffs for the second-consecutive season. They have eight games to make up 13 points on the Chicago Fire, who are currently in the eighth and final spot.
The game's first goal was scored off a corner kick taken by Richard Mulrooney. His in-swinging corner was skipped by De Rosario to the far post, where it bounced in the six-yard box before Cochrane knocked it in for his first goal of the season.
The Galaxy equalized just five minutes later on their own corner kick, taken by Landon Donovan. Donovan fired a bullet into the box that forward Alan Gordian snapped into the back of the net with his head for his third goal of the season.
That was how the score stayed until just two minutes after the break.
Galaxy defender Mike Randolph, only playing because of injuries to the team's backline, pulled down Brian Mullan in the box, earning a penalty kick.
De Rosario made no mistake, easily slotting his fifth goal of the season past Galaxy goalkeeper Joe Cannon.
Houston doubled the lead about 25 minutes later when a ball was played into the center of the Galaxy area and defenders Ty Harden and Peter Vagenas stopped, giving Clark the chance to run past them and knock the ball past a disgusted Cannon.
The Galaxy will try to climb out of the Western basement when they travel to Real Salt Lake, who are two points ahead of them, Wednesday, while Houston is off until a Sept. 30th match at Dallas.
© 2007 The Sports Network
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