Half Time: Galaxy-Toronto
A largely listless first half came alive just before half time when a long Amado Guevara ball was missed by veteran defender Greg Vanney, allowing Danny Dichio to tuck the ball past Steve Cronin.
Exactly 60 seconds later, the Galaxy equalized through Landon Donovan who was given far too much space by Toronto's Marco Velez and scored from 25 yards out.
Donovan's strike made amends for a trio of first half misses.
Three times David Beckham set up Donovan. And three times, with only the goalkeeper to beat, Donovan had uncharacteristically missed, most egregiously a 39th minute shot he put wide. The final miss prompted Galaxy Coach Ruud Gullit to leave his seat for the first time in the game, as he sensed those missed opportunities could prove costly - and almost did.
Guevara's assist was virtually his only contribution to the game that will surely slow still further in the second half in the sweltering heat.
About 100 Percent Soccer
Sportswriter Nick Green has written the 100 Percent Soccer column since 2005 for the Daily News, Daily Breeze and other Los Angeles area newspapers. The blog of the same name began in 2007. A native of England, he began writing about soccer in the mid-1980s and in 2000 permanently exchanged a seat in the stands for one in the press box. He lives six miles from Carson's Home Depot Center, home of the Los Angeles Galaxy, Chivas USA and the training headquarters for U.S. Soccer and is married to a long-suffering soccer widow. Join Nick on FaceBook and follow him on Twitter.
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