The Los Angeles Galaxy's makeshift defense was terrible in the first half against the Montreal Impact, but they dodged several bullets, only conceding once when they could have allowed multiple goals. They reorganized in the second half and played much better, scoring once to leave Montreal with a 1-1 draw.
A.J. DeLaGarza and Dan Keat struggled badly in the center of defense in the first half, allowing Montreal to create a number of clear-cut scoring opportunities. The one that they converted came in the eighth minute on a long ball that was defended poorly. DeLaGarza stepped up to compete with Bernando Corradi for a 50-50 header and lost badly, hanging Keat out to dry at the back. Davy Arnaud blew by him easily, but took a poor first touch. To complete the comedy of errors, Brian Perk didn't come out to claim it and allowed Arnaud to catch up, then finish to put the Impact ahead.
The Galaxy's central defense pairing continued to allow Montreal to create simple chances for the remainder of the half, but only got to the halftime whistle without going down by multiple goals. Bruce Arena either said something or made significant locker room adjustments, because his Galaxy performed considerably better in the second half.
Los Angeles started getting more bodies forward to start the half and created chances almost instantly. Donovan Ricketts made an excellent save on former teammate Landon Donovan in the 52nd minute, but Montreal wouldn't hold the lead long. In the 62nd minute, David Beckham hit a perfect curling free kick from 25 yards into the upper corner at the near post, beating Ricketts to level the match.
L.A. continued to press for a winner and came close on a couple of occasions. Mike Magee was the Galaxy's danger man in the closing minutes, forcing Ricketts to make one excellent save and going down under some hard challenges in the box that the referee ruled to be fair but that might have resulted in a penalty kick or two from a less lenient official. In the end, the match finished as a draw, a fair reflection of the play over the two very lopsided halves.
Over 60,000 were in attendance at Olympic Stadium for the game, setting a Canadian record for attendance at a professional soccer match.
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