Major League Soccer had one midweek match with the Los Angeles Galaxy hosting the Chicago Fire on Friday, October 2, 2009. Both teams are in the top 2 in their conference and could move one step closer to a playoff spot with a win. David Beckham returned to the Galaxy after missing last week due to injury while Brian McBride was leading the Chicago Fire (Blanco not in the lineup). Here’s a recap of the match on Friday, October 2, 2009 along with video highlights.

Los Angeles edges Chicago Fire 1-0 – Video Highlights

1st Half

The match started with the Galaxy controlling most of the possession in the first five minutes. Los Angeles was able to stretch the Fire defense and get some good pressure. Chicago struggled to hold the ball for any sustained period and turned it over way too easy early in the match. From the start, the Galaxy had a lift with Beckham back in the lineup and confidence that was missing from last weekend’s loss at Columbus.

Around the 8th minute, Chicago began working their way back into the match and starting to get some chances. The Galaxy nearly took the lead in the 11th minute as Donovan had the ball and sent a through ball to Beckham out wide who had a open shot on goal but it was saved. The play would be even the next few minutes until the 19th minute as Beckham found an open Donovan outside the 18 yard box who took a shot and just missed wide.

The LA Galaxy continued to get good chances as the Fire turned it over in their own end and Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch made a nice save in the 21st minute. Chicago threatened in the 26th minute as Justin Mapp sent a pass into the box that went out of play. A minute later, McBride took a shot on a poor clearance that almost beat the goalkeeper.

The match started to even out towards the end of the first half but the Galaxy were still getting more possession and chances. The last 10 minutes were very wide open as both defense had some letdowns. Finally, the Los Angeles Galaxy would grab the lead in the 41st minute. Chris Klein sent a great long ball for Donovan who got behind the defense and chipped the ball over the goalkeeper. It was a great finish for Donovan as the Galaxy would lead 1-0 at halftime. In the 45th minute there was a rough tackle by CJ Brown on Donovan that led to some shoving and pushing between the teams. Nothing major happened and no players were ejected as tempers quickly cooled.

2nd Half

The Fire came out aggressive in the second half but started to leave space in the counterattack. At least one more goal seemed likely after the first few minutes as neither defense was able to take control. The Galaxy nearly doubled their lead in the 55th minute as Beckham sent a through ball for Donovan who took on the defender but his shot was too high. It was a good recovery from the Fire defense.

After this chance, the Galaxy took momentum and able to hold possession to control the midfield. Even though the Galaxy had several chances it still remained only a 1-0 lead into the midpoint of the second half. The pace of the match slowed dramatically in the last 20 or so minutes as both teams showed signs of fatigue.

Another great chance for the Galaxy was missed as Magee sent a pass to Jordan but he couldn’t control the pass. His defender had fallen down and he just had the goalkeeper to beat but the Galaxy player failed to get a shot off.

In the 83rd minute the Galaxy made a defensive mistake as Burchall recovered defensively and made a back pass to Ricketts who picked it up with his hands. It was a free kick for the Fire just inside the 18 yard box as the Galaxy goalkeeper made a simple mistake.

As the Fire took the free kick there was confusion as it was touched and quickly stolen away by the Galaxy.  The Fire paused as didn’t think the ball was live. A few moments later, Beckham took a shot just outside the box and nearly scored a goal but Busch made a nice save for Chicago.

The Fire really started to threaten the Galaxy defense in the final minutes. A free kick was given just outside the 18 yard box in the 90th minute. It was blocked by the wall as The Fire earned a corner. It was a crazy corner that the ball bounced around, shot a few times, and somehow the Fire didn’t score. The LA defense really showed signs of cracking in the final minutes. In the end, the Galaxy would hold on in a gritty and tough 1-0 win against the Chicago Fire on the goal from Landon Donovan.