LA Galaxy weather sunshine, discontent, in 1-1 draw

The LA Galaxy played the San Jose Earthquakes to a rough and tumble draw under the harsh Santa Clara sun Sunday afternoon. After an LA dominated first half, San Jose found the rhythm to knock the Galaxy out of theirs. They would have been down by two goals were it not for a Robbie Keane missed penalty kick; his third miss of the year.

Statistically it was a match of two halves, with the Galaxy controlling things in the first half making goals feel inevitable and then San Jose flipping the script after halftime. Discipline became the story as San Jose took control, with nine yellow cards handed out over the course of the match - but no red cards.

Thirty-eight times the whistle was blown for a foul, and several of the yellow cards were given for arguing the calls that weren't given. Three cards were given for arguing or dissent, one was given for not retreating, and two were given for unsporting behavior. In wasn't a sloppy match with reckless fouls, it was a chippy match where players were punching and clawing for every advantage.

On the small pitch of Buck Shaw, LA's quick wide play was stymied. San Jose actually outpassed the Galaxy, which doesn't happen that often. This was a match where both teams had to revert to hopeful crosses, and that meant a lot of pushing and shoving in the penalty area.

That's where LA's lone goal came from, a corner kick that Omar Gonzalez was able to head toward goal. The Earthquakes got the equalizer when Chris Wondolowski took advantage of the Galaxy's disciplined high line and snuck behind for an acute angle goal.

On the week the Galaxy got two points from two road matches, sitting three points behind the Seattle Sounders who clinched a playoff spot with their win over Real Salt Lake. That means the Galaxy could clinch a playoff spot with a victory this weekend over Dallas. The Shield run may be getting difficult, but LA are still at a good pace to miss Seattle in the first round.