CARSON, Calif. -- Adam Cristman scored a pair of first-half goals and the New England Revolution defense made them stand as they defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy 2-1 at The Home Depot Center on Friday.
Both goals came off corner kicks as Cristman scored off a rebound on the first and slammed a header into the back of the net on the second. David Beckham scored for the Galaxy but aside from his goal midway through the second half -- which deflected off Revs defender Jay Heaps -- the former England captain was fairly quiet. The Revs came out and put their stamp on the game from the start. Organized and tidy in the back, the Revs dictated the pace of the match. But the club had few scoring chances despite their edge in possession.
Sainey Nyassi had the Revs' first shot on goal but Galaxy goalkeeper Steve Cronin turned away Nyassi's ninth-minute attempt. Shalrie Joseph, meanwhile, tried his luck from the top of the area on the quarter-hour but Cronin made the save as well.
The Revs also did well to keep the ball away from Beckham. Aside from a late first-half free kick, Beckham possessed the ball on a few occasions.
The Revs finally opened the scoring in the 33rd minute. Mauricio Castro knocked a corner kick into the center of the penalty area. Joseph snapped a header on goal but Cronin dived and made the save. The ball, though, rolled along the goal line and Cristman slammed the rebound into the back of the net.
Cristman left no doubt about his second goal. Ralston took a corner kick from the right side and sent it deep toward the far post. Cristman rose above Galaxy defender Abel Xavier and powered a header into the back of the net.
The goal was Cristman's sixth of the season, a new career high. It was also the first time since June 16, 2007 that Cristman has scored twice in one game.
The Revs nearly put the game away near the end of the first half. Cristman again broke through the Galaxy's backline, getting around Xavier. With Cronin well off his line, Cristman chose to add an assist to his tally and fed Castro, but the Honduran ripped a shot off the right post. The rebound fell to Castro, who did well to evade Cronin toward the edge of the area. Castro chipped Cronin but as the ball sailed toward an open goal, Galaxy defender Sean Franklin cleared it off the line and over the end line.
Cristman nearly helped the Revolution score early in the second half. Again, Cristman beat the Galaxy backline -- rookie Sean Franklin this time -- and ran towards the right side of the six-yard box. Cristman found Dube unmarked but the rookie fanned on the attempt and let the Galaxy defense off the hook yet again.
Taylor Twellman came on for Dube in the 60th minute as he made just his third appearance of the season.
The Revolution, though, could not keep Beckham from doing damage in the match. In the 66th minute, Beckham finally struck. Joseph tried to clear a ball out of the penalty area but his header went only to the top of the penalty area. Beckham raced in and hit a full volley which knocked off Heaps' back and into the corner of the net. Revs 'keeper Matt Reis dived to his left to try and make the initial save but was well off balance after the ball hit Heaps' back.
The Galaxy nearly equalized but Edson Buddle slammed a shot off the crossbar from 15 yards out after a quick buildup from the right side in the 77th minute. The ball flew high into the air, but eventually Reis found it and it settled into his arms, and New England was able to salt away the rest of the game.
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