Daniel Aguirre and Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez scored goals in the first 15 minutes and the Los Angeles Galaxy held on for a 2-1 victory over the New England Revolution on Sunday night at Foxborough, Mass.
Chicharito and Riqui Puig recorded assists as the Galaxy halted a four-match road losing streak and a five-game winless stretch (0-4-1) on enemy fields.
Jonathan Bond made seven saves for Los Angeles (11-11-4, 37 points), which moved into seventh place in the Western Conference.
Carles Gil scored in the 82nd minute for New England (8-9-10, 34 points), which fell into ninth place in the Eastern Conference. The Revolution also saw a nine-match home unbeaten stretch (4-0-5) come to an end.
New England star Gustavo Bou entered at the start of the second half after missing the previous six matches due to a leg injury. Djordje Petrovic made three saves for the Revolution.
New England held a 19-7 edge in shots and put seven on target to the Galaxy’s five.
LA struck in the fourth minute when Chicharito was in the midfield and sent a long pass upfield to Aguirre. The open Aguirre sent a right-footed shot into the lower left corner for his first goal of the season.
In the 15th minute, it was Chicharito who was the recipient of a superb pass from Puig. Chicharito delivered a left-footed shot into the left corner for his 12th goal of the campaign.
New England came up empty in its top two first-half scoring chances.
Gil fed DeJuan Jones in front of the goal in the 29th minute, but Jones’ right-footed shot hit the left goalpost.
Eight minutes later, it was Jones setting up a chance with a pass, but Emmanuel Boateng’s hard right-footed blast was stopped by Bond.
In the second half, the Revolution had a chance in the 62nd minute as Christian Makoun ripped a left-footed rocket from outside the box. However, Bond was in position to knock the shot away.
Gil, the reigning MLS MVP, finally halted Bond’s shutout bid when he placed a left-footed shot into the top left corner of the net. It was his sixth goal of the season.
–Field Level Media
