Halftime Hype

The Galaxy no longer share first place, proving why they are the best team in the MLS with a 3-1 victory over the Columbus Crew on Saturday night at the Home Depot Center. Both clubs, the leaders of the Western and Eastern Conference, entered the game tied with 44 points. However, the night belonged to the Galaxy, who benefited from the return of Juninho and David Beckham.

Juninho, who had been out for personal reasons, did a brilliant job of finding his unmarked teammates. When asked about his return, manager Bruce Arena said "He’s an excellent player. We really missed him...Tonight he played well, and obviously it’s great to get him back.”

Instead of conceding early goals to the opponent, the Galaxy were the ones who came out aggressive. In the 13th minute, Edson Buddle scored from the top of the box off an assist from Landon Donovan. Buddle, who leads the league in goals scored, earned his 14th goal of the season.

Fans really knew their team was playing well when Dema Kovalenko scored, his first goal with the Galaxy. Landon Donovan threaded a pass to Kovalenko, who found the net in the 35th minute. Kovalenko, renowned for his feisty tackles, is not known as a goal-scoring threat. The assist was also Donovan's second of the game, raising his league-leading number of assists to 14.

Arena began the second half by substituting Chris Birchall for Edson Buddle. The move was solely for precautionary reasons, as Buddle was feeling cramps in his legs. "He is ready to go and will be fine," Arena reassured.

The Galaxy's offense continued, nonetheless. In the 55th minute, Galaxy midfielder Alex Cazumba lobbed a free kick from about 40 yards toward the far post, connecting with Jovan Kirovski for a header.

In the 70th minute, David Beckham, who had not played for the Galaxy this season due to a torn Achilles tendon, returned to a standing ovation. Beckham had not played a MLS game for 289 days, his last match being the MLS Cup Final on November 22, 2009. Although he proved some rust in receiving a yellow card after only four minutes, his passing was excellent as usual.

After the game, Arena dwelled on the Englishman's presence. “David’s presence helps our team in the locker room, on the training field and on game day," Arena said. "It is remarkable that he is back on the field in this short period of time. September 15th is six months, and at his age, to put in the kind of effort to come back and for the players to see that is inspirational to the team.”

Unfortunately for the team, the Galaxy would not leave with a shutout. The Crew's Andres Mendoza, who entered the game as a sub in the 63rd minute, made the most of his one-on-one with Galaxy goalkeeper, Donovan Ricketts. He scored the Crew's lone goal in the 85th minute.

Buddle gave his thoughts on sole possession of the top spot. “We’ve led the league all year and we wanted to hold on to that. Who knows what the mood would have been like if we would have lost that game and let Columbus take the lead," he said. Indeed, much to the Galaxy's pleasure, nobody will ever have to know.