BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. - Landon Donovan continued to show why he should be on the USA plane to Brasil with a wonderful equalizer as the LA Galaxy earned a 1-1 draw with the Chicago Fire at Toyota Park Sunday.
With the tempurature reaching 90 degrees both teams struggled to get into any rhythm in the first half. LA failed to register a single shot, while Chicago had only slightly better opportunities.
Fire forward Quincy Amarikwa had the best look of the opening 45 when he jumped on a defensive error, raced ahead of his mark and shot high as Galaxy goalkeeper Jaime Penedo came off his line.
The visitors showed significantly more attacking intent after the break, although Amarikwa saw his appeals for a penalty waved away by referee Hilario Grajeda after going down under a challenge from substitute Robbie Rogers in the 56th minute.
On the hour, Fire defender Jhon Kennedy Hurtado denied LA's Robbie Keane a certain goal when he found himself through on goal after a penetrating run from Stefan Ishizaki.
The Fire were handed a chance to open the scoring in the 66th minute when sloppy defensive play from the Galaxy saw Amarikwa gain possession before he was taken down by Juninho. Replays showed contact was outside the box, but Grajeda pointed to the spot.
With striker Mike Magee out of the side through injury, captain Jeff Larentowicz stepped up and calmly slotted his well-placed kick low to Penedo’s right to put Chicago ahead.
The Fire’s lead was short lived and, again, they were to blame for their own downfall as Chris Ritter’s pass to Gonzalo Segares was short and allowed Rogers to intercept and drive towards goal. And it was Donovan who was on hand to sweep home the equalizer in emphatic style when he met Rogers' cross at the far post and shot past Fire goalkeeper Sean Johnson to earn the Galaxy a point and ensure the Fire were held for the seventh time in 12 games.
Next up for the Fire is a trip to the Colorado Rapids on Wednesday, while the Galaxy host LA rivals Chivas USA on Sunday.
