SOCCER - USA LEAGUES
1977
NASL Regular Season - Dallas Tornado (3) @ (4) Los Angeles Aztecs - In a shootout at the LA Coliseum, the Aztecs used a 2nd half comeback to beat the Tornado and go to the top of the South Division. Dallas took a 2-1 lead in at the half, but the Aztecs came out on fire after the break and scored 3 unanswered goals to win the game. A late Dallas goal made for a nervy finish but the Aztecs held on for the victory. The Aztecs goals came from George Best (who had a great game), Ron Davies, Steve David and Phil Beal. The Dallas goals came from George Ley, John O'Hare and Kevin Kewley (8, Player-to-Recorder copy, Missing last few seconds but no scoring missed, 1 Disc, ON-TV - Avey/White, NTSC)
1979
NASL Regular Season - Seattle Sounders (1) @ (7) Los Angeles Aztecs - In a shootout at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, the Aztecs blew away the Sounders with a strong 2nd half. Los Angeles led 2-0 at the half, but the Sounders pulled a goal back early in the 2nd half. The Aztecs then stepped up a gear and scored 5 unanswered goals to take the win. The difference in the teams was the creativity of star midfielder Johan Cruyff (2 goals, 2 assists) and the lethal finishing of striker Chris Dangerfield, who scored 3 goals of high quality. The Aztecs other goals came from Leo Van Veen (2). The Sounders goal came from a penalty from John Ryan. The Aztecs also featured Head Coach Rinus Michels and Sanchez Galindo. The Sounders also featured Derek Smethurst, Alan Hudson and Jimmy Neighbour (8, 1 Disc, ON-TV - Kelly/Avey, NTSC)
1979
NASL National Conference Finals Game 2 - Vancouver Whitecaps (2) @ (2) New York Cosmos - Vancouver finally ended the Cosmos 2 year grip on the NASL title with a marathon win in Game 2. The Whitecaps won Game 1 so the Cosmos needed to win Game 2 to force a mini-game to decide the overall winner. Game 2 ended 2-2 with goals from Giorgio Chinaglia (2) for the Cosmos and John Craven and Willie Johnston for the Whitecaps, with Johnston's equaliser coming with 5 minutes left in the game. The subsequent sudden death extra-time ended goal-less so both teams went to a shootout which the Cosmos won to tie the series at 1-1. Both teams then played a mini-game with the winner earning a place in the Soccer Bowl but the mini-game also ended goal-less, despite both teams having a goal disallowed. The subsequent shootout this time went the way of the Whitecaps and they celebrated their first Soccer Bowl berth. The Cosmos also featured Johann Neskeens, Wim Rijsbergen, Franz Beckenbauer and Dennis Tueart but were missing Carlos Alberto due to suspension. The Whitecaps also featured Keeper Phil Parkes, Alan Ball, Trevor Whymark and Kevin Hector. Disc 1 is the 1st half, half-time and 2nd half. Disc 2 is the sudden death extra-time, the 1st Shootout, the mini-game and the 2nd shootout (8, Audio is MONO - Occasional video drop-out, 2 Discs, ABC - McKay/Gardner, NTSC)
2003
Western Conference Semi-Final, 2nd Leg - Los Angeles Galaxy (2) @ (5) San Jose Earthquakes - In arguably the greatest game in MLS history, San Jose staged a huge comeback to advance to the Western Conference Final. The Galaxy led 2-0 after the 1st leg, and 2 more goals in the opening 13 minutes of the 2nd leg gave them a 4-0 lead overall. But San Jose came roaring back and scored 4 unanswered goals to force extra-time, where a golden-goal from Rodrigo Faria sensationally saw the Earthquakes beat the Galaxy. The other San Jose goals came from Jeff Agoos, Landon Donovan, Jamil Walker and Chris Roner with Roner forcing overtime with a 90th minute goal. The Galaxy goals came from Carlos Ruiz and Peter Vagenas. San Jose also featured Ronnie Ekelund and Richard Mulrooney. Los Angeles also featured Cobi Jones (8, Spanish commentary, 1 Disc, FOX - Polanco/Motta, NTSC)
2007
MLS Regular Season - Los Angeles Galaxy (4) @ (5) New York Red Bulls - Galaxy midfielder David Beckham finally made his first start for his new club and had a sensational debut, setting up 2 goals in the first 6 minutes. But the Bulls fought back to win a great game of attacking football with the winner in the 88th minute (10, 2 Discs, FSC - Bretos/Sullivan, NTSC)
2008
MLS All Star Game - West Ham (2) v (3) MLS All Stars - The MLS continued their winning streak against the Premiership, coming from behind to beat the Hammers. The MLS goals came from Gomez, Blanco and a penalty from De Rosario. West Ham's goals came from Dean Ashton. The MLS also featured David Beckham, in his first All Star game (9, Slight Ghosting, 1 Disc, Setanta - Farrar/Martin, PAL)
2009
MLS Western Conference Semi-Final 1st Leg - Los Angeles Galaxy (2) v (2) Chivas USA - In a tight game full of emotion, the 2 local rivals reached a stalemate in the 1st leg of the Semi-Final. The Galaxy held a 2-1 lead at the half with goals from Mike Magee and Landon Donovan off-setting a 4th minute goal from Maicon Santos. Chivas levelled the game straight after the re-start with Maykel Galindo intercepting a poor back-pass and rounding the 'keeper. All the goals came from defensive mistakes. Galaxy midfielder David Beckham made his MLS post-season debut (10, 2 Discs, ESPN UK - Dellacamera/Harkes, PAL)
MLS Western Conference Semi-Final 2nd Leg - Chivas USA (0) v (1) Los Angeles Galaxy - The Galaxy qualified the Western Conference Final with a tight win over their big rivals. A 2nd half goal from a penalty by Landon Donovan sealed the win but their was also a big game from David Beckham, whose passing opened up the Chivas defense on many occasions (10, 2 Discs, ESPN UK - Dellacamera/Harkes, PAL)
MLS Western Conference Final - Houston Dynamo (0) v (2) Los Angeles Galaxy - An eventful game in Los Angeles ended in Overtime with the Galaxy qualifying for their first MLS Cup Final since 2005. Each half was interrupted for approximately 15 minutes by floodlight failure and the game went to Overtime after both teams failed to score in regulation. The Galaxy then settled the game with goals from Gregg Berhalter and Landon Donovan with Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts also helping by making crucial saves to deny a Dynamo comeback. The Galaxy also featured David Beckham and the Dynamo featured Geoff Cameron (10, 2 Discs, ESPN UK - Dellacamera/Harkes, PAL)
MLS Cup - Los Angeles Galaxy (1) v (1) Real Salt Lake - Underdog Real Salt Lake claimed their 1st ever MLS Cup with a penalty shootout win over the Galaxy. A 1st half goal for the Galaxy by Mike Magee was cancelled out by a 2nd half equailiser for Real by Robbie Findley and both teams failed to find the net again in normal time and overtime so the game went to a penalty shootout. Real keeper Nick Rimando saved from Edson Buddle and Robbie Russell buried the winner for Real with the next kick and won the shootout 5-4. The Galaxy featured Landon Donovan and David Beckham, who was playing with a pain-killing injection in an injured ankle (10, 2 Discs, ESPN UK - Dellacamera/Harkes, PAL)
2010
MLS All Star Game - Manchester United (5) v (2) MLS All Stars - The annual Premier League / MLS face off went the way of the Premier League as United used great finishing to win the macth. Goals from Federico Macheda (2), Darren Gibson, Tom Cleverley and Javier Hernandez (on his debut for the club) did the damage with Brian Ching and Dwayne De Rosario replying for the All Stars. United also featured Ryan Giggs. The MLS All Stars also featured Juan Pablo Angel and Landon Donovan (10, 2 Discs, ESPN UK - Dellacamera/Harkes, PAL)
2011
World Football Challenge - Real Madrid (4) @ (1) Los Angeles Galaxy - Real Madrid opened their Pre-Season with a big win over the home-town Galaxy. Goals from Jose Callejon and Joselu gave the Spaniards a 2-0 lead at the half, with most of Real's big players on the subs bench. Real coach Jose Mourinho brought on Cristiano Ronaldo in the 2nd half and he scored a fantastic goal with Karim Benzema finishing the scoring with a late goal. The lone Galaxy reply came from Adam Cristman. The Galaxy also featured David Beckham and Landon Donovan (10, 2 Discs, ESPN UK - Davis/Harkes, PAL)
MLS Regular Season - New York Red Bulls (3) @ (3) Portland Timbers - In a wild game of twists and turns, the Red Bulls overcame adversity to steal a point at Portland. New York led 1-0 at the half thanks to a goal from Austin Da Luz, but the Timbers fought back with goals from Jack Jewsbury, Kevin Goldthwaite and an own goal to lead 3-1 with 17 minutes left. The Bulls clawed back a goal from Thierry Henry before he was sensationally sent off in injury time for slapping a player on the head. But the Bulls kept going and with the final kick of the game, they got a penalty which Dwayne De Rosario scored to take a share of the points (10, Re-broadcast missing action in the 1st half between 17:41 and 27:07 and in the 2nd half between 69:51 and 70:42 - No scoring missed, 1 Disc, Root Sports - Strong/Earle, PAL)
MLS Western Conference Semi-Final 2nd Leg - New York Red Bulls (1) @ (3) Los Angeles Galaxy - The Galaxy extended their run in the post-season with a hard-fought home win. The Red Bulls levelled the aggregate scores at 1-1 with an early goal from Luke Rodgers but David Beckham turned the game around with an assist for Mike Magee to score just before the half then won a penalty with 15 minutes to go that Landon Donovan converted to seal the win. The Galaxy also featured Robbie Keane. The Red Bulls also featured Thierry Henry (10, 2 Discs, ESPN - Darke/Harkes, PAL)
MLS Western Conference Final - Real Salt Lake (1) @ (3) Los Angeles Galaxy - The Galaxy booked their place in the MLS Cup Final with a big win in Los Angeles. The teams were tied at 1-1 at the half with a Landon Donovan penalty for LA off-set by an equaliser from Alvaro Saborio. But the 2nd half belonged to the Galaxy as goals from Mike Magee and Robbie Keane sealed their place in the final. The Galaxy also featured David Beckham and Juninho. Real also featured Robbie Russell and Jamison Olave (10, 2 Discs, ESPN - Darke/Harkes, PAL)
MLS Cup - Houston Dynamo (0) v (1) Los Angeles Galaxy - The star-studded Galaxy finally fulfilled their destiny with their 1st title since 2005. Led by Landon Donovan and David Beckham, the Galaxy controlled the game and settled the result with a 72nd minute winner from Donovan. The title was the 1st for David Beckham. The Galaxy also featured Robbie Keane. The Dynamo were missing star forward Brad Davis to injury (10, 2 Discs, ESPN - Darke/Harkes, PAL)
2012
Regular Season - Los Angeles Galaxy (3) @ (4) San Jose Earthquakes - San Jose ended the Galaxy's 3 game win streak with a come-from-behind win in Palo Alto. In a wild 1st half, the Galaxy went ahead 3-1 before San Jose turned the game around with 3 unanswered goals to take the win. The San Jose goals game from Steven Lenhart, Victor Bernárdez, Sam Cronin and Chris Wondolowski. The Galaxy goals came from David Beckham (with a great free-kick), Landon Donovan and an own goal (10, 1 Disc, ESPN - Healey/Foudy, PAL)
MLS All Star Game - MLS All Stars (3) v (2) Chelsea - At Philadelphia's PPL Park, the MLS All Stars upset the European Champions with a late winner. Chelsea cameback from an early 1-0 deficit to lead 2-1 in the 2nd half before goals from Chris Pontius (DC United) and Eddie Johnson (Seattle), in the 91st minute, gave the All Stars their 1st win in the fixture for 5 years. The other All Stars goal came from Chris Wondolowski (San Jose) while the Chelsea goals came from Frank Lampard and John Terry. The All Stars also featured David Beckham, Theirry Henry and Landon Donovan (10, 2 Discs, ESPN - Healey/Twellman, PAL)
Playoff Knockout Round - Vancouver Whitecaps (1) @ (2) Los Angeles Galaxy - In a "winner takes all" game, the Galaxy overcame an early deficit to advance in the playoffs. The Whitecaps scored in the 3rd minute through striker Darren Mattocks and still led 1-0 at the half. But the Galaxy regrouped and scored 2 goals in the 2nd half from Mike Magee and Landon Donovan to finish off Vancouver and take the win. Los Angeles also featuted David Beckham and Robbie Keane (10, 1 Disc, NBC - White/Martino, PAL)
Western Conference Semi-Final, 1st Leg - San Jose Earthquakes (1) @ (0) Los Angeles Galaxy - The 2 big rivals met at the Home Depot Center and it was San Jose that took the advantage into the 2nd leg with a late goal. Both teams were evenly matched, with each teams Defense shutting down the big stars of the other team. David Beckham and Landon Donovan both had quiet games for the Galaxy, as did Chris Wondolowski for the Earthquakes. But just as the game seemed headed for a draw, Galaxy keeper Josh Saunders let a tame shot from Victor Bernárdez slip under his body and into the goal for a decisive lead in the tie (10, 2 Discs, ESPN - Healey/Twellman PAL)
Western Conference Semi-Final, 2nd Leg - Los Angeles Galaxy (3) @ (1) San Jose Earthquakes - Los Angeles stunned the Supporters Shield winners with a big win in Santa Clara. The hero for the Galaxy was striker Robbie Keane who scored 2 goals to help LA to a 3-0 lead at the half. San Jose scored with 8 minutes left with a goal from Alan Gordon to make for a tense finale, but the Galaxy held on to reach the Western Conference final (10, 2 Discs, ESPN - Healey/Twellman, PAL)
Western Conference Final, 1st Leg - Seattle Sounders (0) @ (3) Los Angeles Galaxy - The Galaxy continued their remarkable run in the Playoffs with a big win in the 1st leg at the Home Depot Center. The Sounders had the better of the 1st half but trailed at the break to a Robbie Keane goal. The Galaxy had the better of the 2nd half and took their chances, with Keane and Mike Magee scoring to give the Galaxy a big chance at make the MLS Cup Final (10, 2 Discs, ESPN - Healey/Twellman PAL)
Western Conference Final, 2nd Leg - Los Angeles Galaxy (1) @ (2) Seattle Sounders - In a tight game at a raucous Century Link Field, LA survived a strong rally to advance to their 2nd straight MLS Cup Final. The Galaxy were protecting a 3-0 lead from the 1st leg but Seattle closed the gap to 3-2 with goals from Eddie Johnson and Zach Scott. Robbie Keane gave LA some breathing room with a penalty and the team kept the Sounders at bay for the rest of the game to take the win (10, 2 Discs, ESPN - Healey/Twellman PAL)
MLS Cup - Los Angeles Galaxy (3) v (1) Houston Dynamo - In his last game for the club, Galaxy midfielder David Beckham signed off from the team in the best way possible with his 2nd MLS Cup win. In a re-match of the 2011 Final, the Dynamo struck first through a goal from Calen Carr and led 1-0 at the half. But the Galaxy scored 3 unanswered goals in the 2nd half from Omar Gonzalez, Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane to turn the game around and win the Cup. Disc 1 includes a 45 minute review of Beckham's career at LA and Disc 2 includes locker room celebrations (10, 2 Discs, ESPN - Healey/Twellman, PAL)
2013
MLS Regular Season - Portland Timbers (0) @ (1) Seattle Sounders - In the big North-west derby, the Sounders upset the Timbers on a record-setting night at CenturyLink Field. In front of a league record crowd of 67,385, the Sounders took all 3 points with a 2nd half goal from Eddie Robinson. The game was also the home debut of new Sounders forward Clint Dempsey who contributed with 4 shots on goal (10, 1 Disc, ESPN - Healey/Twellman/Lalas, PAL)
2014
MLS All Star Game - MLS All Stars (2) v (1) Bayern Munich - At Portland's Providence Park, the MLS All Stars upset the Bundesliga Champions with a late winner. Bayern opened the scoring with a goal from new signing Robert Lewandowski but the All-Stars took the win with 2 unanswered goals in the 2nd half from Bradley Wright-Phillips (New York Red Bulls) and Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy). The All-Stars also featured Clint Dempsey, Michael Bradley, Tim Cahill and Thierry Henry. Bayern also featured Xherdan Shaqiri but left most of their stars (Manuel Neuer, Philipp Lahm, Arjen Robben, Mario Götze, Bastian Schweinsteiger) on the bench until the final 10 minutes of the game (10, 1st half is a mixture of original broadcast and re-broadcast - Missing action between 5:14 and 6:27 and also between 17:45 and 20:57 - no scoring missed, 2 Discs, ESPN - Healey/Twellman/Gonzalez, PAL)
MLS Cup - Los Angeles Galaxy (2) v (1) New England Revolution - The home-town Galaxy won their 5th MLS Cup but needed Extra-Time to do so against the Revolution. After a goal-less 1st half, the Galaxy took the lead with a 2nd Half goal from Gyasi Zardes only for New England to force extra-time with a 79th minute goal from Chris Tierney. The Galaxy took the win in extra-time when MVP Robbie Keane scored with 9 minutes left in the game. The match also proved to be the last for Galaxy midfielder Landon Donovan who retired with 4 MLS titles and 2 MLS MVP's (10, 2 Discs, ESPN - Healey/Twellman/Gonzalez, PAL)
2015
NCAA College Cup Final - Stanford (4) v (0) Clemson - Stanford won their 1st ever mens title with a blowout win in the Final. Stanford took a 1-0 lead in at the half then rounded out the win with a dominating 2nd half display. The goals came from Jordan Morris (2), Brandon Vincent and Eric Verso (10, Next day re-broadcast missing action action in the 2nd half between 8:20 and 6:41 - No scoring missed, 1 Disc, ESPN - Davis/Twellman, PAL)
2018/19
MLS Regular Season - Atlanta United FC (0) @ (2) Columbus Crew - Columbus finally beat reigning MLS Champions Atlanta at the 5th attempt, winning in monsoon conditions at the MAPFRE Stdium in Columbus. 2 goals in the 1st half did the damage and, as the weather worsened, Atlanta found it harder and harder to get back in the game. The pitch developed standing water puddles making passing the ball along the ground impossible. Columbus did have a chance to extend their lead in the 2nd half with a penalty, but the kick was saved. The Crew goals came from Pedro Santos and Gyasi Zardes (10, 1 Disc, Sportstime - Sika/Burgess, PAL)
2019
MLS Regular Season - New York Red Bulls (1) @ (2) New York City - New York City FC moved within one point of first place in the Eastern Conference after a rivalry win over the Bulls at Yankee Stadium. The Bulls opened the scoring in the 10th minute but City responded with 2 unanswered goals, 1 either side of half-time, and held on late in the game to take the win after they were reduced to 10 men. City dominated the game with 57% possession and had 14 shots on goal, with 3 attempts hitting the woodwork. The City goals came from Maximiliano Morález and Heber. The Bulls goal came from Alex Muyl (9, 1 Disc, Freesports - Unknown, PAL)
MLS Regular Season - Vancouver Whitecaps (1) @ (3) San Jose Earthquakes - On a record-setting night at Avaya Stadium, the Quakes dominated the visiting Whitecaps to end a 3-game losing streak. Despite conceding 3 goals, the man-of-the-match was Whitecaps goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau who broke Tony Meola's 22-year-old MLS record with 16 saves in the match. The Quakes set their own record, registering an MLS record 43 shots on goal with 19 efforts on target. The Whitecaps opened the scoring in the 6th minute but the Quakes responded within a minute with the first of 3 unanswered goals that saw them win the game. The San Jose goals came from Judson, Andre Rios and Chris Wondolowski with his 155th MLS goal. The Vancouver goal came from Jakob Nerwinski (9, Re-broadcast with no half-time but game complete, 1 Disc, Freesports - Unknown, PAL)
MLS Western Conference Semi-Final - LA Galaxy (3) @ (5) Los Angeles City FC - LAFC finally got the Galaxy monkey off their back, beating their city rivals for the 1st time ever, and with the win progressed to their first ever Conference final. LAFC had played the Galaxy 5 times in the "El Trafico" without success, but dominated the 1st half to go in at the break with a 2-1 lead. The Galaxy fought back to tie the game in the 2nd half but 2 goals in 2 minutes from LAFC gave them a 2 goal cushion that they defended to the end for the emotional win. The LAFC goals came from Carlos Vela (2), Adama Diomande (2) and Diego Rossi. The Galaxy goals came from Cristian Pavon, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Rolf Feltscher (9, Re-broadcast of the 2nd half only with 3 minute hi-lites of the 1st half, 1 Disc, Freesports - Roebuck/Virgo, PAL)