Not a bad start to Alecko Eskandarian’s Los Angeles Galaxy career.

Just three days he was acquired by the Galaxy from in-stadium rival Chivas USA, Eskandarian has already made his presence felt for Los Angeles, as his goal in he eighth minute of play was all the Galaxy needed to hold off a feisty New England Revolution 1-0 at the Home Depot Center.

“It was a blue-collar type of game tonight, and you have to win these games in this league,” Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena said. “To get these last two wins at home are very important.”

The win gives the Galaxy consecutive victories for the first time this season and its first victory over the Revolution since opening day of 2004. Los Angeles also reaches the 20-point plateau (4-3-9, 21 points) and moves into a tie with the Colorado Rapids for fourth place in the Western Conference. New England, missing several key players, including forward Taylor Twellman, midfielder Shalrie Joseph and defender Jay Heaps, is now 4-5-4 and remains at 16 points.

Eskandarian was available for the match, but was supposed to come off the bench if needed. That plan however was scratched at the last minute when Alan Gordon was ruled out with a left calf strain. Eskandarian quickly seized the opportunity. In the fourth minute, Mike Magee sent a corner from the left side towards Eskandarian, but his header instead sailed over goal. Eskandarian however didn’t have to wait long for another chance, as defender Todd Dunivant crossed a ball into the box towards Eskandarian, and his one-timer caught Revolution keeper Matt Reis flat-footed and the ball rolled past the line into the left net.

“It was a great ball by Todd, (so) you got to hit it first time” Eskandarian said. “I just did my best to keep it low and hit it to the corner, and it worked out pretty good.”

Eskandarian also became the first player on the Galaxy to score in his debut since Buddle did it against Real Salt Lake on June 17, 2007.

“He offered us some good mobility,” Arena said of Eskandarian’s performance. “(He) partnered up with Buddle pretty well and was able to combine and create a couple of chances.”

The Galaxy had several chances to add to its lead in the second half. In the 82nd minute, defender AJ DeLaGarza crossed a ball into the left side of the ball to an open Chris Klein, but Klein’s header was stopped point-blank by Reis. Reis had to come up big again a minute later, when Dunivant floated a shot on goal, but Reis leaped and got enough of the ball to prevent the goal.

“The bottom line is that the final score was 1-0,” Revolution head coach Steve Nicol said. “Sometimes in this game, you don’t get what you deserve, and we absolutely deserved at least a point tonight.”

New England tried desperately throughout the match to salvage that point. In the 73rd minute, forward Michael Videira headed a ball towards goal that looked like a sure goal, but the hands of keeper Josh Saunders were in the right place at the right time, as he deflected the ball away just short of the goal line.

However, it was a play in the closing moments of the game that had the Revolution bench feeling a little sour. It occurred in the 86th minute, when DeLaGarza appeared to have fouled Nico Colauca on a tackle in the penalty box, but no call was made.

“As far as the penalty is concerned, I’d like to see it,” Nicol said regarding the play in the box. “If the referee made a good call, I’ll give him a pat on the back, but if not, he’ll get the opposite.”

The Galaxy will look to make it three wins in a row next Saturday as resumes the Superclasico with Chivas USA. New England will return home to face the Kansas City Wizards, also on Sautrday.

Match Facts

New England Revolution (4-5-4) vs. Los Angeles Galaxy (4-3-9)July 04, 2009 — The Home Depot Center

Scoring Summary:
LA — Alecko Eskandarian 2 (Todd Dunivant 1) 8

Lineups:
New England Revolution — Matt Reis, Kevin Alston, Darrius Barnes, Amaechi Igwe, Wells Thompson (Nico Colaluca 84), Sainey Nyassi, Jeff Larentowicz, Pat Phelan, Kenny Mansally, Kheli Dube (Edgaras Jankauskas 61), Michael Videira,

Substitutes Not Used: Stephane Assengue, Gabriel Badilla, Brad Knighton, Bobby Shuttleworth, Chris Tierney

Los Angeles Galaxy — Josh Saunders, A.J. DeLaGarza, Gregg Berhalter, Omar Gonzalez, Todd Dunivant, Jovan Kirovski, Mike Magee (Tony Sanneh 78), Stefani Miglioranzi, Eddie Lewis (Chris Klein 64), Edson Buddle, Alecko Eskandarian (Bryan Jordan 67),

Substitutes Not Used: Leonard Griffin, Kevin Guppy, Dema Kovalenko, Kyle Patterson

Misconduct Summary:
NE — Kenny Mansally (caution; Reckless Tackle) 50
NE — Wells Thompson (caution; Tactical Foul) 61
NE — Pat Phelan (caution; Reckless Tackle) 65
LA — Gregg Berhalter (caution; Tactical Foul) 72
LA — Bryan Jordan (caution; Delaying a Restart) 87
NE — Matt Reis (caution; Unsporting Behavior) 87

referee: Mark Geiger
Referee’s Assistants: Adam Garner; Emiliano Monje
4th official: Alejandro Mariscal
time of game: 1:52
attendance: 20,609
weather: Clear -and- 66 degrees