Slowly but surely, David Beckham is starting to get back into the good graces of Los Angeles Galaxy fans.

Beckham finally put his imprint on the Superclasico rivalry, as his strike from about 25 yards out in the 80th minute was all the Galaxy needed as it outlasted Chivas USA 1-0 at the Home Depot Center on Saturday night.

“That was a hard-earned three points,” Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena said. “Our concentration and discipline over 90 minutes was real good.”

Aside from winning the Honda Superclasico for the fourth time in the five-year history of the in-stadium rivalry, the win enables the Galaxy to stay in second place in the Western Conference with 38 points, two points behind the Houston Dynamo pending the outcome of the Dynamo’s match with the Colorado Rapids. Chivas USA meanwhile is now tied with Real Salt Lake for fourth in the conference and is also jammed into a three-way tie with the New England Revolution for sixth place in the MLS playoff picture.

“I thought we deserved at least a point off the match,” Chivas USA defender Paulo Nagamura said. “We played pretty well for the most part (and) we’re disappointed we lost.”

After allowing Chivas to control the offense in the first half, the Galaxy turned the tables in the second half, holding Chivas to only one shot while attempting seven themselves. No shot was more important for the Galaxy than the sixth attempt, which came in the 80th minute. It started when defender Todd Dunivant threw an inbounds pass into the penalty area. The ball went off another defender, Omar Gonzalez, veered off to the right and Beckham one-timed a shot that sailed past Chivas keeper Lance Parker, hit the left post and cleared the goal line.

“Being a wet night and a wet pitch, I had to hit it down because it was bouncing awkwardly,” Beckham said. “Sometimes, it can end up in the back row, but fortunately, it ended up in the back of the net.”

Chivas was the clear aggressor in the first half, out-shooting the Galaxy 8-3. Chivas’ first real look came on a fast break when midfielder Sacha Kljestan fed a ball to forward Mykael Galindo, who shot immediately for the left post, but was denied by Ricketts. Galindo had another chance just before halftime, as he tracked down a long ball despite the Galaxy’s attempt at the offside trap. Galindo raced for goal and again fired for the left post, but instead hit the wrong side of the net.

“Chivas played well,” Arena said. “They came at us hard (and) they were extremely aggressive in the first half.”

Both teams will have next week off before returning to the Home Depot Center the following week. The Galaxy will host FC Dallas on September 12 and Chivas USA will host the Revolution the following day.

Match Facts

Chivas USA (10-9-3) vs. Los Angeles Galaxy (9-4-11)
Aug. 29, 2009 — The Home Depot Center

Scoring Summary:
LA — David Beckham 1 (Omar Gonzalez 1, Todd Dunivant 2) 80

Lineups:
Chivas USA — Lance Parker, Marcelo Saragosa, Yamith Cuesta, Carey Talley (Eduardo Lillingston 81), Jonathan Bornstein, Jesus Padilla (Chukwudi Chijindu 88), Jesse Marsch (Bojan Stepanovic 84), Paulo Nagamura, Sacha Kljestan, Maicon Santos, Maykel Galindo,

Substitutes Not Used: Kevin Guppy, Ante Jazic, Michael Lahoud, Shavar Thomas

Los Angeles Galaxy — Donovan Ricketts, A.J. DeLaGarza, Gregg Berhalter, Omar Gonzalez, Todd Dunivant, Landon Donovan, David Beckham, Stefani Miglioranzi, Eddie Lewis (Chris Klein 68), Jovan Kirovski (Alan Gordon 75), Mike Magee (Chris Birchall 86),

Substitutes Not Used: Leonard Griffin, Bryan Jordan, Tony Sanneh, Josh Saunders

Misconduct Summary:
CHV — Marcelo Saragosa (caution; Tactical Foul) 26
CHV — Maykel Galindo (ejection; Violent Conduct) 82
LA — Chris Klein (caution; Delaying a Restart) 90
CHV — Paulo Nagamura (caution; Reckless Tackle) 92+

Referee: Baldomero Toledo
Referee’s Assistants: Chris Strickland; Corey Rockwell
4th official: Jasen Anno
time of game: 1:52
attendance: 27,000
weather: Clear -and- 76 degrees