Los Angeles Galaxy captain Robbie Keane scored in the closing minutes of extra time to earn his side their fifth MLS Cup and ensure that club legend Landon Donovan enjoyed a final hurrah in his last professional game, as they defeated the New England Revolution 1-0 at the StubHub Center this evening.
Galaxy started the strongest in the opening minutes and they almost went ahead when Robbie Rogers combined well with Donovan, leaving AJ Soares to clear off the line.
Former Tottenham Hotspur man Keane soon came into the action and he forced a good save from Bobby Shuttleworth, as the hosts looked to push towards their record number of titles in the MLS.
After a first half that failed to live up to expectations, Galaxy took the lead in the 52nd minute through local boy Gyasi Zardes, who pulled off a fine finish after peeling away from his marker to bring the ball out of the air.
It appeared that Galaxy would see out the victory as the game neared its closing stages, but Patrick Mullins had other ideas as he chased a seemingly lost cause, before squaring the ball back across goal into the path of Chris Tierney who kept his composure to beat the keeper.
New England almost made a major piece of American sports history in the final few minutes of the game when Teal Bunbury sent in a chipped effort that cannoned back off the crossbar, leaving the teams to go into extra time.
In a cagey first period of extra time it was the Revolution who almost carved out an important goal, with Mullins doing his best to force a standout stop from keeper Jaime Penedo.
However, it was the Galaxy who showed the most nerve going into the final minutes and their quality was evident as captain Keane timed his run perfectly to meet a ball from Marcelo Sarvas and slot past a helpless Shuttleworth.
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