Once upon a time, noble readers on the View from Victoria Street and on Bleacher Report, Sean Franklin was a Rookie of the Year for his dazzling play on defense. He wasn't seen as a scorer, but somebody who could dispossess his opponents at will with skillfull tenacity.

Never mind that Franklin was the first Los Angeles Galaxy player to be named MLS Rookie of the Year. Well, this former rookie scored his first league goal like the veteran he is today.

On Wednesday night at the Home Depot Center, a rebound off a David Beckham set piece found the feet of Franklin, who slammed it past Columbus Crew goalkeeper William Hesmer, who was having a solid night between the pipes up until that point.

The result: a 1-0 victory to the good for Bruce Arena's club, who improved to 11-2-9 as part of a fight to fend off challengers like the Seattle Sounders and FC Dallas for top honors in not only the MLS Western Conference, but all of Major League Soccer.

The Galaxy are four points ahead of both those teams mentioned, who have 38 points respectively.

Yes indeed, the Galaxy proved once again that the West is best. The proof is further strengthened by FC Dallas's win over Toronto FC and the Colorado Rapids running it up on the New York Red Bulls.

Franklin has his doubts as to whether or not he actually scored.

“I think it might have deflected and they might call it an own-goal,” Franklin told MLSSoccer.com's Luis Bueno. “I’m going to try and claim it as my first goal.”

Claim it, Sean. Who knows if you're going to be able to score on a good look from goal again.

“He had one in the first half that he could have scored on and he hit this one really well,” midfielder David Beckham said. “We needed it tonight. It was important for us to get the three points. Seattle was starting to creep up.”

Now, I am not only a Featured Columnist for the Galaxy; I have been a dedicated fan since 2002. And I reserve every right to be critical of the club I follow because high expectations make for good press for anyone that follows them.

While this will go as a loss for the Crew, it should be a moral victory, and I'll tell you why: Columbus should have been buried by the Galaxy tonight. It seems that every five minutes of so, within some definite interval, America's Hardest Working Team worked hard enough to give up corners left and right.

To their credit, Robert Warzycha's club did enough to deflect David Beckham's deliveries while revealing to the masses that their defense has more lives than a stray cat which, on average, has nine.

In the end, Columbus could only defend for so long, and Franklin's blast, which sent months and months of scoring futility down the tubes, was a scorcher that no one in a black and yellow jersey could touch. Not even Hesmer. Whether this becomes an MLS Goal of the Week nominee is anyone's guess.

I have to say that this wasn't a complete performance from the Galaxy. Earning a result is good, but in all honesty, it should have been along the lines of 3-0, 4-0, had a few deliveries from Beckham found a white jersey in sight.

Let's also tip our hat to Josh Saunders, who made up for a dismal effort against Seattle in the U.S. Open Cup by making all the stops and also walking the tightrope without falling into the abyss (that's also known as allowing howlers. You can look it up), Goalkeepers who want to be fixtures in this league must have short-term memories. On Wednesday, Saunders cleared his mind and settled in his zone, preventing would-be Chicken Thieves like Eddie Gaven.

Well done, that Puerto Rican international. Keep in mind that this is a side that was forced to throw liabilities like Jovan Kirovski into the starting lineup because Chris Birchall is suspended. Birchall will also be suspended against Vancouver.

Kirovski did the minimum to hold the fort down. I really didn't like his possession, and the best player on the LA Blues could do a better job of holding on to the ball. But that's what Kirovski is there for, in the presumed twilight of his career: hold the fort down until the reinforcements come back after Vancouver.

Another person who held the fort down was Gregg Berhalter. Defensively, he and A.J. DeLaGarza dictated the ball movement and frustrated the like of the Crew attack, who were unfortunate to see Andres Mendoza come down with an injury in the fourth minute.

You know, you never like to see your top scorer go down in disgraceful fashion minutes into a game. This is why I say it's a moral victory for Columbus: Los Angeles should have put the pedal to the medal on the Crew. Instead, wasteful finishing amidst textbook deliveries from Beckham prevented Columbus from being put to the sword early.

Only in the 70th minute did the onetime Rookie of the Year Sean Franklin end the silence and drill what local fans hope will not be the last goal in his career. Of course, he did record one in a match with the Puerto Rico Islanders in CONCACAF Champions League last season, but that is another story that is better off forgotten.

There is, of course, an international friendly with Manchester City on Sunday, and with the serious work out of the way for a few days, some fun and games are in order. Kickoff in the final game of the World Football Challenge for both sides is scheduled for July 24 at 1:00 p.m. PT/4:00 p.m. ET.

Then it's back to business for the Galaxy as they travel to Vancouver, British Columbia and Empire Field, where the expansion Vancouver Whitecaps await. Kickoff in BC is scheduled for Saturday, July 30 at 4:30 p.m. PT/7:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by TSN.


Ins and Outs

City were the underdogs, Birchall recalls

And speaking of Manchester City, Birchall had nothing but praise for a club he followed in the days of his youth in Stafford, England.

“As I was growing up, City were always the underdogs, the second team in Manchester to Man United, but they were usually a good team," Birchall told reporters. "They had a couple of years where they had a double relegation and went down to League 1, but they fought their way back and ever since then they have just gone from strength to strength.

"It’s remarkable to see how they have turned out the last few years, and now they’re fighting for the title and are in the Champions League.”

Birchall noted the new additions the Blues brought it to challenge their Old Trafford neighbors, among other Premier League opponents (and UEFA Champions League opponents, too).

"[Man City] brought in James Milner and David Silva last year, they just signed Gael Clichy from Arsenal and they have a number of England internationals, Gareth Barry, Joe Hart and Micah Richards," Birchall said. "We’re going to have to pay attention to all of their players and I think that in the next couple of years they are going to become one of the best teams in the world.

"Having the chance to play against one of the best teams in the Premier League is a privilege. They’ll be a great team to play against. All the Premier League teams are good and they’re one of the best so it is something that we look forward to and want to play well in.”

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