CARSON, CALIFORNIA - Chivas USA has claimed Los Angeles bragging rights for the first time in their three-year history, taking the season series against the Galaxy with a 3-0 victory on Thursday night in the Honda SuperClasico.

Having defeated their city rivals just twice in 11 all-time attempts coming into the game, Ante Razov powered Chivas in front early with his ninth goal of the season, with Francisco Mendoza and Laurent Merlin adding insurance goals late to KO the Galaxy.

With no love lost between the two tenants of the Home Depot Center, things got heated early in the match as Peter Vagenas tackled Jesse Marsch in midfield two minutes in. Taking exception to the challenge, Marsch threw the ball at Vagenas as he was walking away, provoking the former Galaxy captain to get in his face and return the favor with a shove before the two players had to be separated by teammates.

Marsch, who was in the center of a similar scuffle after a harsh tackle on David Beckham in the clubs' last meeting, earned an early booking for the episode.

In the 22nd minute, Razov ran onto a long pass over the top from Lawson Vaughn and had only Galaxy defender Abel Xavier left to beat. Cutting into the right side of the box, Xavier gave the forward plenty of space, trying to guard against a blast from Razov's lethal left foot.

Instead, Razov used his right to put a shot on frame near the byline. Los Angeles keeper Joe Cannon got a piece of it, but the ball caromed off the far post and into the net for the forward's 107th career goal, one behind Jason Kreis for second all-time.

"I knew Cannon would come and it was one of those shots you just aim at the far post," Razov told American Soccer Daily after the game. "He got a little piece of it and it went in."

The Galaxy tried to respond just before the half hour mark, as Chris Klein linked up with Alan Gordon in the box. With the forward just feet away from Chivas keeper Brad Guzan, Shavar Thomas stepped up to the challenge, laying a hard tackle on Gordon at the penalty spot and clearing the ball out of danger.

On the ensuing corner kick, Landon Donovan's in-swinger found an open Xavier at the back post. Trying to atone for his defensive let-down minutes earlier, Xavier opted to attempt a side-volley, but his effort sailed well over the bar and into the Legion 1908 supporters section.

Razov nearly doubled the Goats' lead in the 35th minute, running to his left and shooting across his body from the top of the box, only to see his effort go just wide of the far post and a diving Cannon.

Earning the majority of quality chances in the first half, Chivas went into the locker room at halftime with a 1-0 lead, while the Galaxy were held without a single shot on goal.

Things nearly came undone completely for the Galaxy 10 minutes into the second half. Paulo Nagamura's corner kick was headed straight down in defense by Gordon, allowing Maykel Galindo to get his first good look of the game.

Galindo's point blank shot slammed off the crossbar with the rebound falling back into the mix, keeping the Galaxy on their toes. Razov gathered the ball in and took a crack at goal, with Cannon knocking the ball away Vaughn, who pushed his chip wide of a relatively open net and out of play for Chivas' third shot in less than 15 seconds.

Just after an hour, the Galaxy got their best chance to equalize as Donovan took a run at the Chivas defense and slipped a pass behind the line to Kyle Martino, but the former Rookie of the Year pushed the ball wide of the far post, leaving the Galaxy down a goal.

In the 69th minute, Cannon kept the Galaxy in the game when he denied Sacha Kljestan's header with a diving save to his right, able to get his fingers on the ball to push it wide.

Kljestan would earn another chance in the 78th minute when the Galaxy defense fell asleep in the fog of several smoke bombs thrown by Chivas supporters. Running around the left side of the defense, Kljestan's low attempt was again denied by Cannon, this time with a kick save.

There would be little Cannon could do with Mendoza, however, when the speedy midfielder broke in on goal two minutes from full time. With the Los Angeles defense again caught flat-footed, Mendoza shifted into another gear to get himself alone with Cannon and slotted the ball coolly to the left of the keeper and into the net, giving Chivas a big insurance goal.

Second half substitute Merlin would put an exclamation point on the victory for Chivas in the first minute of stoppage time, kissing the ball off the far post and in for his first-ever MLS goal.

With the loss, the Los Angeles Galaxy's season is all but over. A dozen points adrift of the last playoff spot, the club resumes their hectic schedule on Sunday when the defending MLS champion Houston Dynamo come to town.

After the game, Donovan told reporters, "I thought we played well for the most part, but we're still naive in certain parts of the field. I think Chivas has done that all year. They wait for you to make that mistake and then they make you pay. I thought we played well overall, but we still have a lot to learn."

Those sentiments were echoed by head coach Frank Yallop: "I feel the way the team's played and displayed the last four games you can at least have some encouragement that we have a chance. Yes, we got punished, but at least we showed some fighting spirit."

The win temporarily propels Chivas into first place in the Western Conference, one point ahead of Houston, despite having played two fewer games.

"It means a lot for more than one reason," Guzan, who earned his 11th shutout of the season, told ASD. "Obviously, first place - right now we've got the points and we've got a couple of games in hand too so that's always good. The whole rivalry thing, the last two games 6-0; words can't describe the feelings in the locker room."

Added Razov: "We've been taking a beating from those guys for a couple of years and eventually it was going to turn. We showed that right now we're the better team in Los Angeles. We're happy with that and we're proud of that."

Still unbeaten at home, Chivas must now protect their new-found position on the road, traveling for three of their next five games, including Sunday's tilt against the Colorado Rapids in Commerce City.

Scoring
CHV - Ante Razov 9 (Lawson Vaughn) 23'
CHV - Francisco Mendoza 2 (Sacha Kljestan) 88'
CHV - Laurent Merlin 1 90+1'

Lineups
LA - Joe Cannon; Chris Klein, Ty Harden, Abel Xavier, Mike Randolph, Cobi Jones (Troy Roberts 58'), Landon Donovan, Peter Vagenas, Kyle Martino (Israel Sesay 89'), Carlos Pavon (Gavin Glinton 66'), Alan Gordon

CHV - Brad Guzan; Lawson Vaughn, Claudio Suarez (Jason Hernandez 46'), Shavar Thomas, Jonathan Bornstein, Sacha Kljestan, Jesse Marsch, Paulo Nagamura, Francisco Mendoza, Maykel Galindo (John Cunliffe 80'), Ante Razov (Laurent Merlin 82')