CARSON — It wasn’t pretty soccer by the Galaxy on Tuesday night, but it was effective and enough to move the club into the fourth round of the U.S. Open Cup.

Thanks to a first-half goal from Kevin Cabral, the Galaxy held off Landon Donovan-coached San Diego Loyal SC, 1-0, in the third-round meeting at Dignity Health Sports Park in front of 9,473.

Donovan is in his third year as coach of the USL team.

“This is a competition that we want to be competitive in,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said. “For us this year, it’s about winning trophies and this is an opportunity, so we wanted to take the game serious.

“They have a good team, I like their team, I think they do some good things, so you have to respect the opponent and you have to respect the game especially if you want to do something in this event.”

The next round will be played May 10-11.

The Galaxy, who played to a scoreless draw in an MLS match against the Chicago Fire on Saturday, started and played several regulars with Julian Araujo, Raheem Edwards and Efrain Alvarez in the first 11 and Samuel Grandsir, Chicharito Hernandez, Mark Delgado, Rayan Raveloson coming on as second-half substitutes.

The Galaxy opened the scoring in the 28th minute as Kevin Cabral cleaned up his own miss for the 1-0 lead. Cabral’s initial attempt hit the post, but he was able to get the rebound before San Diego goalkeeper Koke Vegas could and tapped it in for the goal.

The goal was the first in all competitions this season for Cabral, who has seen his playing time diminish recently. After starting the first five games of the season, Cabral has been a second-half sub in the last two games. He was subbed off at halftime of the Galaxy’s 3-1 win in Portland on April 3.

San Diego’s best chance on goal in the first half came as Alejandro Guido let a shot go from approximately 18 yards out, forcing Galaxy goalkeeper Jonathan Klinsmann to stretch out for the low save.

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Klinsmann was forced into action in the 54th minute as he made an easy save of a shot from Evan Conway in the 54th minute. From there, each passing moment when the Galaxy didn’t score kept the Loyal in the game.

“Little disappointed we didn’t score a goal,” Donovan said. “But overall, I’m really proud of our team. They came here and played the way we always play against a very, very good opponent and had a chance to get something from the game.

“I”m proud of our guys. I thought it was a great game and enjoyable to be a part of.”

After a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Open Cup returned this season. It is known as the oldest national soccer competition in the United States, bringing together teams from amateur clubs all the way to Major League Soccer.

The last winner was Atlanta United FC (2019).