Galaxy, Chivas lack a rhythm
Inflatable plastic goats.
That’s what members of the L.A. Riot Squad -- one of the Galaxy’s contingent of hardcore fans -- were waving at the Home Depot Center on Saturday night.
It might have been better had the entire crowd of 23,317 been waving inflatable plastic referees. That would have made more sense.
The Riot Squad’s intended mockery of Chivas USA did nothing to upset one of Major League Soccer’s last three remaining unbeaten teams and Coach Preki’s squad, now 3-0-1, emerged with a deserved 0-0 tie.
The Galaxy, meanwhile, is still seeking its first victory of 2009 and is 0-1-2.
But it was referee Tim Weyland’s performance that drew all the attention. Referees are meant to be invisible. That’s the sign of a well-officiated game. Weyland, in contrast, loomed large.
He appeared unable to control the match without having to reach into his pocket, and by the time he blew the whistle for the last time, he had issued 11 cards and ejected three players.
Weyland’s seeming inability to distinguish between innocuous fouls and seriously unfair or dangerous plays ruined what could have been an interesting evening in Carson. Sometimes a word of warning far outweighs an ostentatiously brandished yellow card.
The game was in no way as ill-tempered or bad-natured as the spate of cards and the 31 fouls called by Weyland would suggest.
The strange display by Weyland included the ejection of Chivas midfielder Paulo Nagamura near the end of the half for a harmless foul on Landon Donovan.
In the second half, Weyland tossed out two Galaxy players, forward Alan Gordon and defender Gregg Berhalter.
The latter call made Berhalter only the seventh player in MLS history to be ejected in his league debut. Oddly enough, Houston Dynamo defender Mike Chabala also was red-carded in his MLS debut earlier Saturday.
Chivas USA found itself in the peculiar position of being short-handed and later having a one-man advantage. Preki found it all rather confusing.
“The game was like a roller coaster,” he said. “One minute you’re a man down, the next minute you’re a man up. You have to adjust on the fly. I thought the guys did a pretty good job.
“We’ll take the point on the road. The only thing is, I’m a little bit disappointed that we didn’t take the three points because I think we pushed forward, we were brave, we wanted to score, we were going for a win.”
Chivas outshot the Galaxy, 12-8, but the teams were even in shots on target at five apiece. Goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts made an impressive debut for the Galaxy with a couple of good saves.
Galaxy Coach Bruce Arena was perturbed by the officiating, which made for a disjointed match.
“I think it was a fair result for both teams,” he said. “There’s not much more to say than that. Our team gave a good effort. They’re getting better. The new players contributed well tonight. It’s encouraging.
Questioned about the calls, Arena admitted they had influenced things.
“Obviously, they impacted the game,” he said. “I think it was difficult for the players out there. It was very awkward. There were some bad tackles that went by [uncalled]. A lot of cards were merited.
“It was too much of an act of, ‘I gave one to them, I’m going to give one back to even things.’ ”
--
