Calls Turn Out to Be Wrong Numbers in Galaxy Loss

As Major League Soccer debuts go, Bryan Taylor’s was nothing to write home about.

Then again, maybe the folks up in farming country--he’s from Hanford in the San Joaquin Valley--would like to know how a 21-year-old with bleached blond hair, a good-sized earring and some obvious talent did in his first pro outing.

First, the bad news. With Taylor in the starting lineup, playing alongside Eduardo Hurtado on the front line, the Galaxy lost, 3-2, to the Kansas City Wizards in front of a small but loud crowd of 8,406 at Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday evening.

Now, the better news. Taylor showed speed on and off the ball and a willingness to work hard for 90 minutes.

Finally, more bad news. Taylor didn’t last 90 minutes. He was tossed out of the game in the 77th minute after running into and over former Scotland national team midfielder Mo Johnston, catching the fiery Scot with an elbow to the head as the two collided.

It was a poor call by referee Tim Weyland, but it was far from his worst mistake.

That also involved Taylor, a former Fresno State striker picked up by the Galaxy in the first round of the MLS supplemental draft.

With Los Angeles trailing, 2-1, Taylor latched onto a pass from Cobi Jones, beat a defender and was about to take a shot on goal from inside the penalty area when he was chopped down from behind by Kansas City’s Ryan Tinsley.

Weyland apparently was the only person in the stadium who did not see the foul. Even Wizard Coach Ron Newman agreed the Galaxy should have been awarded a penalty kick.

“We got a little break there,” he said. “Mind you, we’ve had our share of bad luck against them [the Galaxy, which eliminated Kansas City from the playoffs in last season’s Western Conference finals].”

Los Angeles, which had fallen behind, 2-0, on goals by Digital Takawira in the 34th minute and Preki on a penalty kick in the 41st minute after Danny Pena fouled Mark Chung, was incensed by the referee’s failure to see the foul against Taylor.

Hurtado, who had a mediocre game after arriving in Kansas City at 3:30 a.m. from Ecuador, was yellow-carded for protesting the non-call.

Soon thereafter, Taylor was ejected. Afterward, he talked about both incidents.

“The penalty, I think, was pretty obvious,” he said. “That was the only way he [Tinsley] could stop me. I was getting ready to take the shot and the guy clipped my feet. There was nothing I could do.

“On the red card, the guy was coming in with his knee up. I thought his knee was going to hit me in the chest, so I put my arm up and I went through him. He was in my way. At the most it should have been a yellow card.

“I guess that’s the way it goes. You come to Kansas City and you get homered.”

Strong words for a rookie, but the Los Angeles-Kansas City series is rapidly becoming one of the more lively in MLS.

“This is what we want in this league,” Newman said. “A little bit of rivalry is building up. We didn’t have them last year, much. Players are a bit like elephants, they don’t forget. And sometimes they play like elephants.”

Visibly angry, the Galaxy fought back. Having cut Kansas City’s lead in half on second-half substitute Harut Karapetyan’s 62nd-minute goal, Los Angeles tied the score on a superb header from Pena off a Karapetyan cross from the right wing in the 80th minute.

But the Wizards conjured up the winning goal six minutes before the final whistle, with Chung hammering home the rebound of his own shot to give Kansas City a 2-0 start to the season and the Galaxy an 0-2 beginning.

Galaxy Coach Lothar Osiander, who got the team off to a 12-0 start last year, remains unconcerned.

“I’m too old to worry,” he said. “Two losses are not the end. We’ll win one sooner or later. We get better with every game. By the middle of the season we’ll see how good we are or how bad we are.”