Chivas lament loss of points, Marsch

CARSON, Calif. -- The way Chivas USA coach Preki saw it, the Los Angeles Galaxy got away with more than one point on Thursday.

With Chivas USA ahead 2-1 with a quarter hour remaining, Galaxy rookie defender Sean Franklin elbowed Jesse Marsch in the face. The blow knocked Marsch out of the game. As Chivas USA had already made three substitutions, the club was left with 10 men for the duration.

In stoppage time, Alan Gordon knocked a header into the back of the net as the Galaxy and Chivas USA tied 2-2 before a sellout crowd at The Home Depot Center.

The point earned moved Chivas USA to within four points of first-place Real Salt Lake and kept the Red-and-White in fifth place in the Western Conference table.

Chivas USA coach Preki said his team played like "10 hurt lions" but lamented that referee Alex Prus made no call on Franklin's elbow.

"If the referee is standing three yards away and he's looking at the whole play, it's hard to me that you miss somebody elbow somebody and fractures his jaw and you don't see that," Preki said. "That for me is really tough to swallow."

Preki said initial reports from team doctors were that Marsch had fractured his jaw. Marsch, an MLS Original, was taken to a local hospital for further evaluation immediately after the match.

Chivas USA's substitutions had been used up. Roberto Nurse replaced Justin Braun in the 17th minute after Braun sprained his ankle. Maykel Galindo and Jim Curtin replaced Keith Savage and Shavar Thomas in tactical moves by Preki in the 64th and 78th minute respectively.

With a man down for nearly a quarter hour, Chivas USA did as well as they could to hold on to their lead.

"At that time of the game when they're pushing people forward, it definitely makes it tougher," defender Bobby Burling said. "He's our leader in the midfield and our team captain when Claudio (Suarez) is not there. The way he went down kind of made us play a little harder. We almost held on there to the last minute but the injury-time goal kind of killed us in the end."

With the physical play, pulsating moments and electric atmosphere, the game lived up to the billing. However, it sort of always does.

"Just like another one," said Paulo Nagamura, who scored Chivas USA's second goal. "They are always hard games and I like it. I enjoy playing these games. My style fits these kinds of games and I like playing these kinds of games, especially against the Galaxy."

Nagamura also had an assist to go along with his goal. He set up Atiba Harris in the 50th minute with a deft cross from the right flank. But the goal was made possible largely because of Nurse, who let the ball slide by him and into Harris' path.

"I saw (Nurse) was doing the run in the first and I saw that Atiba was on the second post and he was in front if his guy," Nagamura said. "If he meant to do that, that was a great dummy."

The Galaxy got the better of play soon after but Nagamura countered after he took a feed from Harris and tucked a ball into the back of the net.

"After (Harris' goal), I thought we kind of relaxed a little bit for about 10 minutes and Galaxy got a little more of the play than us and against the run of play we scored the second goal," Preki said.

In the end, though, Chivas USA could do little but to try and weather the storm without their leader.

"It was a lot like that the second game the last time we played them," Burling said, referring to a 1-1 draw on July 10. "We tried not to open it up as much but when they're throwing six or seven guys forward at a time, it makes it tough defensively and tough to counter on them without Jesse in there. To escape with a point is a little bit disappointing but I guess we'll take it."