Oita Trinita frustrated by Galaxy

CARSON, Calif. -- When asked to describe what he witnessed on a penalty call against his team, Oita Trinita coach Pericles Chamusca smiled.

The Brazilian-born coach then chuckled a little before answering the question in Portuguese.

"There were a lot of fouls they committed on our forwards that weren't called," Chamusca said about his team's 2-0 loss to the LA Galaxy in a Pan Pacific Championship match Wednesday at The Home Depot Center. "On that play the ref decided to call a penalty but there were plenty others to call on the other end. It's just the interpretation of the referee."

What Chamusca was referring to was the call that set up the Galaxy's second score of the night.

Referee Kevin Scott whistled Trinita defender Roberto De Figueiredo for holding Galaxy defender Omar Gonzalez in the penalty area in the 52nd minute.

Gonzalez was trying to reach a centered pass when replays showed D Figueiredo tugging on Gonzalez' arm.

Chamusca thought it was a play that perhaps shouldn't have been called. It was.

Jovan Kirovski converted the penalty kick a minute later for the final score of the night.

Chamusca said the penalty probably didn't change the face of the game but it took out some life from his team.

It could have made a difference he said because Trinita, the J-League reigning champion, was facing "a team with some quality players and players of high level who seem to give a lot on the field."

That was Chamusca's description of a Galaxy team without David Beckham and Landon Donovan.

But regardless of the line up, Chamusca set some blame on his team.

"We didn't have a good first half. In the second half we improved somewhat," he said. "In the first half we made a fatal error. We were pressured and we gave up the goal."

The goal he referred to was the one Edson Buddle converted in the 44th minute to give the Galaxy a 1-0 halftime lead.

Trinita team captain Daiki Takamatsu was caught off guard by a rolling pass from a teammate deep in his own territory.

Buddle intercepted the pass and dashed up field with the ball, sending a left-footed blast past Trinita goalkeeper Shusaku Nishikawa into the back of the net.

"I was able to make a turnover and beat the outside back," Buddle said of the play.

Chamusca said, although the plays resulting in goals ultimately cost his team the match, he wasn't happy about Trinita's lack of offensive production. He hopes that changes when his team faces Chinese Super League champion Shandong Luneng in Saturday's third place match.

Part of the lack of Trinita's attacking production had to do with the Japanese team preparing for the upcoming league tournament next month and some of it has to do with a Galaxy defense that stood its ground.

"Our opponent played well," Chamusca said. "I was expecting a tough match."

And he expected better things to smile about.