CARSON, Calif. — The mental mistakes kept coming for Chivas USA on Sunday night in a 1-1 draw with the visiting Colorado Rapids, adding to the disappointment of a team that has been reduced to a spoiler role following months of futility.
Already without the suspended Carlos Bocanegra, who received a red card in a loss at San Jose last week, the Rojiblancos created more obstacles when Gabriel Farfan and Tristan Bowen became the third and fourth players to get ejected in the last four matches.
The Goats got an early lead and nearly hung onto it, but the disadvantage caught up with them when Martín Rivero netted the equalizer in the 80th minute, about 17 minutes after Bowen was sent off for spitting at Chris Klute.
Bowen, who left the StubHub Center locker room before reporters gained access, was unavailable for comment.
“It was a bit of misfortune,” captain Dan Kennedy told reporters. “The referee said Tristan spit on [Klute] and Tristan said he was yelling and his gum flew out of his mouth and it hit the player. It’s just unbelievable. I’ll have to see it on tape, but of course I take Tristan’s word for it.”
Bowen’s discontent appeared to stem from an uncalled tackle on Erick “Cubo” Torres, who fell after a challenge by Drew Moor just inside the box in the 62nd minute. Moments later, Chivas USA were again down a man after assistant referee Daniel Belleau had an up-and-close look at Bowen’s incident with Klute.
Torres wasn’t pleased with how the three points slipped from their grasp.
“When it was 11-on-11 or even 10-on-10, the team looked much better," the CD Guadalajara loanee told MLSsoccer.com. "We could compete and could have even taken this match. We appreciate the work we put in on that pitch, but we’ve got to see why this is happening. We’ve got to talk as a team because we can’t be undisciplined.
“With regards to the coaching staff, it’d be good to sanction those that are committing these disciplinary mistakes. We can’t be leaving the team down a man or down two, so whatever the coaching staff thinks up with will be welcomed.”
Head coach José Luis “Guero” Real said he would look into the recent misconducts to make sure it doesn’t become a trend. The Rojiblancos have received five straight red cards this season and eight ejections overall.
“That’s the most important problem we need to solve,” Real told reporters. “We’ve got to analyze and talk with the team. It can’t happen when we have an opportunity to win matches.”
