MILWAUKEE -- The friendly between Swansea City and Chivas Guadalajara turned out to be a bit more edgy. Phil Housley Jersey . Giovani Hernandez scored on a penalty kick in the 90th minute, lifting Chivas into a 1-1 tie with Swansea in the first professional soccer game at Miller Park on Wednesday night. A player from each team was ejected. Four players received yellow cards and 23 fouls were called. "Theres no such thing as a friendly, is there?" Swansea head coach Garry Monk said, laughing. "It was good for us." Swansea scored first in the exhibition match when Nathan Dyer controlled a cross from Marvin Emnes in the 57th minute and shot past goalkeeper Luis Ernesto Michel and inside the far post from 15 yards. The Swans lost Neil Taylor and Chivas saw Jesus Sanchez ejected in the 80th minute for a shoving incident. Chivas forward Carlos Fierro was pulled down in the penalty box in the 90th minute. Goalkeeper Gerhard Tremmel anticipated the kick going to his left, but Hernandez blasted the ball behind him. "Its frustrating when you see a goal right at the end of the game," Swansea midfielder Leon Britton said. "Its a friendly match and these things happen and you have to get on with it." It was the third of four friendlies for Chivas, which opens the regular season in the MX Liga on Sunday. "I certainly dont like things to be chippy," Chivas head coach Carlos Bustos said through an interpreter. "The chippiness really just happened because the other team is certainly more physical. They play in a very physical league. Thats the English Premier League." It was Swanseas first preseason game of a North American tour. The Swans begin the regular season in August. "Obviously, Chivas were a little bit further ahead of us in terms of their preseason," Monk said. "Weve only been doing it for a week and a half in terms of our preseason." The Milwaukee Brewers converted their infield and outfield into a pitch approved by Major League Soccer. It stretched between the warning track in left field and the first base line. Neither team had trouble with the footing despite the pitchers mound and a layer of the dirt infield being removed and covered with sod. The field was 109 yards long, but only 66 wide instead of the usual 70 to 80 yards for an exhibition game. In order to compensate for the narrower pitch, Monk said the Swans practiced on a field with the same dimensions. "I thought the pitch was very, very good, considering its not a football pitch," Monk said. "The work they had done on it in such a short space of time, all in all, it played very, very well." Bustos said the shorter width really didnt matter. "It certainly was a more narrow pitch, but it really didnt matter to us in the end," he said. "It didnt lead to any tactical changes or anything." Bill Hajt Jersey . - For years William Gay kept quiet. Rene Robert Jersey . -- Michigan coach John Beilein is willing to give Nik Stauskas a little leeway when it comes to shot selection.SAN FRANCISCO - Following three straight losses at home, the Raptors (6-10) begin a seven-day, three-game trip Tuesday when they visit the Golden State Warriors (10-8), a team they havent defeated on the road in nearly a decade. The Raptors went 1-3 during a season-long homestand last week and their upcoming schedule doesnt do them any favours. Although theyve had some early season success against the superior Western Conference - theyre 2-3 - eight of their next 11 games are against winning teams from the West. "Taking care of business at home was important for us and we didnt get it done," head coach Dwane Casey said after practice Monday. "Were in a semi-funk, I would call it. Its a daunting trip but thats what the NBA is about. Its a marathon, not a sprint." Looking to avoid a season-worst four-game losing streak, the Raptors open that stretch against a Warriors team that has had their number in California. Toronto is winless in its last eight visits to Oracle Arena and hasnt defeated the Warriors there since Feb. 8, 2004. Coming off another barnburner in Sacramento on Sunday, a game they won 115-113, the Warriors and their sharpshooting backcourt hope to take advantage of the struggling Raptors. Toronto allowed the Nuggets to shoot 50 per cent from the field Sunday afternoon, including 65 per cent in the second half, en route to a 112-98 loss. The Warriors, who shot 51 per cent in their win over the Kings - got 64 points from backcourt duo Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson - the two hitting 13 of their 19 attempts from three-point range. Torontos guards DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry went 10-of-29 from the field and 4-of-12 from long distance, scoring 17 points apiece against the Nuggets. Rudy Gay had a team-high 23 points, taking 23 shots, to go along with nine boards in that contest. For the first time this season, Casey made a change to his starting lineup, replacing the struggling Amir Johnson with Tyler Hansbrough, who played 34 minutes, scoring seven points and grabbing five rebounds in his first start with the Raptors while Johnson was held scoreless in 14 minutes off the bench. "Well see," said Casey, asked if he plans to stick with the lineup change moving forward. "Right now, were probably going to but what weve got to do at the same time is make sure the second group has enough with it to make sure we can sustain a lead." Trends and Tidbits The Raptors are 1-7 when DeRozan scores 20 or more points this season. Theyre also 1-7 when Gay scores 20 or more. Theyre winless in four contests when both players score 20-plus in the same game. DeRozan has scored 17 or more in a career-high 10 straight games. Lowry has tied his career high, recording six or more assists in eight straight games. Toronto is 3-12 in its last 15 games against Golden State, allowing an average of 113.1 points in those contests. The Warriors have won 12 of 16 home games against Eastern Conference teams since the start of the 2012-13 season. What to Watch For Defending the three Paced by Curry and Thompson, the WWarriors lead the NBA, shooting 44 per cent from three-point range. Rob Ray Jersey. Most recently, Golden State connected on 15 of 25 attempts from distance Sunday with Curry (five) and Thompson (eight, a career-high) accounting for 13 of those treys. "The key to their team is Klay Thompson," Casey said. "You look at the stats, when he scores big is when they win. Currys going to get his, but we just cant let two guys go off and go crazy." Bench production The Raptors allowed the Nuggets bench to score 72 points on the weekend, the most theyve surrendered in franchise history. After the loss, Casey challenged his second unit to step up and match the intensity his starters began the game with in the first quarter. Over the last two games, Torontos reserves have been outscored by 69 points (101-32). Golden State has also struggled to get consistent production from its shortened bench. With Andre Iguodala out indefinitely nursing a strained left hamstring, Warriors coach Mark Jackson has been forced to play his starters big minutes. Who to Watch For Jonas Valanciunas Valanciunas is coming off a double-double performance (18 points and 11 rebounds) in Sundays matinee, a game in which he was utilized more consistently in the teams offence. "It felt really good, I had a lot of shots," said Valanciunas, who attempted a season-most 16 shots Sunday. "I was trying to help the team to win. Not everything can go the right way every game but I was trying, I was giving 100 per cent, so was the whole team." Still, more than half of his points have come in the first quarter this season, an ongoing concern for a Raptors team looking to diversify its offensive attack. To his credit, Valanciunas spoke about doing the things he can control - rebounding, playing hard on defence - consistently, regardless of whether the touches are coming. Valanciunas will have his hands full with Andrew Bogut, who appears to be fully healthy and has been anchoring a much improved Warriors defence. "First of all, Im going to start with good defence," the Raptors centre said of facing Bogut. "Hes a good player, he can score in the low post, he can pass the ball so Im going to try and defend him, to take away his looks." Stephen Curry Even after enjoying a breakout season last year, Curry continues to elevate his game for Golden State. The Warriors point guard is ninth in scoring (22.3 points per game), third in assists (8.7) and tied for second in threes made (51) behind teammate Thompson, who leads the league in long balls with 62. "We may do something different as far as whether we trap him before he gets in the play," Casey said of defending Curry. "Weve got to mix it up, we cant come down and give him the same look." In six career games against the Raptors, Curry is averaging 27.3 points and 8.5 assists, his best marks against any opponent. Injury Report The Warriors are expected to be without Iguodala for the sixth straight game as he recovers from a strained left hamstring. ' ' '
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