- array_pop: documentation ( source)
<?php
$dom = new DomDocument;
$dom->loadXml('<rows><row><left>Left Side</left><right>Right Side</right></row></rows>');
$nodes = $dom->getElementsByTagName('row');
foreach($nodes as $node) {
$childNodes = $node->getElementsByTagName('left');
$childNode = array_pop($childNodes)->nodeValue;
}