Swope Park Rangers Head Coach Paulo Nagamura
Thoughts on the match…
Pleased with the win of course. Very good first half. I think the guys came out and did exactly what we asked them to do. They were passing well. They were turning the ball over on their half. We were being patient with it, moving the ball well, being patient, finding the right moments to attack and I think the second half was kind of the opposite. Hartford came and pressed and scored a goal early and that gave them momentum in the game. Now they’re pressing and put us on the spot, but we responded well by scoring a goal with Freeman. On our mistake they found a second goal and a third goal and now we had our backs against the wall at the end of the second half. But I’m pleased with the first half. The issue for today was to keep consistency in the second half.
Overall, I’m pleased with the result and the way the guys played. Of course, it was positive with the first team guys that came on and played. Got their game minutes which was really important for them. They came with the right attitude, the right effort, and the right mentality and definitely helped the team out and got three points today.
On Brooks Thompson’s debut…
I think he did fine. Besides the ball that he gave away that led to the third goal, I think he was secure. I think he was confident. He was good playing out of the back. Besides the play that led to the third goal, I think he did fine and he should be pleased. It was a positive first start for him as a professional player and mistakes are going to happen. He has to put his head high and he did good.
On the young players growing into mature players…
That’s the hope, right? All those guys that have qualities and attributes that we believe can be potential MLS players. We just have to keep trimming those attributes and giving them experience on the professional level so they can evolve and improve.
Swope Park Rangers forward Tyler Freeman
Thoughts on the match…
I thought we did well to close out the game and get the result. It was a little bit close but, in the end, we got the three points and that’s what matters. We had a couple of the first teamers come down. We had Kelyn (Rowe), we had Jimmy (Medranda) and we had Eric (Hurtado). When they got minutes, they played and brought our level up and up. That’s what we like to see from those guys. It’s awesome to have that experience out there, and I thought it did the team well.
On his goal…
The ball was bouncing around the box and it just kind of fell to my foot. I flicked it over the first defender and just hit it with my left foot. It was awesome. It was great. My first professional goal, so I’ll cherish that for a long time.
On the team gaining momentum…
Everybody is firing. Everybody is on the same page, I think. I think we’re on the up and up now. We’re just going to try to close out more games get more results and hopefully push for a playoff spot.
Swope Park Rangers midfielder Felipe Hernandez
Thoughts on the match…
It was a good first half, I think. It was good to put three in the back of the goal early, but we just lacked here in the second half throughout the whole year. We luckily got three points.
On the first team players…
It’s different but we know those guys. They come down we go up. It’s always good to have them play and for them to help us get three points.
On his goal…
I just tried to anticipate his touch back. He was facing the goal and luckily, I got in between him and the ball and then I just tried to finish it off when I was in front of the goal.
On the team getting results at home…
It’s hard in this league to get wins but definitely at home that’s when we need to start getting our wins. Hopefully when we get on the road we can start getting some too.
