Swope Park Rangers head coach Paulo Nagamura
On the game:
“I saw a call, well numerous calls in the first half that changed the outcome of the game. I think there was a lack of consistency, and not only that, but a lack of respect for all the professionals that were on the field. I can’t say for the New York guys, but I can say from our club it was a lack of respect and unfortunately the number of calls that were made today – it was frustrating because we worked the entire week for this game and to have a guy making those kinds of decisions in a game, and affecting the outcome of the game like he did today was very frustrating and disappointing – not just for a professional coach but for all the players that are inside the locker room right now.”
On how the team responded to adversity:
“We knew coming into the game that we were going to be playing the best team in our conference, and it was going to be a difficult game anyhow. It doesn’t help when you go a man down 25 minutes in. When we were at 11-v-11, I think we were having a good game. We conceded a bad goal on a set piece but we came back and scored a great goal with Wilson (Harris) and I think we were right there. We were playing head-to-head with the best team in the conference and we were in the game. When we went a man down, of course, we have to reshuffle the lineup a little bit and be more conservative because we were a man down, and New York took advantage of their chances.”
Swope Park Rangers forward Wilson Harris
On his goal:
“I don’t remember who passed it to me, but I remember turning and going at the defender. They were backing up and they let me drive into the box. I put it on my left, let it go, it went through the crowd and it went in.”
On the team’s efforts playing down a man:
“I thought everyone tried their best but it’s more than tough to go down a man 25 minutes in. I thought everyone stuck to it and that’s all we can really do.”
On his goal scoring form:
“I’m just happy with the way we’re playing. We’re trying things and trying to turn things around right now. Always getting goals is good for me and good for a striker’s confidence. I’ve been trying to just stay with the same mentality every day in training and in the game.”
