Swope Park Rangers head coach Marc Dos Santos
On the loss:
“We were better. I think I lost the game today. I took decisions on subs, and that is not the responsibility of the players. It’s my responsibility. I took decisions on some substitutions that were wrong and didn’t help the team.”
On Ever Alvarado and Kevin Ellis joining the Rangers:
“I think Alvarado needs time. Alvarado is a player that needs to get adapted to everything here. Alvarado is a player that needs games. It was good for him to get a game, to get with him and its just good for him to play. Ellis was very good. I think Ellis had a very, very solid game. He’s a player that has a lot of quality. He did very well I thought.”
On controlling the game:
“We should have scored first. We should have been the team scoring first. We hit the post, their goalkeeper made very good saves and then it’s a different game. They get a ball that is lost. Their goals are not built – it’s a team that is direct. It’s a team that is practical. It’s not like they build goals with passing. They get a second ball. They’re an aggressive team. The way they play to get a result is very practical. Unfortunately, again its my responsibility, I took some decisions that were very bad today.”
Swope Park Rangers defender Kevin Ellis
On tonight’s loss:
“We’re good. We’re very good. We had so many chances. I think in possession we were better. Defensively, I think we were better. I think we played well. Hats off to them for staying focused the whole game and for getting a couple of chances and putting the ball in the back of the net. I think we’ll walk away feeling like we should have gotten more from this game.”
On playing with the Rangers after just one day of training:
“It’s not hard at all. It’s a good team. Players have a lot of quality, I think you see that in the game. We play the same style as the first team. You know it’s more than just me plugging into what they do and building off them. Building off Didic at the back. The kid is really good. He’s talking the whole time. His organization is really good with me. I just had to listen to him. I think we had a good partnership tonight.”
On not being able to find the net:
“Full credit to their goalkeeper. He made a couple of phenomenal world-class saves. So hats off to him.”
On using the game to build fitness:
“It’s a big time for me. I was out for almost two months with an injury. To be able to stay home and train and also play 90 minutes with these guys, it’s huge. I appreciate Marc (Dos Santos) and the rest of the coach staff to allow me to play this game.”
