Following Phoenix Rising’s 1-0 defeat to FC Tulsa on March 8, Head Coach Pa-Modou Kah, goalkeeper Patrick Rakovsky and forward Damian Rivera spoke about the match, Kah’s first night in charge and bouncing back ahead of the team’s upcoming trip to El Paso, Texas.
HEAD COACH PA-MODOU KAH
General thoughts on the match…
“We started a little bit slow in the first half, but we picked it up in the second half. Obviously, it’s the first game of the season. In the second half I was more pleased than I was with the first half. It’s something to build on because one thing I know about this game is that it’s never a sprint, it’s a marathon.”
On the team’s slow start…
“It’s normal. You know it’s the first game, real game, real test and it was a game of feeling. We were feeling them they were feeling us. Obviously, goals change games. That was the little momentum (FC Tulsa) needed. I believe they came to slow the game down, not get into a fast-paced game with us. It’s a long season and I’m looking forward to go to El Paso next week.”
Thoughts on the team’s effort…
“I was very pleased with the team’s performance. Obviously, you give away a goal, but for me it’s the performance that matters to me the most. We’re not in control of the results, but we are in control of the performance. I think the boys gave their effort and I will never fault them for that. They were brilliant.”
On his message to the team at halftime…
“Keep believing, we never lost belief. We’re not going to change just because we are one (goal) down. It’s a long season and in football if we start changing because we’re chasing the goal, that’s not who we are. We are going to continue to play our brand of football, our identity, and we’re going to get wins.”
On his first match as head coah…
“It was unbelievable. Our fans were unbelievable, the atmosphere was fantastic, and I think the boys felt it. I definitely felt it. Credit to the fans, it’s not the result that we wanted but one thing I know that this group is, that they will respond because it’s a bunch of group with great characters and I know their response will be great so I am looking forward to see their response next week.”
GOALKEEPER PATRICK RAKOVSKY
General thoughts on the match..
“It was pretty disappointing. I think the first half in general we were a little bit slow. In the second half we created more chances. At the end of the day, we didn’t create enough. You got to be honest about that as well. So again, I feel like the first half was no good. The second half got better. We’re going to build up from that.”
On getting the start..
“For me, it’s obviously something special. I’m in this club now for two years, so this was obviously really special, especially with the family around a lot of people watching. We’re just really, really happy that I was able to do this now.”
FORWARD DAMIAN RIVERA
General thoughts on the match…
“I think it wasn’t a bad performance from us. Obviously, it’s not the result we wanted, but I think we just have to go look back at film and go from there.”
On bouncing back from the loss…
“We’re going to be looking back at film, seeing what we did wrong and correcting those things. You know we have a game next week and we can turn it around quick. Soccer is soccer. One mistake can lose a game but it’s on all of us and we go next week, and we go again.”
On his contributions to the attack…
“My coach told me, stay wide, go 1v1 and be dangerous. I tried my best and we’re unlucky to not score any chances. At moments I thought I was dangerous and like I said I think we were unlucky to not finish off any chances and we just have to go from there.”
