With the result, Rising move up to fourth in Group 2 of the USL Jägermeister Cup
Phoenix Rising picked up a second consecutive result against rivals New Mexico United, this time in USL Jägermeister Cup competition, with a 3-3 draw and subsequent 3-2 win in penalties to take two points from the clash. Following the match, Rising forward Jearl Margaritha, goalkeeper Patrick Rakovsky and Head Coach Pa-Modou Kah spoke with media members about the match, recent success in penalties and the team’s hunger for results moving forward.
Phoenix Rising Head Coach Pa-Modou Kah
General thoughts on the match…
“I think was a great game from two great teams, right? [I’m] very proud of my boys. I think we should have killed it off with a couple of chances that we had. We didn’t need to go to penalty. So it’s a little bit bittersweet… but again, we’re getting better, and you see resilience as well, when you see the character, you know still, but these are the moments…that’s going to define us from being a good team to a very good team and a great team.”
On DJ parting ways from the team for international play…
“I’m very pleased with, you know, we’re very pleased for him, and hopefully he [keeps] this…transaction of going upwards, upwards, because he’s a very important player for us,[and] for the group.”
On Patrick’s penalty performance…
“Don’t Jinx him. Next question… I don’t want to talk about him and Cory, but I’ll give him credit unbelievable. He’s unbelievable. But also I give Corey Robertson, our goalkeeper coach, a lot of credit [too], but we’re not going to jinx him. I’m sorry.”
Phoenix Rising Forward Jearl Margaritha
General emotions coming out of the match…
“It has a good feeling. Of course, I think we really fought, and it showed the way we fought back from the [one down], where we fought back from two, three down. I think it shows us as a group, what we can do and what we’re capable of.”
On his thought process during his assist to Hope…
“I don’t really remember, but I just remember, when I got the ball, I saw one of their guys wanted to attack me… I just faked him. I think he made a tackle… he’s still sitting there, but that’s fine. And then it was just like a chip to hope I saw him…before the guy came to me, and, yeah, I just needed to make sure he was out of the way first so I [could] give a clear ball. And he did what he needed to do.”
Thoughts on parting ways with the team (international break)…
“It’s hard, of course, because you want to be with them all the way. We’ve been together from the start, been through the hard times [when] we were losing. Now we’re winning, and everybody is just in a good vibe. And of course, it’s hard to step away from that, but I think they’re also happy for me, and I’m also happy for myself, because it’s my first time playing Gold Cup, and also the World Cup qualifiers. It’s a big thing for me, and yeah, I’m just looking forward to it, and I know as soon as I leave, the guys are going to do well, and they’re going to keep winning. So I don’t think something’s going to change, except for my for the energy that I bring, because I start screaming in the morning already when I come in. So they’re going to miss that, the loudness of me.”
Phoenix Rising Goalkeeper Patrick Rakovsky
On his overall thoughts on the match…
“I don’t think we started well in the game. I feel like the first 20-25, minutes, we were not good… I feel like we picked up the momentum just before halftime. Lucky, we scored that goal. Great in individual work, great pressure from the team… I feel like we can be lucky that we tied the game.”
On his three penalty kick saves…
“Penalty shootout is not easy, but I feel like today was a great lesson that we that we cannot stop, when we’re up… I’m hoping that we don’t get to the penalty and that we win before that. But yeah, right now we have luck a little bit on our side that they don’t shoot well, and I’m lucky that I go to the right way.”
Thoughts on playing high-ranked teams…
“I think we have the quality to beat everyone in this league. Also, that league is really tight, right? You have someone on the bottom who can beat someone up on the top. That was us, when we launched a few weeks ago… we’ve got to take every game super serious, go 100 percent, then we can beat everybody.”
