CARY, N.C. – Carolina RailHawks manager Colin Clarke addressed the media following his side’s 2-0 victory over the LA Galaxy in the U.S. Open Cup Third Round.
Clarke’s thoughts are below…
(On his team’s performance…)
CLARKE: Delighted. It was a good performance, I thought we deserved it. I thought in the first half, we had opportunities to score and didn’t take them once we got into the final third. We felt like needed to continue to play that way in the second half and we took them when they come. They had a couple of half chances, but overall I felt like we deserved it.
(On potentially having LA’s number after beating them two straight years in Open Cup and while manager of Puerto Rico Islanders...)
CLARKE: “It’s good when you get an opportunity against a team from MLS. The boys relished that opportunity and we’ve got some very good players here. We played well tonight and we deserved to win.”
(On the business like attitude of his team…)
CLARKE: “The boys have been focused all week. We were a little disappointed last year that we didn’t go a little further so that’s something that we’re looking to do this year. This tournament is very important to us and also to me because it’s not just the Open Cup, it’s the Lamar Hunt Open Cup. That’s someone who I worked for and our president worked for him as well. He’s someone who gave us a start in this game and without people like him, we wouldn’t be here in the shape we’re in today. It’s a special tournament.”
(On the players that LA brought…)
CLARKE: “They’re all dangerous. That’s why they play at the level that they are, but I was happy to see Zardes on the bench. He came on, he changed it. He’s a presence and a young kid still learning his way, but played great last weekend and was always a threat.”
