Post-Match Interviews: Simon Elliott and Jordan McCrary

Sacramento Republic FC earned a win and three points Saturday night against Austin Bold FC in dramatic fashion. In the 85th minute, second half substitute Sam Werner put in a beautiful cross that Jaime Villarreal was able to put on frame. Bold FC defender Jermaine Taylor tried to clear, but the ball bounced back hitting the keeper Diego Restrepo for an own goal.

Side note, we are still giving the goal to Villarreal, because he flat out earned it.

Simon Elliott

On his general thoughts on the match...

Tough game. We were playing a team that is well-organized and disciplined. They are specific about what they want to do and they do it really well. It took a long time [to break through], but we eventually got there.

Anything standout to you player wise, or something you saw?

We were looking for a response from last week, and I thought the response was good. As far as specific players, I am delighted [to see] Jaime to score. He played really well tonight. It’s good to have him back. He’s been working really hard and it’s good to have him back at full fitness.

It’s nice to see Jordan (McCrary) play well in his debut. If you look around the field, we have guys that have stepped up and that’s what we’re looking for.

On whether there were more long balls coming in wide from this match...

If it’s coming in from Bijev, it’s probably more of a cross. If it’s coming in from the center backs, it should be more diagonal [ball]. I don’t think we are in the habit of just hitting it long, but there is a big difference from a good long pass and hope for a live ball. We want to be doing the former, but we don’t want to be doing that all the time.

Can you speak more to McCrary and what you think he brings to the team?

He’s got good experience. He’s played in MLS, Champions League...he’s a good presence in the locker room, he can play right back, left back...probably a wing back. He had a little bit of a break and we want to just give him [some] time to get his feet under him.

He’s probably disappointed last week because he would have been going back to a place that he knows well, but when called upon, I thought he did really well.

Jordan McCrary

Congratulations on your debut. Can you speak to your performance?

I mean, it was a team performance. I’m always only as good as my team. It was a good team to play against, but we showed up today. We came [away] with the result, no goals against. I think we played well, and we moved it well.

What’s it been like in Sacramento so far?

It’s great. I haven’t been here that long, but I feel like I’ve been accepted. It feels like a good home...good family environment. As you can see, you get a good win and you get everybody out on the field enjoying it.

What [will] you bring to the team moving forward?

I bring vocal communication. I’m able to get up and down the line to defend. I’m an outside back, so I’m trying to do whatever they want me to do. [If] they want me to defend, I’ll lock it down and do what I can.