Moar apologizes after ejection in Rising’s loss
Phoenix Rising FC coach Rick Schantz didn’t quite see what set off winger Santi Moar in Saturday’s match at Orange County SC, but he sure felt the aftereffects.
On his first start for Rising FC since signing seven months ago, Moar — already on a yellow card for an earlier foul in the match — shoved a non-active member of Orange County in the 45th minute of Phoenix’s 1-0 defeat in response to him tossing an out-ofbounds ball away from Moar in a time wasting attempt.
This earned him a second yellow, subsequent ejection and made Rising FC play with 10 men for the second half.
Schantz was discussing a different matter with the fourth official when the incident happened, so he didn’t see it for himself. But he understands emotions can get the best of players.
“In the heat of the moment, (if the) ball rolls to me and it’s our free kick and I may try to give it back to my team, I think there may have been a little bit of gamesmanship,” Schantz said in his weekly virtual press conference Tuesday.
“But that’s for (Orange County coach) Braeden (Cloutier) to answer. At the end of the day, Santi shouldn’t have put his hands on him, and he knows that,” Schantz added. “I can’t say what I would do in that situation. I don’t think I would do something like (the Orange County member) ... especially if a player was jogging near me. We all are a little bit different in different moments.”
Schantz said Moar has since apologized to the coaching staff and team, and also posted an apology on Twitter.
“After letting it sink in, I wanna take full responsibility for last night’s mistake which left the team with a man down for 45 mins,” Moar wrote on Twitter Sunday. “Nobody else to blame. No refs. No OC coach. Nobody. Unfortunate and unjustifiable. Apologies to the PHX fans, coaches and teammates. Up from here!!”
It’s the second time the 26-year-old Spaniard has been sent off in a USL Championship match, the other instance coming when he earned a straight red card against El Paso Locomotive FC while playing for New Mexico United in May 2019.
“After letting it sink in, I wanna take full responsibility for last night’s mistake which left the team with a man down for 45 mins,” Moar wrote on Twitter Sunday. “Nobody else to blame. No refs. No OC coach. Nobody. Unfortunate and unjustifiable. Apologies to the PHX fans, coaches and teammates. Up from here!!”
Moar will be suspended
for Phoenix’s
next match at home against El Paso at 7:30 p.m. this Saturday, but will return for its tussle at home against his former club — and Rising FC rivals — New Mexico on Aug. 8.
“Santi’s a true professional,” Schantz said. “I think the red card may have helped us in a sense in that he now feels like he has something to prove to Phoenix Rising and to the fans. But not really to me. He just wants to settle and show everybody that he was worth the investment we made to bring him here.”
Rising FC assistant off to Newcastle United U23s
Phoenix Rising FC assistant coach Peter Ramage has accepted an assistant’s position on the Newcastle United U23s coaching staff, Phoenix confirmed Tuesday.
The England-born Ramage, who has been on Rising FC’s coaching staff since 2018, will continue to coach while also being able to be closer to home. The now-retired defender played with nine teams in three countries over a 13-year career, but spent his last two seasons in Phoenix from 2016-17, scoring twice in 36 appearances.
“Phoenix Rising gave me the ability to find myself as a coach,” Ramage said in a club statement Tuesday. “Working with Rick [Schantz], Blair [Gavin] and Cory [Robertson] has been a great experience to learn and develop my own personal philosophy within the structure of the club philosophy, which we built. The four of us have worked closely over the last two years to create a winning mentality, which doesn’t happen on a game day. It happens as soon as the game is finished ... Sunday through the next Friday, to be sure the guys are ready.”
Ramage spent his youth and from 2004-08 his adult playing careers at the Premier League club, where he played 51 times for the Magpies.
Known affectionately around the club as “Rambo,” outpourings of support from players and fellow coaches alike went Ramage’s way for the quality of work he’s done at the club. His final match coaching at Rising FC will be at home against El Paso Locomotive FC at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
“For him, it’s the club he grew up with,” Schantz said of Ramage’s move. “It’s where he played in the academy when he was young, it’s home. His kids can see his grandpa and he’s got a house just down the road.
He added: “These are signs of a good club, when staff members move on and move on to great opportunities. All the players are really happy for him and excited. It’s a good sign for the club, it’s a good sign for the players and it’s a positive thing, it’s not negative at all.”