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Rangers’ Barry Finds Relief in Record, Victory

By NICHOLAS MURRAY - nicholas.murray@uslsoccer.com, 09/20/18, 8:44AM EDT

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After illness leading up to game, Swope Park forward came through in 2-0 victory vs. SAFC

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Given the apparent training-ground chatter that had been floating around the Swope Park Rangers’ camp in recent days, Hadji Barry was certainly happy his moment arrived on Wednesday night to find the net for a seventh consecutive contest, setting a modern-era USL record for consecutive games with a goal.

What was certainly more important to the 25-year-old, however, was that his 51st-minute tally served as the game-winner in a 2-0 victory against San Antonio FC at Children’s Mercy Park that provided a major boost to the club’s postseason chances.

“What record?” Barry joked after the game. “Everybody has been talking about it. I’m glad I got over that. I’m happy. It’s all thanks to my teammates, the staff, my coaches, everybody involved. They push me every day in training to come out here and perform the way I’ve been doing lately, scoring for my team. Most importantly, like I always say, is to get the three points. That was good.”

Barry’s goal saw him surpass the record set a season ago by Dane Kelly, then with Reno 1868 FC, and broke the deadlock in a contest that saw both sides show signs of the stakes involved with both locked in what has taken shape as a race for the final three spots in the Western Conference playoffs. It also served as his 15th goal of the season, setting a Rangers’ single-season record, which for a player who had fought off an illness in recent days was a big payoff for an outstanding first season at the club.

“He’s a brave kid,” said SPR Head Coach Paulo Nagamura. “It’s not about luck that he’s doing well. I’m very happy that he has achieved something like that in his career, but I always like to praise the team. If Tyler doesn’t play him a good ball, he doesn’t score. I’m happy for Hadji and I’m happy for his record.” 

Tyler Blackwood’s goal flicked header with 15 minutes to go, adding to his previous assist on Barry’s tally, sealed the victory as San Antonio finished the night unable to take its chances with only one shot on goal.

“We knew that this was going to be a final just because of where we were in the standings and where they were,” said Nagamura. “We knew that we needed to come out strong right off the bat and have a good game. I think they responded really well. They came out ready to play. They were very solid in the back. Offensively, we were just not sharp enough in the first half. But we got that sorted in the second half and fortunately we scored two good goals.”


Swope Park Rangers players celebrated Tyler Blackwood's second-half goal, which sealed a 2-0 victory against San Antonio FC. | Photo courtesy Nick Tre Smith / Swope Park Rangers

The victory kept Swope Park in sixth place in the Western Conference, but more importantly built a six-point cushion over ninth-place San Antonio in the standings. With San Antonio going to face seventh-place Saint Louis FC, the Rangers could have one eye on the scoreboard on Saturday night while it tries to build on its victory in a visit to Tulsa Roughnecks FC.

With the Roughnecks out of the playoff race, but still capable of pulling a result as it proved last Saturday against San Antonio, the Rangers want to avoid the trap that could be waiting after the high of Wednesday night’s win.

“It’s always a weird one when you’re playing against a team that doesn’t look like they’re going to make the playoffs,” said Blackwood. “You don’t really know what to expect and especially away. Like [Paulo Nagamura] has been saying, every game right now is like a final. I think we’re three for four since he’s been saying that, so we’ve won three finals. We don’t like losing that one, so we’ll try to get another championship on Saturday.”

For San Antonio, Saturday’s visit to Saint Louis is now a must-win as it looks to pull level on points with its Midwest rival ahead of a three-game homestand to close the season.

“At times like this we need to come together,” said SAFC defender Cyprian Hedrick. “This is going to be a big test for us because we’re going to have to unite, and although we dropped two games on the road, we can still bounce back in our last away game of the season. We need to stay together and keep each other going and go to Saint Louis and look to get a win.”

For the two-time defending Western Conference champion, on the other hand, the road is now open for a return to the postseason as it heads to Oklahoma this weekend.

“It’s another important game,” said Nagamura. “It’s a game that we need to go there and try to get some points, as well, because the standings are really tight right now. It’s going to be another difficult one. Tulsa is a tough place to play but we’re looking forward now to going there after getting these three points tonight.”

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