Sockers Have Some Fight Left

SAN DIEGO —  The day after their fight, “The Speedy One” and “The Big Sequoia” spoke out about it.

This match had Socker midfielder Cha Cha Namdar (fast and short at 5-feet 7-inches) going against defender Kevin Crow (long and lanky at 6-1).

In the first quarter of the Sockers’ 5-2 victory over the Kansas City Comets in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series Sunday night, Crow hit Namdar after the two players came off the bench.

“Kevin smashed him,” Socker midfielder Brian Quinn said. “It doesn’t look too good. I don’t think Kevin will be proud of that.”

And he might be poorer for it. Socker Coach Ron Newman said Monday he would talk to Namdar and Crow about the incident and that Crow could end up receiving a “severe fine” for his actions.

“We had killed a power play,” Namdar said Monday morning, explaining what happened. “We were discussing something, disagreeing on something. That’s no reason for him to turn around and hit me. The second punch gave me headaches and dizziness. I’m still dizzy.

“He’s done it before in practice. That’s not the first time. He hit Waadie (Hirmez) pretty bad and Hugo (Perez). It’s been an up-and-down season, but you don’t have to take it out on your teammates. He absolutely showed no class. I have no respect for him anymore. It shows such a weak person. I feel sorry for him. He’s got a life to live. It’s not good for him.

“I’ll still talk to him on the field, but that’s as far as it goes. He’s not worth my time outside of soccer.”

Crow said he didn’t want to discuss the incident.

“I don’t like to talk about other players in the press,” Crow said. “I don’t want to slam teammates in the press. Let him say what he’s going to say.”

When some of Namdar’s statements were relayed to Crow, he commented briefly.

“On the power play, (Pato) Margetic kept getting the ball behind Cha Cha and knocking it to (Jan) Goossens,” Crow said. “That’s what we don’t want to happen. He (Namdar) kept giving me excuses, and they didn’t make sense.”

The Comets did not score on that power-play opportunity, but they have scored on 7 of 13 (53.8%) of their power plays in the series. Their regular-season average was 40.7%, leading the league. The Sockers’ usually effective “No Goal Patrol” has been frustrated.

Crow said that hitting someone is “something he should not do.” As for the other incidents Namdar referred to, Crow said: “I’ve gotten into scraps with those guys, but I’ve been around for five years. They are just as much at fault. Hugo knows why he got it and Waad knows why he got it. And I never hit Hugo.”

Hirmez said Crow hit him during a practice in the playoffs last season.

“We were scrimmaging,” Hirmez said. “I said, ‘If you go back, I’ll stay up front.’ He turned around and elbowed me in the face and cut my lip. I don’t think there was a need for that.”

Perez said Crow kicked him in a practice earlier this season.

“He kicked me because he thought I was joking when I was dribbling,” Perez said. “That’s the way I play. I’m aggressive and not scared of anyone.”

Quinn said the altercation between Crow and Namdar Sunday was something that has been “boiling over for some time.”

“That was the climax,” Crow said. “It’s not just one incident. Kevin directs the power play (short-handed unit). Cha Cha works as hard as he can.”

Arguments are commonplace with the Sockers, even between line shifts during a game. But Newman said Sunday’s fight cannot and will not be tolerated.

“I don’t mind players screaming at one another,” Newman said, “but I cannot tolerate violence on the bench or in practice. What if Cha Cha had suffered a broken jaw? “I can’t have it. He (Crow) has to be able to control himself. Obviously, there could be a severe fine for something like that.”

Socker Notes

Coach Ron Newman said he is leaning toward starting Zoltan Toth in the deciding Game 5 of the Major Indoor Soccer League series Wednesday, even though it is Jim Gorsek’s turn to start. . . . Socker midfielder Hugo Perez suffered a bruised right shoulder when he collided with Comet defender Jorge Espinoza in the third quarter of Sunday’s game. X-rays taken Monday morning were negative. “I’m not feeling well,” Perez said Monday night. “I won’t make any decision until Wednesday.”