Tars reward new coach

COSTA MESA — High schools in the past have asked Slavko Kljestan to coach boys’ soccer. He turned each one down for the same reason.

“Money is not good,” said Kljestan, a former pro in the former Yugoslavia. “It pays like $1.50 an hour.”

When Newport Harbor lost its coach after last season’s impressive run to the quarterfinals in the CIF Southern Section Division I playoffs, it turned to Kljestan.

Kljestan doesn’t remember who called, only that they said the job was open and if he wanted it. He applied and the rest was history.

As for compensation, that’s a different story.

“I’ve been here 3 1/2 months and I [haven’t gotten] paid yet,” Kljestan said with a smile. “They told me [today] I should get the first check.”

Wins on the field will suffice until Kljestan gets his hands on the check. He was happy to see his Sailors pull out a victory Wednesday night.

Jay Ordaz scored the game-winning goal in the 69th minute, as Newport Harbor beat Estancia, 3-2, at Jim Scott Stadium. The fashion in which Ordaz scored made up for the lack of money in coaching high school soccer for Kljestan.

The small stipend Kljestan expects to receive isn’t the reason why he’s leading Newport Harbor (3-3). The man who immigrated to the U.S. in 1980 wants to teach the Sailors the correct way to play the game he loves.

Kljestan has one of his two sons helping.

The other son is Sacha Kljestan, a member of the U.S. national team and Chivas USA in Major League Soccer. The Sailors are familiar with Sacha, who’s on one of the regional covers of EA Sports’ popular video game, FIFA 10.

The Sailors finished some scoring opportunities the same way the pros do in the video game.

Set pieces set up the first two goals. Kljestan is counting on 90% of Newport Harbor’s offense to come on these opportunities. He has the midfielders in Rodrigo Ruvalcaba and Dillan Freiberg to deliver precise passes in traffic.

Ruvalcaba was the one assisting Wednesday. David Garcia and Austin Webster finished each cross, scoring on headers and keeping the Sailors in a tight match against Estancia.

Both teams entered the match trying to gain some momentum. The Eagles desperately need a lift.

Under a new head coach in Robert Castellano, Estancia was winless. The Eagles (0-3-1) have been in every match, except the 5-1 loss to Corona del Mar last week.

Estancia’s chance to earn its first victory of the season improved when Wednesday’s match moved from Newport Harbor to Estancia.

Rain from earlier in the week made Newport Harbor’s field unplayable.

The faster surface at Estancia didn’t translate into the kinds of matches it celebrated much of last year as Orange Coast League champion.

Besides getting goals from JJ Rodriguez and Carlos Moreno, goalkeeper Kyle Evans stopped the Eagles’ attack on the turf. Evans’ 6-foot-4 frame made it difficult to get shots past him.

When Kljestan pulled the keeper in favor of the smaller Rudy Reyes with five minutes to play, the Eagles turned up the heat. They appeared on their way tying the match after Reyes came out to challenge a shot.

Reyes found himself out of position, giving Estancia a wide-open net. A shot went toward it until Ruvalcaba headed it out of danger to save the Sailors.

“That’s a sign of a good team,” said Kljestan, who began talking to a friend.

“Are you still doing cabinets?” the friend asked.

“No, I’m doing something complete different,” said Kljestan, who lives in Huntington Beach. “I’m a sports agent now.”

Kljestan has to find a way to pay the bills because being a high school boys’ soccer coach isn’t going to cut it.