Fulton doesn't feel like it is at full strength, but it put forth a strong effort Tuesday to record its first shutout of the season.
The Hornets (7-2, 2-1 NCMC) defeated North Missouri Central Conference rival Kirksville (1-3, 1-3 NCMC) at home after losing two of their previous three games.
Head coach Joel Henley said the team wasn't playing with a full deck, but the players who were asked to do more have stepped up and will have to again Thursday at Hannibal (7-3, 3-0 NCMC) in the first of three consecutive road games. Sophomore Christian Mahoro will still be out but will return Tuesday for the third game at Moberly (6-3, 4-2 NCMC). On top of this key piece, the Hornets also lost junior Aidan Romero near the end of the first half against Kirksville.
"It was really, in a lot of ways, a gutty performance by our guys and got a (shutout), which is something we've been searching for all season," Henley said. "It's good to bounce back after losing on Saturday. Our focus coming into the week was we went 1-2 last week so we really want to go 3-0 this week."
Henley noticed in the first half against Kirksville that Fulton was playing slow, making the Hornets easier to defend. Fulton wasn't generating much offense in the first half while they were neither passing and moving quickly, and the Tigers covered the passing lanes. The only goal that happened in the first half came off a free kick from midfield in the 33rd minute off the foot from senior Dillon Jones, who placed it in just the right spot for junior Dalton Jones to head it in.
In the second half, junior Dominick Tharp, who has a goal in four of his previous five games, was able use some speed to beat the Kirksville keeper before he could dive on the ball in the 49th minute off a pass upfield from junior Josh Narancich. Narancich and the Hornets had more scoring opporunities and were harder to cover in the second half, Henley said. Narancich had a couple balls hit off the crossbar, with one happening on a free kick from midfield, and the Tigers had a harder time tackling the ball like they made a habit of doing in the first half.
"I felt like we played slow. It's one of the things we talked about that we need to play faster," Henley said. "In the second half, we played faster and I think it made a difference. You really have to, in a lot of ways, grit it out and guys have to step up, which we had today. Maybe it wasn't the prettiest game, but at the end, a win's a win."
Another one of these Fulton second-half opportunities came in the 75th minute when junior Bahir Sherzad passed the ball to sophomore Jayden Ayers, who then dribbled the ball to the middle and booted in the third and final goal.
Senior goalkeeper Joey Anderson made 13 saves in the two games Fulton played in the Boonville Shootout against Fatima and Southern Boone, and he played some shutdown goalie in this game as well. Kirksville had its set in front of Fulton's net a few times, passing it methodically to each other, and were able to have a few shots on goal in the second half only for Anderson to turn them away.
With a challenging part of the schedule coming up, Henley said having his full team back will help. In the meantime, having players like Dillon and Dalton Jones play well in several different positions like they did against Kirksville while playing faster like the Hornets did in the second half against the Tigers will make a difference against a tough conference opponent like Hannibal.
"It's a mental practice for us because we have to move some people around and fit people in to some different spots, maybe spots they haven't played this year," Henley said. "If we can come in, focus and concentrate and then just go and play a solid game on Thursday, I think we have a good chance of winning against a good Hannibal team."