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Bulldogs grounded by Farmington
SIKESTON -- Things didn't go as hoped in Gabe Dements' first game as head coach of the Sikeston Bulldogs.
Taking over for longtime coach Doyle Noe, Dement saw his team fall 2-1 to visiting Farmington Monday despite a late rally.
"I thought it took us too long to pick up the intensity," said Dement, who previously served as the Bulldogs' assistant coach. "We waited until our backs were against the wall to fight back."
After a physical, but scoreless first 38 minutes to the contest the Knights caught a break just before halftime to take the lead. JoJo Augustine sent a free kick near midfield high and in front of the net.
Teammate Logan England was able to follow up Augustine's shot with a deflection just feet in front of the net to send the ball into the net untouched by a defender.
"It took the wind out of our sails a little bit," Dement said. "But it was anybody's game at that point and it still was after it. It was just a deflection.
"We were playing defense and playing fine, but our goalie got caught on the wrong foot, leaned the wrong way and the ball just kind of rolled in soft."
Making matters worse for the Bulldogs was a Knight insurance goal just five minutes into the second half. Farmington once again sent in a free kick from near midfield with Sikeston keeper Caleb Hampton going up to make a play on the ball. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, a Farmington player was going up for the ball at the same time and Sikeston was called for interference.
The ensuing penalty kick was drilled into the net by Augustine to give his team a 2-0 lead with 35:32 to play.
"Losing our keeper and going down to 10 men, it took us a few minutes to adjust to that," Dement said of the play on which Hampton drew a red card. "But I thought the last 20 minutes of the game we dictated a lot. We played hard and had lots of chances."
The Bulldogs appeared to be deflated after Augustine's goal, but quickly settled back in on offense.
It was shortly after a free kick from Hunter Taylor with 11:36 left on the clock that the Bulldogs cut their deficit in half. Hunter's shot sailed in front of the net and was initially cleared by Farmington.
With the ball bouncing back to the left side, Taylor put the ball back on net where it found the foot of Sam Cox. Cox buried the shot to close his team within a goal at 2-1.
"We kind of loss our composure after we scored that second goal," Farmington head coach Rusty Sancegraw said. "Sikeston started attacking and we laid back too much, We just kind of relaxed. You can't relax once you get up. You have to keep playing your game and going at them."
Sikeston had several opportunities in the final 10 minutes, but were never able to convert on the game-tying goal. Chase Baron drew a free kick just outside the box with 9:43 remaining only to see it cleared.
Baron was also in on Sikeston's final offensive attempt when he took a deep pass and drove inside the box with under 30 seconds to play. Before Baron could get a shot off, however, the Knights were able to clear and hold on for the win.
"They fought real hard and overall I think they kept their composure," Sancegraw said of his team. "Every time you come down here it's a good, hard-fought game that's physical. It's just the way the game is played and that's what I told them.
"You have to keep your head and just keep playing."
The loss drops Sikeston to 12-7-1 while the Knights move to 12-3.
Earlier in the night it was the Bulldogs' junior varsity staying undefeated with a 3-1 win over the Knights.
Chase Gaines led the way with two goals and an assist with Gabe Wheeler contributing the other goal. The win leaves Sikeston at 8-0-3.
Sikeston will be back in action tonight at Carbonedale, Ill., with junior varsity action starting at 5 p.m. and varsity playing directly after.