Wickliffe wins ugly match over Columbia

Nick Colbert’s first-half strike was the difference as Wickliffe recorded a 1-0 victory Sept. 30 over visiting Columbia in a nonconference match.

The most positive takeaway for the Blue Devils (92-1) was that win extended their unbeaten run to nine matches since Aug. 31. The downside? They recorded 17 shots on target, generated 11 corners — and had one goal to show for it.

“Our finishing is awful — I mean, that’s the only way to describe it right now,” Wickliffe coach Chris Adkins lamented. “We just cannot get in the right place at the right time with the right shot to finish these goals. We’re getting good runs up the field. We’re possessing the ball well. We’re in the attack most of the game, and we come away with one goal.

“And it’s not the first time this year it’s happened. So it’s frustrating, because I know we’re better than that. We’ve just got to be better at finishing.”

The one finish that gave the Blue Devils the result came in the eighth minute. Colbert latched onto Nick Telisman service to cap a nice piece of combination play and slotted a left-footed strike high and side net for his team-high eighth goal of the fall.

“I beat the outside back, and I saw space, so I just let it rip and it went in,” Colbert said.

“A lot of us have just been playing varsity together for a long time. It’s just starting to click now.”

Columbia coach Corey Taylor was pleased with the workrate from his side in the defensive third to stay within striking distance.

“Our defense, that was probably one of the better defensive performances that our back four has put on, even our defensive mid, and our goalie Charlie (Simon) played an outstanding game for us,” Taylor said.

Coming soon

For more from this match, check back in the coming days on News-Herald.com and in our print edition.