RUSSELLVILLE — Krishna Gurung bent in a long shot with five minutes left to play to provide the Bryant Hornets with the difference maker, the lone goal of the game as they downed the Russellville Cyclones, 1-0, on Friday night.
It was the Hornets sixth shutout (including two shootout matches) of the season and second in a row as they improved to 6-6-1 overall and 3-2 in the 7A/6A-Central Conference.
“It was a pretty good shot from pretty far out, outside the box,” related Hornets coach Jason Hay. “It was high and he bent it in, dropped it over the keeper’s head in the corner. It was nice.
“We had more shots on goal,” he noted. “We just couldn’t get one to fall.”
Russellville’s best opportunity to score came early in the contest.
“They had a long throw and actually got one in but it was offsides,” Hay said.
“After that, we kind of straightened up a little bit, starting possessing and controlling the ball.
“Russellville played really good,” he acknowledged. “They’re always really good with their set pieces and long throw-ins.”
Hay played a lot of guys and felt like that was a key as well.
“They didn’t have the depth we had,” he said. “Towards the end of the first half, we started wearing them out a little bit. In the second half, about 20 into it, they were gassed and we kept going. That helped us out. Our guys played hard.”
Bryant takes a break from league play on Monday when the rival Benton Panthers visit. Friday will bring a return to league play against a 7A rival, Little Rock Catholic.
