GLASGOW – Luis Llontop saw plenty of areas to improve upon Wednesday night.

There’s one thing the Greenwood boys’ soccer coach won’t quibble about – the final result. The Gators’ 2-1 win over host Glasgow at the Glasgow-Barren County Soccer Complex was welcome indeed for Llontop and his team, which had only one of those in six previous tries this season.

“I’ll take a win any way I can right now,” Llontop said. “We had a lot of shots. I’m sure it’ll be 65 or 70 percent possession our time. It’s just the ball didn’t go in and their keeper had good hands.”

Greenwood (2-4-1) did keep firm control of possession for most of the match, winning the ball in the midfield and keeping varying levels of pressure on the Scotties and their sophomore goalkeeper Seth Medford.

The Gators outshot Glasgow (9-3) 26-2 in the match, but less than a quarter of those shots were on target or dangerous to any degree. Medford did his job in the box for the Scotties as well, tallying 10 saves.

“We tried too hard to go in the middle,” Llontop said. “They packed the middle, and we tried too hard to go through the middle. Once we started spreading the field, I think it opened up for us a little and we had more chances. It’s just one of those things where you’re so eager to score, sometimes you lose your strategy. You don’t play your possession game, your passing game.”

The Gators grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the fourth minute when Ro Tluang dumped a pass to Steven Valero in the penalty box for an open shot on the goal. Valero didn’t miss, punching a shot into the right corner.

“Steven’s getting there,” Llontop said. “He’s got a lot of potential and he’s got an incredible shot. We just have to be in a position to give him clear space to take that shot.”

The Scotties pulled even 15 minutes later with a quick-strike goal by Lucio Yahir Molina Alarcon, who grabbed a loose ball at the top of the penalty box and ripped a shot past Gators keeper Jax Buchanon.

That was the only shot of the half – and 50 percent of Glasgow’s offensive attacks. Two regulars out sick didn’t help, as Glasgow coach Ken Mahung had to mix-and-match his lineup to make up for the absences.

“Our defense did it’s job,” Mahung said. “Our offense didn’t step up, so now we know what we need to work on.”

Greenwood got the eventual game-winning goal in the 35th minute when Ram Ceu slipped a defender with a shifty move in the penalty area then snapped off a shot into the upper right corner that Medford had no chance to prevent.

“Ram’s goal was awesome,” Llontop said. “It’s hard to stop that.”

The Gators kept up the pressure in the second half, but came away with nothing to show for it.

Greenwood’s most dangerous chance came midway through the second half when Ceu received a cross at the top of the penalty area and drew Medford out of the box. Ceu slipped past the Scotties keeper, but his shot at the empty net banged off the right post. The Gators’ Joel Muamba, trailing on the play, gathered the carom for a second-chance opportunity but was denied when Glasgow defender Alex Elizalde stepped into the box and knocked the shot clear.

Mahung was happy with his team’s showing on defense, minus the two goals allowed due to “silly mistakes” that will be easy to correct.

“It gives us a pathway, lets us know that this is what we need to work on going forward,” Mahung said. “But we’re on the right track.”

Valero feels the same about Greenwood’s trajectory going forward.

“It definitely builds up our confidence as a team” Valero said. “It brings us together more, and this win definitely helps us out. There’s a lot of good things coming up for us this season.”

Greenwood returns to action Saturday in Louisville with games against host Fairdale and Anderson County. Glasgow hosts Owensboro Catholic on Saturday.{&end}