The Republic offense continued its recent struggles in a 4-1 loss at home to Neosho Thursday night. The Wildcats scored three times in the second half to pull away for the Central Ozark Conference win.
Republic knocked on the door several times, in both the first and second halves, but couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net, except on a first-half penalty kick by Julio Quezada.
“We didn’t finish our chances,” says coach David Ashby. “We had opportunities to score and we just didn’t finish. We made some mistakes in the back–didn’t clear the ball out properly–and when you play a tough, physical team like Neosho, they’re going to come crashing in.”
Republic falls to 2-5 overall. Ashby says his team still has time to turn around after a rough start, and he believes it will happen.
“This is the hard part about coaching. There’s no magic formula. There’s no drill that I’m going to run tomorrow where everything is going to click for them. It’s grinding it out, hard work, positive attitude, belief in the team,” he says. “I believe we’ll figure this out. We’re not even halfway through the season.”
The Tigers hope to begin that turnaround when they host Springfield Central next Tuesday.