WEIRTON — It’s the shot that goal into that goal that count.

The Weir boys soccer team was outshot by Harrison Central, however, the Red Riders were the only ones to find the back of the net in the match as a goal in the second half lifted Weir to a 1-0 victory Thursday night up at Jimmy Carey Stadium.

“I always tell the boys that all we need is one,” Weir (6-6) head coach Adam Welsh said. “You need one to win. It doesn’t matter if you win 1-0, or if you win by more than that. We scored the one goal, and we came out with the victory.”

The Huskies outshot the Red Riders, 11-7, but the boys from Harrison County were unable to find the back of the net.

“We had chances, but we just could not convert,” Harrison Central (6-5) head coach Derek Gramling said. “We just could net get the ball into the net. That has been our Achilles’ heel. We have not been able to score a lot of goals. We play well defensively and in the midfield, but we just have not able to score enough goals.

“Give credit to Weir. They played a heck of a game. No. 6 (Caiden Lamp) in the midfield is really talented. He’s tough. He is always in the right spot. He gets his head up and makes good passes. He has a really good first touch and that helps with his passing. He played a good game.

“Both teams countered what the other team was doing. They wanted to switch the field. We saw that, and we made changes. They countered and worked the middle of the field. They found a way to beat our trap. Weir is a talented team. They are well coached.”

Micah Hvizdack collected the lone goal to give the boys from Hancock County a 1-0 lead with 21:50 remaining to be played in the match.

“We played them twice last year,” Welsh said. “We were two evenly matched teams last year, and we were evenly matched again today.”

Caden Runkel made six saves in goal for the Red and Black.

Brady McAfee made four saves in goal for the boys in the white jerseys, while Cooper Thompson made one when the senior stopped a shot from going into the net.

“We have played a lot of close games,” Gramling said. “Most of our games this season have been one goal or two goal games. We do a good job, but we just can’t finish in front of the net.”

The victors took nine goal kicks, while the visitors took three. The hosts had a 4-2 advantage in corner kicks.

“We switched formation after the Tusky Valley game,” Gramling said. “After that, we had a five-game winning streak that ended tonight. We have grown as a team. We do a lot of good things. We were tough on defense and in the midfield, but we just can’t finish. Against Catholic Central in the opener, we had more shots, but we scored less goals. They got the one that mattered.”

Runkel and the Weir defense stepped up when they had to to keep Harrison Central off the scoreboard.

“They did nothing we weren’t ready for,” Welsh said about the Huskies. “They played physical, and I was happy to see us step up and be physical. Physical but fair is how I coach. I was happy with our fight tonight.”

Thursday was the cutoff date for team’s to qualify for the annual OVAC Tournament. Harrison Central entered the game in fourth place in the Class 4A standings, Linsly as fifth, while Weir was in sixth place.

The tournament pairings are expected to be released sometime today.

“This is two in a row,” Welsh said. “We are headed in the right direction. We should be in the tournament. We should be playing Monday.”