In a tough battle against long-time CCC power Simsbury on Friday, the Bristol Central boys soccer team scored two second half goals and throttled the Simsbury offense throughout as Central emerged with a 2-1 victory.

The first half was scoreless as both teams had few good chances.

In the second half, the action picked up considerably.

Simsbury scored first midway through the second half off of a free kick. The Simsbury goal came as a result of an error in communication by the Rams defense.

However, the lead did not last for long, as about a minute after the Simsbury goal, Frank Palma scored for the Rams to tie it up. BC was awarded a free kick, and Umar Malick lofted the kick, Carson Rivoira headed it over the oncoming goalie and Palma calmly put the ball in the goal with an assist to Rivoira.

Central took the lead with about 8 minutes left, as Rivoira scored on a shot from about 25 yards out, perfectly lofting the ball over the goalie’s hands just under the crossbar.

The Central defense took over from there, as the Simsbury offense did not really threaten the rest the of the game. The BC defense played very well, and limited Simsbury to very few chances.

Central’s midfielders battled all night. They worked hard to win the ball and then moved the ball forward to create offensive chances.

With the victory, the Rams improved their record to 6-1-2.

Central next plays at Plainville on Tuesday in a 3:45 matchup.