Opportunity after opportunity sprang up for Vicksburg in Clinton’s goalbox on Tuesday for Vicksburg.

But they were just that: opportunities.

Passes and shots went errant. Too many dribbles let the Arrow defense close in and wrest away another precious possession.

The difference was Clinton took full advantage of its opportunities in a 2-1 victory.

The loss makes next week’s battle against archrival Warren Central all the more vital, as the winner of that match will go to the playoffs.

Vicksburg won the first meeting last month in penalty kicks, 1-0 .

The Gators will also need a win over last-place Greenville-Weston Friday at home.

Tuesday’s game was a much better showing for Vicksburg against Clinton than the first meeting, but still, it wasn’t enough.

“You’ve got coaches who believe in moral victories and some who don’t,” Vicksburg coach Jason Bennett said. “I believe it helped us to play better against them than we did last time. It’s disappointing, but we’ve got to carry something away from it and that was we played hard.”

In the first half, division leading Clinton (7-3-6, 2-0 Division 4-5A) had numerous chances in front of Vicksburg’s goal, but Taylor Brocato made several great saves of hard-hit shots to keep the Gators alive.

The Arrows finally dented the scoreboard with 5:37 remaining, as Jimmy Doonan set up a perfect shot inside the right post past Brocato’s outstretched arms.

Vicksburg (6-8-1, 2-2) kept fighting as time wound down and the Gators had a big opportunity with a direct kick. Tony Davidson lined up his kick and the ball’s trajectory lofted just over Clinton goalie Jake Files and downward enough to clear the crossbar.

With just under 11 minutes elapsed in the second half, Clinton took the lead for good as Michael Orcutt got a good touch on a ball in traffic and knocked in the deflection.

Vicksburg did not notch a shot on-goal in the second half.

(G) Clinton 4, Vicksburg 0

The Missy Gators (4-9, 1-2) played a much better match against division-leading Clinton, but it wasn’t enough as Caitlyn Morrow notched a hat trick and eighth-grader Jessie Orcutt added a goal late. The Arrows did a good job of marking up Vicksburg’s scoring tandem of Raven Lawrence and Tabitha Hayden.

“Second half, we had some problems getting back, transitioning and it’s been this way all year,” Vicksburg coach Kori Babb said. “A team scores on us, we shut down. That’s pretty much what happened. We didn’t give up, but we slowly started shutting down.”

The defeat means the Missy Gators will have to win their last two division matches to clinch a playoff berth. They will face Greenville-Weston at home on Friday and Warren Central next week. The Lady Vikes won the first meeting, 1-0, last month.