JACKSON — Warren Central had a two-part plan to beat Madison Central on Thursday.

First, play good defense and keep the high-powered Lady Jags in check. Second, take advantage of whatever offensive opportunities presented themselves.

The first half went according to plan. The second didn’t.

Christina King rolled a 30-yard grounder into the net 11 minutes into the second half for the game’s only goal, thwarting a strong defensive effort by Warren Central and giving Madison a 1-0 victory.

“It was a defensive game and my defense played well. When you play a 4-4-2 that’s what you’re going for. The defense kept us in the game,” WC coach Janet McMaster said. “I wasn’t anticipating us to score in abundance. I knew it was going to be a defensive game and that’s how we played.”

Warren Central (4-1-2) took its first loss of the season as it started a tough three-game stretch at the Northwest Rankin Tournament. After facing Madison (5-0) on Thursday, the Lady Vikes will play Clinton today at 4 p.m. and Pearl on Saturday at 2 p.m. All of the games are at Millsaps College in Jackson.

“I think this is a good test. Tomorrow will be a really good test because we’re playing a team in our district,” McMaster said. “I’m really anxious to see how we do.”

The Lady Vikes did pretty well against Madison Central.

The game was scoreless at halftime, and Madison managed the only shot — a liner by Carrie Frazier that hit the crossbar at the 21-minute mark. WC keeper Molly Beth Jourdan easily gathered in the rebound, and neither team threatened again before the half.

Madison turned up the pressure in the second half, though, and finally broke through. King pushed her shot through traffic, beating Jourdan low to the right side to make it 1-0.

“I was trying to hit the far post and I just got it inside enough to get it by her,” King said. “I heard she wasn’t good on the ground, so I wanted to keep it low.”