SOCCER - Nth Force wary of upbeat Papakura

A win tomorrow over Papakura City at Tikipunga Park will push North Force back among the front-runners for the Northern Federations first-division title.
On paper, they should win. They are playing at home against Papakura, who are stuck firmly at the bottom of the table with only a single victory to their name in the first round.
Predicting football results however is a decidedly risky business. What the draw doesn't show is that the first-division strugglers knocked premier-division heavyweights Glenfield Rovers out of the Chatham Cup last week and North Force coach Paul Cross is concerned about his side's mental preparation.
"What's difficult for us is that we're coming off not playing a game (last week) and they're coming off a weekend where they beat Glenfield Rovers in the Chatham Cup ... and that's going to make them a lot tougher to beat given that result," he said.
Even if the visitors were still on a high, the local side would definitely be in the hunt, Cross said, but he would prefer a clinical victory that didn't see the other side invited into the match.
"The important factor is going to be to getting the guys up mentally for this game - if we can get them up mentally in the first 20 minutes, we're pretty confident we'll go on to win," he said.
He said one of the team's weaknesses this season had been their poor starts and he wanted to banish that tomorrow.
If North Force wins their game in hand, they are only two points off second place in the league - meaning the team is still in the hunt for promotion.
"The second round grind is about to start - all the teams know what to expect from their opponents - the team with the best tactics and who want to win most, will have the edge," Cross said.
Cross hoped a good training session on Tuesday night would negate the negative effects of last Saturday's bye and was expecting a good win. The game kicks off at 3.15pm.
It's semifinal time for the Northland Premier knockout trophy. Tikipunga host Kaikohe in the first match at 12pm, which will act as a curtain-raiser to the North Force game.
The second match is at Kerikeri, where the locals host Onerahi at 2pm.