Wanganui Athletic will be out for revenge in the Federation League tomorrow against Hokowhitu, who narrowly beat them in their Federation Cup clash at Wembley Park on Monday.
Wanganui Athletic will be out for revenge in the Federation League tomorrow against Hokowhitu, who narrowly beat them in their Federation Cup clash at Wembley Park on Monday.
For Versatile Wanganui City, the thought process is strategy; for GJ Gardner Homes Wanganui Athletic, there is nothing but revenge.
Both local Lotto Federation League sides have been at polar opposites on the spectrum of emotion coming out of Monday's Federation Cup round, with City fighting their way into thequarterfinals with their away win over Hawera FC, while Athletic slumped to despair after a lacklustre effort at home against Hokowhitu FC.
Athletic had dropped down to Federation Cup from the Chatham Cup draw this season specifically to make a proper run in a knockout competition.
While it would be simple to blame the 2-1 loss on goalkeeper Matt Calvert leaving his position on the match-winning goal, the home side should never have let a fellow League team two rungs below them on the points table even see daylight in that game.
Therefore, coach Jason King is taking a "simple plan" when Athletic rematch with Hokowhitu for their League game down at Skoglund Park tomorrow afternoon.
"For me, I just walk into the changing rooms and say, 'don't be s**t'.
"It's very much revenge."
Upset in the immediate aftermath of the match, where only Ryan Holden found the back of the net in reply to Hokowhitu's goals by Drew Gaskin and Joeb Cadman, King had been talking personnel changes.
Now, having had time to digest the loss, the coach has decided it is better to lift the spirits of his current starters, who are well aware they let themselves down on Monday.
"I may have been guilty of tinkering a little bit too much, to solve our [lack of] goal scoring epidemic.
"We are all amateurs at the end of the day, all playing because we love it.
"Let's do this and not make any drastic changes."
Conditions are expected to be clearing for the match after some early morning showers, although given it is their first official Saturday game of winter, Athletic are preparing for the chill.
"They don't put windmills on the hill for no reason," said King.
The math doesn't change either from Monday either – on paper Athletic have a 1-2-3 record with some decent defence to back it up, giving their differential is only -6 despite scoring just five League goals.
Meanwhile, Hokowhitu have leaked 27 goals in their seven games for a 1-1-5 record, currently ninth on the 11 team table.
While only one spot ahead of Athletic on the table themselves with a 2-1-3 record, City are feeling much more optimistic about their current situation.
After being handed arguably the toughest draw to start the competition with a succession of away games in Manawatu and the Hawke's Bay, on top of the Cup fixture in Hawera, City have finally reached the flip side of the coin with seven home games in their next nine matches.
That begins at 2.45pm tomorrow at Wembley Park against the imposing North End FC (5-0-1).
"Our run starts now – I put a message out yesterday on the club's Facebook page to say, 'we're looking for all the support'," said co-coach Anthony Bell.
"It's a challenge, a challenge and a half for us [with North End].
"We are at full strength this week, so going off our result with Hawera, the boys are pretty confident."
Led by 2018's Golden Boot winner Nathan Cooksley, North End are coming off an impressive 4-3 win over Palmerston North Marist on May 25, while a number of City players watched them when they held off Athletic 2-1 at Wembley on May 13.
Zane Robinson needs no game tapes to study North End, as he played for them last year and is determined to put in a good performance against his old club.
Remembering the two goals Hawera scored for one City reply during injury time on Monday, while surmising that North End are not like the cardio machines of a Havelock North or Napier Marist, Bell has decided the home team need to be still be running strong at the back end of the second half.
In a big call, he has therefore relegated himself to the reserves bench to create an impact player option for City, while keeping faith in the starting team to still have them either there or thereabouts when he comes on.
Anthony Bell has dropped himself to the City reserve bench to be an impact player in the latter part of their game with North End tomorrow.
Aiding this will be the return of defender Adam Gill to rejoin the bench, having decided not to play away games this season and instead turn out for club coach Kelvin Francis in the lower tier sides, while being available for the 1sts when it suits.
Alongside the eager teenagers developed by Francis who sat on the bench for the Cup game and will do the same today, Bell has an plan for the best XI to start the match, and the best XI to finish it off.
"It leaves us a strong bench and we go in there with a different frame of mind."
After having their own Cup fixture in Palmerston North rained off last Saturday, the GJ Gardner Homes Wanganui Athletic Reserves resume the Horizons Premiership at 12.30pm tomorrow against North End at Celaeno Park.
And on Sunday the Women's Federation League resumes, with Team Ritesh Football Whanganui looking to shake off the disappointment of their GR Engineering Federation Cup loss to Massey when they face winless Feilding United at Timona Park, having beaten them 6-1 in mid-April.
