Football: Wanganui Athletic to back-to-back in Charity Cup classic

The 105 year history of the Charity Cup will mark down 2018 as one of the classics.

GJ Gardner Wanganui Athletic have retained Whanganui's biggest footballing prize with a thrilling 2-2 (4-3) win on penalties.

Athletic twice took the lead in Saturday's final, only for Versatile Wanganui City to snatch a 89th minute equaliser to send the game into extra time in front of Wembley Park's biggest crowd of the year.

The two clubs trudged through a fruitless extra 30 minutes before Athletic edged the penalty shootout, only 20 minutes before the sun set on the first day of spring.

"What a fantastic show for those who turned up and wanted to see some football," said Athletic coach Jason King.

"It was really about football out there which was pleasing to watch."

When Athletic took the Cup back to their clubrooms last year with a 2-0 win over the same side, City were playing in the lower tier Horizons Premiership.

But now the two are Federation League rivals and the match was much anticipated, with City the big improvers of the League and Athletic falling away at the end to finish just four points ahead of them.

Still, Athletic had City's measure in both League games this year and the Cup victory gives them a hat-trick of derby wins for the season.

Despite almost a month off competitive games for both clubs, the football was bright as Athletic looked to build play towards their attacking outlets in Ryan Holden and Josh Smith.

Meanwhile, City tended to pin their hopes on counterattack through the Anthony Bell out wide and Kyle Graham-Luke in the middle.

Athletic had the better first half hour, leading the possession, shots, and set pieces, along with the yellow card count give FIFA World Cup referee Matthew Conger booked no less than three red shirts.

The pressure kept building on City - James Satherly's header hitting the left hand post before City keeper Merrick Slade pounced on it - until they finally cracked.

Wanganui Athletic's Josh Smith beats Wanganui City keeper Merrick Slade to open the scoring in Saturday's Charity Cup. Photo / Bevan Conley

Slade came off second best a minute later when left one-on-one with Smith, who took the ball up a quarter of the field on his own to slot the 40th minute opener.

But there was no halftime advantage for Athletic.

Bell launched a blistering counter to beat several defenders on the left hand side of the field before turning in on-goal, where he was clipped.

Conger judged the foul to be inside the box and Graham-Luke buried the penalty three minutes before the break.

Both side had golden chances to take an early second half lead.

The Charity Cup drew the largest Wembley Park crowd of the season. Photo/ Bevan Conley

Quinn Mailman's shot was parried by Slade into the path of Holden, who couldn't scramble a clean shot away, and then only the fingertips of Athletic keeper Matthew Calvert prevented Jake Lockett from giving City the lead.

City had their best period in the middle of a second spell, which like the first, didn't have any scoreboard action until the death.

Holden rose to meet a free kick and header his side back into the lead with six minutes to go, but City again fought back as Bell provided the assist for Eli Fleming to nail a header of his own to send the game into extra time.

There were fewer chances for both sides in the extra period as a lack of match fitness took its toll, sending the game to penalties as the light faded.

Both sides had one early miss and then traded successful shots, until Max Davidson sent City's fifth attempt sailing over the bar.

While delighted Athletic players sprinted into a huddle, City were just as quick to console Davidson before the two sides joined each other in a circle.

Wanganui Athletic clinched the Charity Cup with a 2-2 (4-3) win on penalties. Photo/ Bevan Conley

King didn't see any of the shootout, preferring to turn his back and work on his fingernails as those on the sideline relayed what was happening.

The Athletic coach was rapt with the win and said it went some way to making up for a lower league finish than his side expects of themselves.

"It's an important game for us locally," he said.

"The Charity Cup is older the Chatham Cup [the national knockout cup]. It's become a focal point and it doesn't matter what happened during the season, they guys want to win it.

"It's not just about the teams. It's about the people that come an watch as well."

Even taking the lead with just minutes to go, King knew it wasn't over.

"There were tired bodies out there and all it was going to take was a mistake."

King said they hadn't practised penalties and he decided the order on the field, with keeper Calvert stepping up to take the first.

"That's confidence," King said.

"Penalties are 80 per cent confidence. All you're doing is putting it in the back of the net and you don't second guess yourself."

Wanganui Athletic's Peter Czerwonka stops the run of Wanganui City's Anthony Bell in Saturday's Charity Cup final. Photo/ Bevan Conley

Meanwhile, City coach Kelvin Francis was happy with what was an improvement on the League games against Athletic.

"Good bunch of guys who showed a lot of heart today and that's what it's all about," he said.

"Against a team who really should've rolled us, to be fair. We've shown definitely that we've come a long way.

"I said to them in the changing room 'you go out there and give me everything you've got and I won't be disappointed', and they did that today."

Francis said the defensive pairing of Thomas Sinton and Fleming was a standout, alongside Bell's performance.

"Probably the best I've seen [Bell] play, definitely. A real good team effort today.

"Everybody did their job. It was fantastic game."