Whanganui Athletic, recently promoted, were very big underdogs going into this match but made their presence known early with a few big tackles and a third minute Ants Bell header that rocked into the goal.
Ants sprinted to the Athletic faithful who were exuberant in the dedicated fan zone. A 19th-minute goal from Tollervey drew the Phoenix Reserves equal and momentarily silenced the nearly 800 spectators at Wembley Park.
Two quick penalties after poor defensive tackles allowed the Phoenix to take a two-goal lead by the 39th minute and Athletic’s successful start was looking like it would be a false hope as the young Nix side grew into the game.
The chanting and singing from the strong crowd slowly died out until a great build-up from halfway put Ants into the box where he was brought down.
The referee points to the spot. Captain Ryan Holden calmly slots it bottom right after a stuttered run-up to reduce the gap to one. Athletic would score not one but two in the dying minutes of the half as Jamie Clark got on the end of a Holden corner to side-foot the ball into the top right-hand corner. Three-all at the half and an electric couple of minutes from the reds showing their culture and never die attitude.
The first half of high press against a strong ball-playing side forced assistant coach Farmer to make a triple substitution early in the second half, where he brought on Melvin Rumere and Zac Farmer to freshen up the Athletic attack.
Somewhat against the run of play, Joshua Tollervey made it four for the day as he restored the lead for Wellington.
Forty minutes remained as the score became 4-3 to the yellow and black side. Surprisingly, the Phoenix sat back a lot during this period and allowed Athletic to attack them while they kept numbers behind the ball.
This allowed Athletic to create opportunities going forward and they looked threatening even against the well-structured defence. Holden received the ball from a throw-in and smashed it top left from 40 metres as the keeper who was caught off his line scrambled back to just tip the ball over the bar for a corner.
A late Holden header from a corner was Athletic’s best chance to equalise before the final whistle as the game finished 4-3. Seconds after the final whistle Tollervey added to his action for the day as he received a red card for dissent towards the referee.
A gritty, hard battled performance saw Athletic fall short for the second week in a row but once against dropping points. Good performances can only get them so far and in such a cut-throat league they will have to start turning those performances into points. Especially as they aim to stay out of relegation and remain in the Central League for years to come.
Whanganui Athletic play their second home game in a row next week as they host North Wellington, a team that has also lost their opening two games.
In the Horizons Premiership, GJ Gardner Whanganui Athletic Reserves beat Palmerston North United Reserves 4-2 and Wanganui City lost 3-0 to Palmerston North Boys’ High School.
