Wanganui City away but still plenty of men’s and women’s soccer action at home this weekend
With beautiful weather promised for today, conditions should be perfect for some entertaining football as Wanganui City travel to Skoglund Park to face the gritty Takaro Titanz in the Western Premiership.
Meanwhile, the Wanganui Athletic Women host Seatoun at Wembley Park tomorrow.
Things are also heating up in local leagues, with the new Men's Division 1 and 2 competitions kicking off, while the battle for the lead in the women's league rages on.
Wanganui City are sitting pretty at the moment, nine points clear at the top of the Western Premiership, and are not showing any signs of letting up.
This weekend they face off against the Takaro Titanz, who seem to be a Pandora's Box on the park, and are unpredictable in what type of performance they will bring today.
Skoglund Park has been a happy hunting ground for City in their previous visits, with 13 goals being registered in their last three trips.
Their attacking impetus has mainly come through the efforts of Jamie Lambe and Chris Annabell, who have scored 16 and 11 goals respectively in the 12 season matches to date.
The last time City faced Takaro, they treated the crowd at Wembley Park to nine goals in response to Takaro's solitary score.
With that sort of history behind them, coach Kelvin Francis will be expecting more of the same, and I'm picking this one to be a repeat of the last outing, but without a goal being conceded by City this time out.
It could even reach double figures.
The Wanganui Athletic Women continued their torrid time in the Central League after being on the receiving end of a 10-0 thumping at the hands of the Valeron Wanderers last weekend at Wembley.
They will be hoping that this weekend they can stop the rot, when they host second-place Seatoun tomorrow, in what will be a mammoth task for the ladies in red in their final match in the league.
Donna and Neihana Kahl will be imploring the team to show the unity they know exists within the squad, and return to simple possession-based football, and to make the most of the opportunities that arise.
It is likely that those opportunities will be few and far between, with Seatoun already having the record of beating Athletic 6-0 on their last outing.
This weekend sees the Men's Division 1 and 2 competitions commence, after the Total Automotive Wanganui City Hammers took out the seeding round undefeated with only a single draw blemishing their winning record.
Division 2 matches kick off at 12.30pm and see Castlecliff United go up against the Wanganui City Renovators, who finally have competition points to play for, while Wanganui High School International face off against the Athletic Weekenders.
The Marist Casuals play the Wanganui City Thirsties, in what is always an entertaining game of football to watch, while the Wanganui Collegiate boys have the weekend off with the bye.
At 2.30pm, the Division 1 match-ups see the Castlecliff Braves get another tilt at the Wanganui City Hammers, while the Wanganui Athletic Reserves, whose ranks should be bolstered with their first team having a weekend off football, host the St John Castlecliff 1sts.
Marist Celtic play the Athletic Cosmos, which should be a test for both teams, who like to play attacking football in their own styles.
The Marist Bhoys face off against Castlecliff St Anthony's, with both teams looking to get bragging rights as well as early points, as the honours were shared in the teams' last two meetings.
In the local women's league, the Wanganui City Women will be hoping to get back to speed in their title chase when they face the Castlecliff Saints, Wanganui Collegiate play the Clive Barritt Builders Marist Women, and it will be a school bragging rights match between Wanganui Girls' College and Wanganui High School that should bring plenty of entertainment to the casual watcher.
Plenty of football on offer today and, with the weather promising to be pretty special, it's a great opportunity to get over to Wembley Park and watch your local sides playing for the love of the game.