North Force can allow themselves a slice of optimism about their tough assignment this weekend in the Northern League first division following their first win last week against highly rated Glenfield Rovers.
The 2-1 win has North Force heading out of the relegation zone and three or four points from theirdouble header over Easter will help their upward mobility in the league.
Northland's top club side travel away to Madills Farm to play Eastern Suburbs on Saturday, before rounding out the weekend with another trip to Auckland on Monday to play Ellerslie.
The only cloud darkening their outlook is the scratching of captain Steve Schimmel, ruled out after he suffered a groin strain during the Glenfield win.
After assessing the injury on Monday, Schimmel was trying to be upbeat about the setback.
"It's pretty nasty right now but I'm hoping that with some physio, I might get back on the field within a couple or three weeks," he said.
He was relieved the injury wasn't as serious as the problem that kept him sidelined for much of last season.
"It's similar to what I did last year but I'll just try and ride it out and get back training as soon as I can," Schimmel said.
Coach Scott Burgess said that losing such an important player would test their depth.
"Losing him is a big blow. We've got two hard away games that are very important to us ... but the win against Glenfield has given the boys the belief that they can get results in this league and we'll just have to get on with it," he said.
The side made a few changes to the line-up to shore up their leaking defence against Glenfield with some success, and more changes may be on the cards.
The side now sit 10th in the 12-strong league, and need something from eighth placed Suburbs and sixth placed Ellerslie to make it a happy Easter.
