Athletic shock loss to Massey

Scott Burney scored during Athletic's comeback, but it wasn't enough against Massey.

The seemingly open doorway for Devon Homes Wanganui Athletic to go back to second in the Lotto Federation League was slammed shut on Saturday, or as coach Jason King put it, "the bouncer got in the way".

Athletic's shock 3-2 loss to bottom-of-the table Massey Men's 1sts at the puddle covered university grounds leaves Athletic still trailing rivals New Plymouth Rangers for the honour of runnerup in 2017, heading into the final round this Saturday when Rangers host Massey in New Plymouth while Athletic will meet the Gisborne Thistle halfway in Napier.

"Shellshocked" to trail Massey 3-0, who admittedly are better than their League record suggests as they continue building for the Lotto Federation Cup final, Athletic began a signature comeback as they scored goals either side of halftime through key men Ryan Holden and Scott Burney.

"[Massey] had a little bit more toe than the other times we faced them," said Jason King.
However, hopes of continuing the recovery took a nose dive when linchpin goalie Matthew Calvert was infuriated by a contentious referee call on a contact coming into the box.

"It was a shoulder to shoulder challenge with Symon [King] and their striker," said Jason King.

Calvert had already collected a yellow card, which no-one disputed, when he accidently caught the attacking player while going for the ball in the first half, with Massey slotting the penalty to go 2-0 up at that stage.

"When your goal keeper picks up one yellow card, you don't think about it too much - they're a fairly protected species," said Jason King.

However, with Athletic feeling Symon King was only penalised because of the Massey striker's yell, Calvert lost composure and kicked the ball away, resulting in his second yellow card and an automatic red.

Athletic moved Kelvin Hove into the box and he managed to save the penalty attempt, but with only nine men out in the field the visitors were going to be up against it to score an equaliser.

Nonetheless, they missed several chances, including hitting the cross bar, with the students hanging on for the surprise win.

"We just couldn't put it in the goal. Even with the nine, the guys were fired up," said Jason King.

Massey's goalscorers were Matthew Hilson and the Freeman's - Cole and Joseph.

The double blow of the unexpected defeat and the automatic stand down of Calvert leaves Athletic looking shaky for the trip to Napier.

Jason King's GVCA Wanganui Athletic Reserves squad are already operating with a makeshift keeper, so the coach will look to one of the current 1sts to take the gloves, while promoting another defender.

Symon King, who has experience in the position and was Athletic's goalie in last year's Chatham Cup match, is the likely choice.

"Whoever we move in there leaves a hole," Jason King said.

"That's now a 'me problem' for the rest of the week - to find a [overall] squad that can do it."

It was a tough day for the club as the Reserves lost their Horizons Premiership away game to Feilding United 3-1 at Timona Park, with Sergio Serra getting their sole goal.