Football: Athletic digs deep for a win

Taranaki's Scott Manson contests the ball with Wanganui Athletic's Steven Burney. Photo/Bevan Conley

Wembley Park was painted red by Devon Homes Wanganui Athletic when they sent Team Taranaki home with their tail between their legs, fighting out a gruelling 2-1 victory on Saturday in the Lotto Federation League.

Every one of Athletic's players knew what was on the line on Saturday when they walked out of the changing bays to face their top of the table rivals Team Taranaki.

A win, they took the league. A loss, their season was over.

On a blustery and grey day, the main ground was a bit soft underfoot, but managed to hold up well for the 90 minutes and didn't seem to slow the pace.

Both teams came out determined to give the big crowd that had gathered around the pitch a good show, and were resolute in the belief they were deserved of winning the league.

With both squads out on the attack, the difference was in their defensive lines.

Athletic's defence has been miserly all season, and their efforts on Saturday were brilliant, especially in keeping Taranaki's new English import, Saul Halpin, from having any impact on the match.

In comparison, Taranaki's defenders appeared to have no answer for the pace of the Red's attackers.

Josh Smith had a torrid time at the top end of the Athletic setup, either simply turning his player, but more often than not being clumsily taken down by a Taranaki tackler.

That didn't prevent Smith from getting himself on the scoresheet during the first half, giving Athletic a 1-0 lead going into the halftime break.

After play resumed, the niggle between the sides was starting to show, with referee Matt Stoneman having to deal out four yellow cards to remind all players to keep their heads levelled.

The battle for the middle of the park was intensely fought, with Athletic gradually gaining the ascendancy and controlling the pace of the match, only to let Taranaki slip back into control.

The control swayed back and forth, but Taranaki were never able to wrest the possession away from Athletic long enough to build a counterattack.

With the match precociously balanced in Athletic's favour, it was again Smith who became the hero for the Reds, beating the tiring Taranaki defenders and putting the ball past the keeper to have Athletic 2-0 clear of the visitors.

"When we went two nil up, we knew they had to get three. No team in the league has achieved that against us this year, so we continued to play in the right areas and kept fighting," said player-coach Troy Smith.

While their belief was strong, Taranaki did give the home side a few moments of worry, as they pegged one back bringing the score to 2-1 going into the closing minutes.

But it was not enough for Taranaki, whose season-long dream of pushing for a Central League berth was stripped away from them within the space of 90 minutes.

That glory now belongs to Wanganui Athletic, who will have a dead-rubber game against North End next weekend at home, while they make plans for their home and away League qualifying matches in a month's time.

Athletic will likely be facing off against Wellington Stop Out, who are leading the Capital Premier league, with the winner of the qualifying series earning themselves a spot in the prized Central League for 2015.