Photo/File
The carparks around Wembley Park should be full today as Wanganui's premier men's teams return home.
Devon Homes Wanganui Athletic will be looking to keep pace at the top of the Lotto Federation League as they face Red Socks Manawatu at 2.30pm, while Wanganui City take on the Takaro Titanz in their Western Premiership fixture at 12.30pm.
Tomorrow, the Wanganui Athletic women head to Seatoun with their backs against the wall. The Reds will be looking to bank another three points this weekend and back up a great performance last Sunday against Team Taranaki. To get three points would send them to the top of the table tonight, but it would take a small miracle from the Palmerston North Marist Reserves to defeat Team Taranaki tomorrow should Athletic want to remain there for the week.
A solitary goal from last week's hero, Josh Smith, was the difference between these two teams the last time they met. But that was in the first round of the competition and before Athletic started to find their form. This game should be an easy win for the Reds, but they need to be careful to fend off the jitters in front of goal.
A lot of hard work has been put into owning possession in the midfield, but all that work can go to waste if the forwards cannot bag the chances. But with the likes of Smith sitting on eight goals from six outings, and Anthony Bell not far behind with four goals from five games, the Reds should be able to make this match count and show they are ready to stand atop the table.
Keep an eye on Josh Parker this weekend, one of the Reds' up-and-coming youth players. His work rate on the field has earned him a cap in every fixture this season and he has also featured in Central Football's Federation team.
It will be only a matter of time before Parker starts to feature more in match reports.
With this sort of youth coming through the ranks, Athletic will be well-placed in the future. My pick is for Athletic to keep the three competition points at home with a 3-1 win.
Wanganui City are also on show this weekend as they face the Takaro Titanz on Wembley No1 at 12.30pm.
The mercurial Takaro team, who have three wins, a draw and two losses to their name, also boast the third highest scoring rate in the competition.
Having leaked their first goal of the season last weekend, City coach Kelvin Francis will be asking his team to unite to ensure there's not a repeat of the second half performance from last week.
But with Takaro, nothing can be taken for granted, as it's hard to know which team will turn up.
On any given day, they have the ability to harass the opposition and have shown they have the ability to find the back of the net.
But with leadership coming from captain James Satherly and the settled centreback pairing of Adrian Ngaau and Dylan Howells providing a strong last line of defence, Takaro will find it hard to get beyond City and put a score on the board.
The weight of this match will surely fall upon the attacking nature of leading goal scorers Jamie Lambe and Chris Annabell to set the pace and force Takaro to stay behind the play.
The sprightly Jake Lockett could also feature as City will look to apply the screws to the visitors in the second half.
City should again dominate play in this fixture, and with them playing at home, with home support, will really put on a show for those watching.
I'm picking 4-0 to the home team.
Tomorrow sees the Athletic Women travel to Seatoun in Wellington in their Women's Central League fixture.
This will be no easy task for the vastly inexperienced Athletic team, who are suffering after a poor run of form.
The experienced Tanja Grunworld expressed frustration during the week, posing the question whether Athletic had the right squad to be competing in a top tier competition such as the Central League when the makeup of the team was so youthful and green compared to previous seasons.
Having played at an elite level in Germany in her own younger years, her primary concern was around the development opportunities and how the mentality of the younger and the less experienced players would be suffering from the string of heavy losses.
While a majority of the squad show promise, it's apparent they are struggling with the rigors that come with competing at such a high level.
They have simply not been able to get time on the ball to learn the necessary composure and touch required to play the possession-based style required to put themselves on par with the teams they've been facing.
It's this sort of concern from Grunworld for those around her that shows that the heart of the team still exists, despite the horror start to the season.
And heart is what Athletic will need to get them through the remainder of the competition.
Seatoun will not be an easy side to come up against at such a tough time.
Facing the team who are second on the table and only three points off league leaders Massey, Athletic will need to find a way to shut down play in the middle of the park and try to spoil possession for the home team.
It may just be that by throwing a spanner in the works and preventing Seatoun from having fluidity of play, will be enough for Athletic to keep the fixture respectable.
I'm not going to give a prediction for the women, but send my best wishes for the weekend and look forward to watching them back on Wembley next weekend.