"When we went down to 10 that's when I thought we played some good football, knowing that they had to work harder," he said.
"I thought that we played quite well and we scored good goals and we played good football."
Still, he said Rangers posed a "real test" for City.
"Taranaki teams are not easy to play against, they've got some quality players," he said.
"We're going to have to make sure we're sharp. We don't want to lose another game so we are up for three points and we are keen as to go out there and do our absolute best.
"But in the first round I don't over analyse teams because we haven't seen them play."
Francis said there'd been some in-camp joking about the two reds but he knows discipline is an area which needs tidying up.
"I'd really like to finish a match with 11, that'd be awesome. We gave away silly free kicks in our defensive third and our set piece organisation wasn't as good as it should be."
Francis said the loss of defensive rock Adrian Ngaau for the season was proving hard to fill and, with Thomas Sinton sitting out the match for last week's red card, the back four might need a shuffle.
"We just need to get that sorted. We zone out a bit at times or don't get behind the ball quick enough when it's turned over. That's just because the speed of the game is quicker at the next league up."
Meanwhile, Athletic head to Palmerston North to play promoted Hokowhitu FC.
"They're a bit unknown and are obviously developing a little bit with different players and things," coach Jason King said.
"We certainly won't be going in there taking it for granted or underestimating them. We're going in with our head screwed on."
It will begin a busy week for Athletic who have an Anzac Day Chatham Cup match in the middle. Athletic have drawn Rangers at Wembley Park in the preliminary round of the Cup on Wednesday, which only adds to the storied rivalry between the two sides in recent times.
It will be Rangers second trip to Whanganui in five days and a repeat of last year's Chatham Cup classic in which Athletic launched a spirited comeback before going down 4-3 in extra time.
But first they need to bounce back from last weekend's loss to Rangers in New Plymouth.
"A lot of it I think comes down to mentality. Certainly we've worked on taking chances and putting the ball in the back of the net. We created chances (last Saturday) but couldn't put the ball away," he said.
Three games in eight days won't change their approach to play but training will be a bit lighter," King said.
"It's a busy schedule and we're still amateurs at the end of the day."
Athletic have a settled team too, only missing Scott Burney with a leg injury.
"We're hoping we might see him back for the Chatham Cup game."
It's Athletic's last game on the road before three straight at home (including Wednesday's Chatham Cup match) culminating in a showdown against Palmerston North Marist, who have dropped down from Central League.
"That's going to be a big match just to see where we have progressed because they are certainly the team to watch just because of where they came from," King said.
"But it's one match at a time, one half at a time, that's how we get there."
Athletic Reserves are also in Palmerston North taking on Massey University in the Horizons Premiership.
