City coach Kelvin Francis, left, will be looking for another marquee game from Anthony Bell in their top of the table clash with Hokowhitu in Palmerston North today.
City coach Kelvin Francis, left, will be looking for another marquee game from Anthony Bell in their top of the table clash with Hokowhitu in Palmerston North today.
Judgement day has arrived in the travelling Central League competitions as Whanganui's clubs face top of the table clashes which should define their seasons.
For Big Orange Wanganui City 1sts coach Kelvin Francis, preparing his charges for the long anticipated Horizons Premiership rematch with Hokowhitu Rangers FC at Memorial Park,this week has seen both sides of his psychological spiel.
Today he will be motivator as they get on the bus for the trip to Palmerston North, but on Thursday he was the taskmaster.
"I've got a few little things tucked away in the back pocket to say," Francis assured yesterday while deeply ensconced watching video of City's 1-0 win over Hokowhitu at Wembley Park on May 20, just to see if there's any final nugget of information he can gleam.
"That will come out tomorrow. [Thursday] we had a chat about being respectable with your team mates - stay at home, good night's rest.
"You can do whatever you want on Saturday night, but it's come to a point where it's all business."
If any player was spotted at the Wanganui Greyhounds last night, or rolled up this morning looking bleary-eyed, not only would they be sitting out the match beside Francis on the bench, but the team may even find themselves without their coach going forward.
Leaving no stone unturned, Francis ran his squad against members of the City Hammers team at training and it proved a very good hit out.
"The movement was good, the chatter was good, it all bodes well.
"Knowing we're in an epic battle, we're going there for the win - three points and we go five points clear."
While a draw could still work in City's favour due to their current two point buffer, while even a loss could just about be survivable with four games remaining, Francis does not want to spend the rest of the winter watching his team play with one eye while keeping the other on his cellphone for news of what is happening in games elsewhere.
"They've got a tougher run home than we have, but we need to put the destiny out of it.
"We're aware Hokowhitu have been scoring a lot of goals, and we haven't."
After the rain-out a fortnight ago, Hokowhitu (10-1-2) came back with a 4-0 away win over Massey Celtic last weekend, while City (11-2) accounted for Marist Development 5-1 at Wembley.
Francis will have a full squad with a five player bench today, being able to remove himself from the roster.
Top goalscorer Anthony Bell (11) gingerly nursed a sore groin through Tuesday's session, but will not let his coach down, while after his four week suspension extended out to six weeks due to the rain-outs, Kyle Graham-Luke (seven goals) is "busting out of his skin".
"He's served the time they gave him and extra. He's looking forward to getting back out there," said Francis.
Meanwhile, Devon Homes Wanganui Athletic coach Jason King knows he has the right chess pieces, it's just a matter of when he plays them as his third-placed Lotto Federation League team will try to haul back AFC Havelock North over at Guthrie Park.
Two points behind New Plymouth Rangers (9-1-2) and five behind Havelock (10-1-1), this is Athletic's (8-2-3) last throw of the dice to stay in the running for taking out a championship that seemed highly implausible just five months ago.
"The mentality for us is, we know what needs to be done to keep the maths sensible," King said.
"The guys all want it."
They avenged their shock loss in May to PN Marist with a 9-1 hammering at Wembley last weekend, where Ryan Holden caught fire with five stunning goals in 14 minutes to skyrocket his season tally to 16, two behind season leader Sam De St Croix of Rangers, while now six ahead of Havelock's best in Jared Bloor.
However, Bloor has plenty of backup with Bjorn Christensen (9 goals) and Harrison Gregory (7) right behind him, although remembering his team came back at them twice this year in the 3-3 draw and late 3-1 loss, King remains convinced the home side are vulnerable.
"While they are a high scoring team, they do tend to leak goals as well.
"We showed that we do have the players - other players putting the ball in the back of the net, and integral in assisting."
So the big question will be if, and when, King moves Holden out of the midfield and onto attack, as he did in the Marist scoring burst.
"Havelock are going to be more attacking than Marist were.
"Ryan in the midfield can get us out of some tight spots. It's my call."
Ryan Holden scored five goals last weekend for Athletic and will want to take that form on the road to Havelock North.
Of the rest of the squad, only David Garner is unavailable with flu, while King will keep his experienced GVCA Wanganui Athletic Reserves' playing in the 1sts as a matter of priority.
