Acid on Athletic to put season on track

HOME GAME: Wanganui Athletic Reserves's Zeb Small against Massey Celtic's Ken Sprowseson in the April clash at Wembley Stadium. The Reserve's have a tough task at home today to the New Plymouth Rangers.PHOTO/FILE

IT'S BACK to regular programming this week, but hopefully not regular results as Devon Homes Wanganui Athletic make the long journey over to the eastern side of the country to face Havelock North in the Lotto Federation League.

Meanwhile, the Athletic Reserves are once again at home on Wembley's main ground, hosting second-placed New Plymouth Rangers in the Western Premiership at 12.30pm.

With the first round of the Lotto Federation League now completed, the Wanganui Athletic 1sts will be hoping to write off the results from the past seven weeks, and look to show that they are on the improve.

Now sporting the full complement of three import players which they have been awaiting, including the vocal and impressive goalkeeper Matt Calvert, the Reds will be hoping their influence, along with getting back to the basics of the game, will set them on the right course.

Havelock North decimated Athletic in the opening game of the competition, welcoming the Reds back to the Federation League with a 12-0 drubbing at Wembley, sending shockwaves through the loyal support base after the heights of the club's last foray where they narrowly missed out on promotion to the Central League.

Today, however, the mood of the team will be more wary, with basics being the focus for newly installed coach Ron Brett, who has joined Peter Flood with the unenviable task to regain some control of a team spiralling out of it.

The signs are promising in patches, with youngsters Quinn Mailman and David Glaister earning themselves promotions from the Reserve team - showing the club has finally worked out that promoting talent up through the ranks, rather than closing ranks within individual squads, is an important way of developing the youth they have and challenging them in the higher levels.

With some fresh faces in the attack, coupled with some experience and stalwart defence, Havelock may be in for a different result than what they dished out in the first round, and while Athletic will be hungry for the win, it would be unlikely Havelock would be so naive as to consider this game a foregone conclusion.

While the first team travel away, Athletic's Reserve side face their own challenge as the New Plymouth Rangers ride into town with an aim to claim another scalp in their season to date.

Rangers, who currently sit second on the table, are having an impressive run of form - scoring 19 goals in their last five games - and conceding just four goals in the process.

The Reserves have the goods to put up a good fight, and coach Cliff Hughes will be hoping the confrontational attitude he was instilling in his charges at training will be what his side needs to overcome a hungry, well-drilled footballing side.

While an aggressive approach can assist young players to stand up against experienced opposition, Hughes will be banking on his side not losing their heads if they fail to convert that passion into footballing terms, and wind up spending more time trying to kick lumps out of the opposition than trying to beat them with skill.

Yet the Reserves have shown they can tap into their ability and grab results from more experienced teams, and if they can keep their heads level for 90-minutes today, they could well cause an upset for their northern opponents, and record a victory well worth celebrating.