Devon Homes Athletic 1sts nearly brought a sickening sense of deja vu to the table-topping AFC Havelock North before going down 3-1 at Guthrie Park on Saturday.
Hoping to give a repeat performance to the surprise 3-3 comeback draw on the opening weekend of the Lotto Federation League, the third-placedAthletic appeared to taking their hosts down the same road when they closed the gap to 2-1 in the second half, after conceeding two goals in the second quarter.
Coach Jason King said just like on April 1, Athletic dominated the opening 20 minutes, but could not execute properly, before Havelock came back into the reckoning and did not make those same mistakes at the crucial junctures.
"In a way, it was scary - how much of a carbon copy of the first time we played them."
Scott Burney scored his fourth goal of the season to bring one back for 2-1 but unlike nearly two months ago, in their desperation to score an equaliser, Athletic lost possession and Havelock North were able to nail the matchwinner during injury time.
"We lifted, but this time we had chances but couldn't put them in the back of the net," said King.
"It's a long way to go, not to get a result."
Ben Foxall got a double for the home side, with Ethan Dent getting their other goal. Athletic's Quinn Mailman picked up a yellow card, as did Havelock North's Bjorn Christensen.
"The biggest thing, for me, was was seeing the guys bounce back from their performance last week," said King.
"We just gave ourselves too much to do."
Ryan Holden moved to the back to cover the injured Kelvin Hove and was named man of the match.
Athletic will now be very interested spectators as they take the bye week while Havelock North will finally play New Plymouth Rangers up at Merrilands in the top of the table clash for the second round, after their April 8 game was postponed due to rough weather.
Athletic have been the measuring stick as the one side to give both those teams a tough challenge, and King would like his players primed for when Rangers return to Wembley Park in just under two weeks.
"We know we can beat Havelock, that's the worst part, and we know we can beat Rangers."
