Athletic hunt two from two

Wanganui Athletic's Quinn Mailman against the Palmerston North Marist Reserves in their June match at Wembley Park.

After a weekend off due to poor weather, Devon Homes Wanganui Athletic will be chomping at the bit to get back on the pitch against the Palmerston North Marist Reserves at Skoglund Park in the Lotto Federation League.

Meanwhile the Wanganui Athletic Reserves will be looking to tear up the main ground at Wembley Park at 12.30pm against Feilding United in the Western Premiership.

The Athletic first team will still be basking in the self-satisfaction from their recent victory, and will be looking to translate that into a good performance on the park against what will be a strong Marist Reserve team at Skoglund today.

It's not an insurmountable task for the Reds to get up over their rivals in green, but it will come down to sticking to the basics and ensuring they don't let the game get away from them early.

With the spine of the team starting to gel together well, from vocal custodian Matt Calvert in goal, through to talented Ryan Holden in the middle, up to the young attacking revelation this season in Quinn Mailman, Athletic are showing they can start to test teams even if the results are not going their way.

The test today will be to ensure they don't become the also-rans in the fixture - really driving to claim a result in their favour and prove the victory from two weeks ago was not a one-off fluke.

The Reserves will be looking forward to playing in conditions suited to football, as opposed to those more suited to penguins, when they host the in-form Feilding United, who are looking to put the brakes on their flailing season.

With plenty of closely fought matches to their name recently, the Reserves should be due a result in their favour to reward them for their continued improvement in the second half of the season.

But the task will not be an easy one, with Feilding being undefeated in their last five matches, including three solid wins amongst those results.

With burgeoning creativity coming from players like Takudzwa Hove and David Garner, along with the makings of solid defence from the likes of Tim Roebuck, it will be down to the unit coming together once again, working hard to remove the errors caused by inexperience, and draw on their raw talent to put forward their best game.

While the Athletic Reserves will be making their presences felt on the main ground at Wembley Park, the local Charity Cup competition will be continuing on the surrounding fields as teams continue to jostle for positions in their respective groups.

In Group A, the Rivercity Braves host the Marist Casuals in what will be another battle in a long running rivalry between the two teams.

The match to watch in this group will be the battle between the rampant City Wanderers, who are favourite to top the group, as they face the mercurial St Anthony's Castlecliff, who were able to wrest a victory over the Wanderers earlier in the regular season, and will be out to repeat the feat today.

In Group B, Castlecliff United have a tall task in hosting Marist Celtic, who are desperately looking to claw back competition points and find their way back to the top of the table, while the Rivercity Chiefs will be hoping to hold back the in-form Athletic Weekenders and grab their first points in the group.

The interesting match to keep an eye on in Group B will be the battle between the Athletic Cosmos and the City Hammers, with both sides eager to grab the victory and move themselves up the table.

With not a lot of love lost between these two sides, it should be a fiery encounter with more than just points on the line, as the long running rivalry between these two sides sure to give spectators plenty to watch and enjoy.