Athletic must find form

DEFENDING HOME TURF: Wanganui Athletic's Ryan Holden against Port Hill United at Wembley Park in April. Athletic have a tough ask today against the visiting Team Taranaki. PHOTO/FILE

If the weather gods are kind to the region today, then you can be sure that Team Taranaki won't be when they arrive at Wembley Park to face off against Devon Homes Wanganui Athletic in the Lotto Federation League at 2.30pm.

Meanwhile the Athletic Reserves make a short trip eastwards in a hope to halt their slide down the table in the Western Premiership when the play Feilding United at Timona Park.

The Wanganui Athletic firsts have had a torrid time this season, struggling to find any cohesion or form which will reward them with their first competition point this season.

While today will likely not be the day for that, it will be a great opportunity for the club to show they are still on the road to redemption.

The last time the two teams met, Taranaki dished out an unanswered eight goals, and since then have continued on a rampant scoring spree, recording an average of five goals a game, while only conceding meagre three goals in the process.

Athletic will have their work cut out today in reining in the Black & Gold juggernaut, yet showed last weekend that they were able to battle well and test their opposition for long periods in the game.

But the Reds will need to step up their game and create more than a few chances if they are to pull some respectability from this match.

An early goal may be all that's needed to spark the fire inside the men in red, and allow them to take their game to Taranaki, without capitulating early and taking on a defensive mindset.

They will also need to ensure they can find an effective way to effectively shut down counterattacks, as these too proved costly for them last weekend.

It should be a hard battle, but home support will be critical for them, so make sure you get down to Wembley at 2.30pm today, and throw your support behind the locals.

The Athletic Reserves have hit a bit of a speed bump in what was looking like a promising resurgence in form.

It will be a true test of the young side's resolve to see how they bounce back today against Feilding after being on the receiving end of a 12-0 drubbing last weekend.

While the development side has shown they can foot it with the big boys in the Western Premiership, many observers have been wondering if they may have been pushed too far, too quickly, and whether a season in the local Division 1 would have given the young side the introduction to men's football they appear to be lacking.

But sometimes throwing a side in the deep end will force players to sink or swim, and it's clear there's a handful of players within the Reserves that are stepping up to the mark, and have shown growth through the season to date.

Feilding will not be an easy side to breakdown if the Reserves do not take the right attitude into the match.

Having won five of their last eight matches, Feilding currently sit fifth in the competition, and will be out to make Athletic their next victims as they push themselves up the table.

But while their form on paper is good, their last two matches have been losses, which will play well into the hands of the Reserves, and should mean the match will be full of fight and excitement.

Both sides have a point to prove, and both are hungry to show that their season should not be written off just yet.