Athletic out to stop rot

WITH two rounds gone for both the Devon Homes Wanganui Athletic 1sts and Reserves, the club's focus on cementing their place in both leagues is still looking like a big work in progress.

The Athletic 1sts travel to Skoglund Park today to face Palmerston North Marist Reserves at 2.30pm with the aim of picking themselves back up after two heavy defeats in their opening round matches.

Meanwhile the reserves will play at home on Wembley Park's No1 ground as they host Massey Celtic.

Two heavy defeats may well be a bad start to any season, but the rub of the draw has not gone the way of the Athletic 1sts " pitting them against last season's first and second place getters, with a very green squad to boot.

However, today could be a chance to really measure themselves and their placing in the league as they face the Palmerston North Marist Reserve team at Skoglund Park, in what promises to be an open match.

Athletic have so far been forced to be more defensive in their efforts, and this match may well provide them a chance to show that they have going forward, as long as they approach the match with the right mindset.

Marist have started the season with a draw and a loss to their name, so will certainly be aiming to capitalise on the bad run of results the Reds have had in the last two weeks.

Whether the Reds are up for the challenge or not will come down to their mental preparedness today. But they have a good core of talented players and could well walk away with at least a competition point.

The Athletic Reserves will be buoyed by a solid performance last week, grabbing a draw against a physical Levin side on the road, and will now set their sights on building momentum against Massey Celtic, who are yet to record a win this season.

It may only be a solitary point that separates the two sides as they take the field today, but having turned around an opening round devastation to rescue their morale will count for a lot for this young development side.

Add that to the fact they'll be playing at home in front of their friends, family, and club supporters, this could well be a good opportunity for the Red Reserves to claim a victory and set a path towards moving themselves up the table.

Their match today, which kicks off at 12.30pm, will be a true test of what the club is doing in developing their young talent, so expect to see plenty of creative flair and raw determination gracing the main field at Wembley.