Athletic show heart in heavy defeat

FOOTLOOSE: Taranaki's Mark Bland and Wanganui Athletic's Jareth Lau tussle for the ball in the high-scoring game at Wembley Park. PHOTO/BEVAN CONLEY

THE dark cloud sitting over Devon Homes Wanganui Athletic all season seemed to dissipate as quickly as the ones in the sky at Wembley Park on Saturday, as the David of the Lotto Federation League roared and gave the visiting Team Taranaki a mighty scare before ultimately falling to a 9-3 defeat.

Meanwhile the weather in Manawatu meant the Athletic Reserves had the weekend off from the Western Premiership.

It would be easy to write about how this was simply another heavy Federation defeat for Wanganui Athletic, a club who has struggled to prove anything more than just being there to make up numbers this season.

But that would simply not be fair after this performance.

It was as if a whole new team pulled on a red shirt and took to the field, with some of the most attacking and persistent play seen from Athletic since their championship run a few seasons ago.

Team Taranaki arrived with domination in mind, and rightly so after easily claiming an 8-0 victory in their previous encounter, and perhaps thought they'd already won the game before the first whistle had blown.

But the men with lions on their chest had a different idea, and with the side able to promote players from the Reserve side due to the postponement of their game, Athletic walked on to the ground full of spirit and ready to prove a point.

Taranaki took an early lead through Abdul Ibrahim just three minutes into the game, but it was young Quinn Mailman who rocked the visitors, bagging himself an early brace and giving the home side a 2-1 lead at the 20-minute mark.

Mailman continued to prove why he is a young player to keep a very close eye on while coming through the ranks, and should certainly by this stage be commanding a starting position in the first team.

But it was the effort of the entire team that impressed the most - putting on a display of unified effort and attacking intent which has been lacking from the games they have played in the previous seven rounds.

However, league leaders Taranaki were not going to sit back and let the bottom of the table team give them a horrid ride home, and soon turned the screws a bit tighter to pull back three more well taken goals, giving themselves a 4-2 lead at the halftime break.

Athletic came out for the second stanza full of self-belief and desire, and it wasn't long before that mentality was rewarded as Jordan Gilmore found the back of the net, again lifting the spirit of the home team, which was quickly reflected in the performance for the remainder of the match.

While the fight in the Reds remained, it was Taranaki who proved they had the better fitness and desire, soon putting away another goal to give themselves a 5-3 lead with just 20 minutes remaining.

Unfortunately, the tired legs of Athletic started to show, and while they continued to put their bodies on the line and fight during the closing minutes, Taranaki proved why they are the team to beat this season, notching up four more goals in the closing period.

It was a harsh finish for Athletic, whose performance was one to be proud of, and promises plenty for the games to come.

If they can continue to play with the same passion and drive as they did on Saturday against Team Taranaki, they could soon be gathering wins against the other teams in the competition.

The Reds are at home again this weekend against the Palmerston North Marist Reserves, and if they can carry on the performance of the weekend's match, Marist may well go home with their tail between their legs.