RUN DOWN: Wanganui Athletic Reserves Logan Hughes competes for the ball against Levin at Wembley Park on Saturday. PHOTO/BEVAN CONLEY
THE shackles of an unending run of defeats have finally been broken for the Devon Homes Wanganui Athletic firsts, as they managed to cling on to a 1-1 away draw with Gisborne Thistle in the Lotto Federation League.
Meanwhile the last 10 minutes proved to be fatal for the Athletic Reserves as they lost to Levin 3-1 in the Western Premiership at home on Wembley.
With the home advantage for Gisborne being one of the best in the league because of the amount of travel imposed on teams from the western side of the North Island, it was going to take heart, creativity, and dogged determination for Athletic to claim any points in the away fixture.
Heart and creativity were certainly there from the visiting side as they implemented a game plan to perfection.
In a turn of events that stunned the home side, young Quinn Mailman bagged an early goal, putting them in the unusual position of having to defend a lead.
Gisborne were not giving up that easily and continued to press Athletic, looking to claim back a goal and level things up, but the Red defenders were unrelenting and not willing to give up a goal without a fight.
Although Athletic successfully kept the Gisborne attack away from their own goal for much of the game, Gisborne were able to slot one past the keeper and bring the scores back level.
It was then down to the dogged determination phase of the game as Athletic's focus shifted from maintaining a lead to ensuring they didn't once again walk off the pitch with nothing to show for their efforts.
But this time was different and the jubilation from the Athletic firsts exploded into raw emotion as the referee blew for fulltime, giving Athletic their first competition point for the season.
The result couldn't have come at a better time, with this coming weekend's round being the last, as it certainly saved Athletic blushing from holding the unwanted title of being the only team to have gone through an entire season without collecting a point.
Back home at Wembley Park, the Athletic Reserves were unable to capitalise on their own early lead over visiting Levin - falling to a 3-1 loss at the final whistle.
The Reserves took the field with the weight of a few heavy defeats in recent weeks hanging over their shoulders, but it was not long before Tesco Grunwald lifted that weight as he scored a goal for the Reserves to give them a lead and the momentum in the game.
Being 1-0 up at halftime, the Reserves were feeling confident they may be on track to send Levin packing with nothing to show, but the visitors had different ideas. The first half effort of the Reserves was one to be proud of as they showed a maturity beyond their years, and looked on track to repeat their efforts in the second half, and give Levin a torrid time for the following 45 minutes.
However, not long into the second stanza, the visitors pegged the score back level, shaking the resolve of the young development side, and it seemed to trigger an internal collapse for the home side, who then struggled to maintain control of the game.
With the game locked at one goal a-piece going into the final 10 minutes, it looked as if the Reserves might just repeat the first round effort of a draw with Levin, but the visitors had other plans.
Two quickly taken goals by the visitors showed the Reserves mentality had fallen right off in the closing minutes, giving Levin a 3-1 scoreline at the final whistle, and unjustly reflecting the effort over the previous 80 minutes.
While the loss will be disappointing, a stronger effort after the heavy defeats would have been an important mental victory for the Reserves, while being clear as to what needs to be worked on at training over the next week.
Namely, how to complete the full 90 minutes of play with intensity and close out a match - as they prepare to hit the road to take on Massey Celtic this coming weekend.
RUN DOWN: Wanganui Athletic Reserves Logan Hughes competes for the ball against Levin at Wembley Park on Saturday, where the Reserves would concede three second-half goals to be beaten 3-1. PHOTO/BEVAN CONLEY