GOING UP: Wanganui City's Cameron Hawker-Gilford goes up against Red Sox Manawatu, who will take on Wanganu Athletic today. PHOTO/SHARON FRANCIS 04052015WCSUPFOOTBALL1
EVOLUTION Painting & Decorating Wanganui City will need to dig deep this weekend as they take on New Plymouth Rangers in their first knockout match in the Chatham Cup tomorrow in New Plymouth.
Meanwhile, Devon Homes Wanganui Athletic hit the road today to take on league leaders Hokowhitu Rangers at Skoglund Park in the Western Premiership.
Back home at Wembley, the Western Premiership provides us with two scintillating matches at 12.30pm, as the Wanganui City Renovators finally return home to face the Red Sox Manawatu A on the main ground, while the Wanganui City Reserves will be looking for redemption against the Linton 1sts.
Football can be a cruel mistress, as Wanganui City know too well so far this season.
A mixed bag of performances in the Lotto Federation League has seen them stumble early in the season, and left them wallowing mid-table, while the top four teams slowly increase the gap as the competition moves on.
But tomorrow is not about points for coach Kelvin Francis and the boys in gold. Sunday is about "no next week" if they fail.
The Chatham Cup, a competition steeped in glorious history, is a knockout competition styled on the English FA Cup model, where the minnows get a shot at the big boys.
The best thing about this format, and what football provides plenty of, is the upsets by the underdogs.
And that mantle might well be the one assumed by City as they take the field tomorrow.
City must go out with the mentality that they need to leave everything on the park.
Nothing can be kept in reserve, and that surely would have been drilled into them this week.
Get the basics right, and take the game to the opposition, and they can walk away with the victory needed to progress to the next stage.
Wanganui Athletic will need to capitalise on every drop of the morale boost which was provided by their local derby win last weekend as they travel to Skoglund Park today to take on the Hokowhitu Rangers.
A good battling mentality provided them with the last-minute win and a much needed three points over the City Reserves.
That sort of approach and tenacity will be required again if they are to climb higher on the ladder against a team who have not yet dropped any points in their campaign.
Hokowhitu are also not shy of finding the back of the net, with 22 goals in the "for" column, while the Reds have only managed to convert seven chances to date.
That will need to change today if they are to succeed, and they will not be assisted by the fact that Hokowhitu also hold the title for the best defence so far this season, only conceding three goals in fours games to Athletic's eight in three games.
This could well be a season-defining affair for Athletic, who currently sit in fourth place due to a superior goal difference over two other teams, and are only one point behind third-placed Levin, while still having a game in hand.
Athletic will need to look to the hard work of the likes of Perry Stewart, who has impressed this season.
But the rest of the squad need to follow, and a overly-defensive mentality will not help them achieve the victory they desire.
While there will be an absence of premier football at Wembley in the late afternoon, 12.30pm will still provide some entertainment for the casual watcher as the Wanganui City Renovators host Red Sox Manawatu A on Wembley's hallowed main ground.
This should be a tough test for City's development side, with Red Sox currently sitting second on the league table.
Red Sox are another team not unaccustomed to rippling the net, with 11 goals to their name in four games.
However, the upside for the Renovators will be Red Sox' leaky defence, having conceded 11 times over the same period.
Young Tesco Grunwald may well become a pivotal player alongside Neihana Kahl in the attacking stakes here, while the composed experience of Ben Toyne in the middle of the park will help them continue their possession-based game.
I'm picking this to be a close match, but with home support and playing on Wembley's main ground, I think they might just find the edge they need.
Also at 12.30pm, the Wanganui City Reserves will again be looking to resurrect their season, after falling to a late loss against Athletic in the local derby last weekend, when they take on the mid-table Linton 1sts.
The Reserves are a team filled with some great individual players, who know what it takes to peg a win, yet it seems to date the team as a whole has not yet gelled into an attacking unit, that can also hold on to any lead they have battled hard for.
Currently propping up the foot of the table with only a solitary point from the draw against Levin, Reserves coach Karl Hayward will have been demanding more from his team.
Hayward knows how to manage players and find the right ways to motivate them, but once they are on the park his influence to date has been waning. Players on the pitch need to step up and deliver the game plan that has been set out.
The Reserves will need to learn quickly how to hold on to any advantage they obtain for the full 90 minutes, as they have been plagued by leaking late goals and letting teams back into the match too easily in weeks gone by.
They will, however, be spurred on by the fact their clubmates, the Renovators, managed to peg a 3-1 victory over the same side a couple of weeks ago, and will not be wanting to let their more junior development team outshine them.
I'm picking Reserves to win, as they have shown potential to lead a match, and this will be the week they can hang on to that advantage.