HOLD YOUR LINE: City's Latham Berry vs PN Boys High last weekend. PHOTO/SHARON FRANCIS 140615WCSUP04
Wanganui City will be hoping Palmerston North's Skoglund Park will be a happy hunting ground for the club today as the Evolution Painting and Decorating 1sts make the short trip for their return fixture against Red Sox Manawatu with a desire for more consistency than their previous outing.
Meanwhile, the resurgent Wanganui City Reserves will travel with them with hopes to continue their winning form against Red Sox Rovers.
Back home in Wanganui, a full day of entertainment awaits Wembley Park with two Western Premiership matches, starting at 12.30pm with Wanganui City Renovators hosting the Levin AFC 1sts. While at 2.30pm, Devon Homes Wanganui Athletic become the centrepiece for their club's Past and Present Players Day, battling leaders Red Sox Manawatu As in a match which could see them move to second.
City coach Kelvin Francis has spent the past week looking for answers in their topsy-turvy form. He was straightforward of what was required in today's performance.
"We just need to put it away, and play like we did last week. Last time we played them, we threw it away."
Francis was referring to the first round encounter with Red, where City had the measure of the visitors for the majority of the match, only to take their foot off the pedal at the critical time, and concede two late goals to finish with a draw.
City need to draw on their strong performance from last weekend, when they came back from a 2-1 deficit at half-time to walk away 4-2 winners, if they want to reboot 2015 and push for the top four position.
With City showing they can play good football when under pressure, I'm going to back them to walk away with three points from this one.
City Reserves will be playing with their tails up after disposing of their young clubmates in the development team last weekend.
Coach Karl Hayward is of the belief his team have turned the corner, so Reserves will be full of spirit as they take the field against cellar-dwellers Red Sox Rovers.
The last time the two teams met, the Reserves came off on the wrong side of the ledger, falling to a 3-1 loss.
But with the more experienced players stepping up to take leadership roles, Red Sox will feel like they're facing a completely new squad with renewed fire for victory.
While the Reserves currently sit second from the bottom, there are still plenty of rounds for them to turn around their season and lift themselves beyond the middle of the table, if they can string some good performances together and steal points from opponents who may now underestimate them.
My pick is for the Reserves to comfortably take the win from this match.
The City Renovators will be wondering where things have gone wrong after a promising start and, today, things won't be any easier for them as they face a determined and physical Levin side, who never give up until the final whistle.
The tactics employed by the visitors will be similar to those they came across last weekend, so the Renovators should be able to counter a lot of the direct attacks, having learned the hard way how they can catch you unaware if you're not defensively ready.
And with the Renovators defensive unit at sixes and sevens after a run of poor showings, it will be no surprise if this was the focus of training during week.
But it will be the physical nature of Levin's play that will worry the young side, who are still finding their feet with the physical nature of the competition.
If the young lads can avoid trying to engage in the physical battle, and instead rely on their talent and speed, they might be able to find the measure of Levin and wear them down.
If they can achieve this, they should be able to outplay the visitors in the dying stages and take advantage of their superior fitness levels.
I believe the Renovators will get up for this match and prove the critics wrong, walking away with a victory with attractive football overcoming the physical.
To round off the day at Wembley Park, Wanganui Athletic's Past and Present Players Day will be in full swing, with many veterans lining the sidelines to support their premier team as they make their first real assault on the top of the table.
While last week's shock loss will have been a bitter disappointment for the Reds, it would have served as a timely reminder of what work is still ahead of them if they are to claim the title at the end of the season.
There will be no room for complacency as they take to Wembley's main ground against current leaders Red Sox As, who are unbeaten in their last five matches, including last week's 10-0 dismantling of the Red Sox Rovers.
Athletic will need to ensure their usual lapses of focus do not creep into today's match and they stick to their simple yet effective style of play, which has been paying dividends on their march up the table.
I'm picking this to be a close match, and would not be surprised to see it finish with honours being shared between the two teams.