Soccer PHOTO/FILE
AS senior football in Wanganui winds down to a close, two Charity finals will be taking place over at Wembley Park as the Athletic Weekenders face off against the City Thirsties for the Charity Bowl today.
This will be followed by Castlecliff St Anthony's looking to claim the second piece of silverware for the season in what will be a fierce battle with a rejuvenated City Hammers.
The Bowl final may appear to be the battle of the minnows to the outside observer, but both the Weekenders and the Thirsties have shown they are capable of putting on a good show of attacking football when the stakes are high.
With Tevita Taumoeanga a constant threat for the Thirsties with his pace and finishing ability, couple with the wily Russell Fergusson up front, the Weekenders will need to tighten up at the back if they are to avoid a repeat of the result the last time the two teams met.
The Thirsties walked away with a commanding 8-2 victory, with five of those goals coming from Fergusson and Taumoeanga.
The Weekenders are no slouches themselves though, with the likes of Ross Kinnerley and Reuben Joblin-Mills both contributing to the side's goal scoring record throughout the season, and will surely be looking to add to their totals today.
While on paper the Thirsties should have this one in the bag, there's just something about the Weekenders and how they step up for big matches that makes me think the Bowl could be heading to the Athletic clubrooms at the end of today's match.
In the Plate final on the main ground at Wembley, both the Hammers and St Anthony's will feel they have what it takes to claim the Plate as their own.
St Anthony's had a dream run in the first round of the regular season, going 15 games unbeaten, with the attacking pairing of Ryan Slight and the Rev Fr Louis Bocholtz wreaking havoc on opposition defences at will.
But the City Hammers will not lie down easily, and have boasted successive local league titles in recent years - showing they have the steel to take a match and swing it their way.
And with Jake Lockett at the pointy end of the Hammers attack, this game is shaping up to be a very open and attacking encounter, with both sides more than capable of penetrating the others lines, as well as punishing a lax mentality on the counterattack.
I think today's match will be too close to call, and could see this one going to extra time, or even to penalties.
Make sure you get to Wembley today to enjoy the footballing entertainment in the final day of local football.
With these two exciting matches ahead, as well as a pre-season hit out for Central Football's National Women's League team at 12pm, coached by ex-Wanganui football development officer Matt Kilsby, there will be plenty of entertainment in store.