Hopes high for import

BUILDING UP: Athletic Reserve's Zeb Small (left) takes on Massey Celtic's Ken Sprowseson in the win last weekend. The Reserves will want to keep their form going in Palmerston North today. PHOTO/STUART MUNRO

The Devon Homes Wanganui Athletic 1sts will be hoping the injection of a fresh-faced import will give their midfield the spark they have been lacking today at 2.30pm as they host Napier-based Port Hill United in the Lotto Federation League.

Meanwhile the Athletic Reserves travel to Palmerston North's Skoglund Park to go up against last year's Western Premiership runners-up Hokowhitu, as they look to capitalise on the momentum they've started to build over the past two rounds.

If you were looking for positives from the first few rounds of the Athletic 1sts season, it would be that there is still plenty of room for improvement. Having conceded 27 goals in the opening three rounds of play, Athletic are still looking to find the right formula that will bring them up to the standard required for the league they're in.

Athletic have looked overseas for the answer and will be hoping the key ingredient for the Reds may have arrived mid-week.

Nineteen-year-old Kieran Boyle, a product of the Pulse Premier Football Academy, had his first run out with the Reds on Thursday night, and will quickly need to settle into his midfield duties to assist the recovery of Athletic's season.

A lot of pressure will sit on the young attacking midfielder, but if his pedigree turns into results, he should make a perfect pairing with current midfield standout Ryan Holden, and spur the Reds to a turnaround in form.

Holden has been a standout player for the 1sts, with an abundance of skill, vision and composure in the midfield for Athletic, but has been often frustrated by the lack of outlet options, or a midfield partner to work with, so Boyle may just be the answer to his prayers.

With Port Hill United being new to the league this season, their credentials are mostly unknown, but their recent run of form has been strained to say the least.

One win from their past two games should give Athletic hope they have a good chance to grab a result from this fixture.

If the Reds can shake their defensive mentality and utilise the new strength of their midfield to unlock their attacking options, the main ground at Wembley could well witness the rebirth of the club's premier side and build hopes of better things to come.

While the 1st team has been struggling to find their feet, the club's Reserves have quickly shaken off the shackles of a poor start and are starting to find their competitive streak in their league.

Under the guidance of local Federation talent centre coaches Cliff Hughes and Jason Farmer, the young reserve side has turned around a disastrous first-round loss, to slowly pushing their way up the table with a draw and a solid win last weekend.

Hokowhitu are sporting two wins and a draw in their opening three rounds, and are historically a very determined team, so today's match will be a good test for the Reserves, and should push them to their limits for the entire 90 minutes.

The Reserves should feel comfortable with the challenge though, with recent standout performances by Tesco Grunwald, David Glaister and Quinn Mailman.