Too much in reserve at Havelock

Athletic Firsts Andrew Palmer and Chris Burney contest the ball against City Cosmos Brian Mackie in the first round of the Charity Cup on Saturday. Photo: Bevan Conley. 310813WCBRCSoc02.JPG

Home side Havelock North proved a step too far in the Federation Cup semifinal for Wanganui City Reserves when the two sides met on Saturday over at Hawkes Bay's Guthrie Park.

City were well in contention at the halftime break with a 1-1 scoreline, but the home side skipped away in the second stanza to win 4-1 and to book a place in the final.

For City, without a game last weekend after having to default because of availability issues, rust was a problem.

Add in a long road trip, which might have contributed to weary legs whereas the Havelock North side seemed fresher, all and any Wanganui hopes for a chance to etch their name on the trophy for a second time were evaporated.

Coach Steve Welch, after a long season, will now look forward to less pressure in terms of results as the majority of his side will now split to two different teams for the local Charity competition.

With the 100th chapter of the Wanganui Charity Cup having began on the weekend, the two respective pools got off to stuttering starts.

With the aforementioned Federation Cup match taking place, the two City sides (1sts and U19's) in Group A will now play catch-up early on.

In that same group, Castlecliff (Combined A) tested the waters with a friendly fixture against Marist Celtic.

In an open match, with both sides trialling personnel and drafting in some handy youngsters, the free-flowing and good-natured affair attracted plenty of interest.

The result while an informality saw Marist prevail.

In Group B, Athletic also had a combination side for their competitive match against City Hammers.

Athletic were mixing their firsts players with the experience of the Cosmos, second place in Wanganui Men's top 6, and were probably a little aggrieved when they weren't awarded a penalty when Robert Organ was taken down when the scoreline was 1-0 to the Hammers.

In fairness, the official was not able to see the incident clearly at the time.

Adding to Athletic's woes on the day, goalkeeper Craig Brown was forced from the field with an injury.

After the Hammers rode their luck with that earlier call, they were able to sneak away and grab a second goal to bag their first points in the competition and get a head start on the rest of the field.

In Bowl play, with multiple games for the contestants, plenty of quick-fire action was on display as teams looked to get on top early in the shortened 20-minute half affairs.

No clear leader yet after day one with sides experiencing mixed results, but of note was Marist Casuals hard-earned 1-1 draw against City Thirstys, who had earlier seen off Athletic Weekenders convincingly 5-2.

The Bowl group is more cut-throat than their Cup counterparts as there is no real second chance if favourable results can't be found, with only the top two contesting a final.