A long season comes to an end for Wanganui City this weekend with their final league match against Palmerston North End, 2.30pm at Wembley Park.
Both sides play out a match postponed from earlier in the season which will have little bearing on proceedings as far as league placing's are concerned.
Last Sunday, City were defeated 4-0 in New Plymouth by Team Taranaki with a performance which manager Glenn Graham summed by saying "they turned up to play, and simply didn't ... enough said."
While there is little for either team in terms of standings with the top spots all but decided, Graham will expect a wholehearted effort from the home side today.
He will be without player/coach James Oxtoby after a yellow card last Sunday saw the defender pick up his fifth caution of the season, invoking a mandatory stand down for accumulation.
Also missing will be young defender Shaan Stuart who departed to America this week, so it will be very much an experimental side out there today.
North End for their part have never been far away from City this season the two sides drawing 2-2 in the very first game and then the Manawatu team only missing out by the odd goal when City won 3-2.
Both of those matches were coincidently in Palmerston North, which means it will be their first Wanganui visit, ironically in the last game of the year.
Graham did wish to thank all of the side's loyal supporters who have turned out this year, along with his regular assistant Joseph Butters possibly the youngest assistant around the traps.
He hopes the fans can turn out again today and egg on the young side against what is always a dogged opposition.
It is also a season closer for both of the Wanganui combatants in the Western Premiership as Athletic 1sts and City Reserves hit the road for the last time in league play today.
Athletic head to Donnelly Park to take on a Levin AFC side who have been erratic in terms of results this year, but always prove a hard nut to crack at home. Athletic, who have undoubtedly improved over the second half of the competition will be looking to finish their year on a high and take some confidence into the upcoming local Charity Competition.
City Reserves may well be still a little hung-over from their quarter-final win last week against Taradale, and may well be caught short when they head to the Manawatu to take on PN Marist Reserves.
With City's senior side short on numbers, there will be a shuffling of players to make up competitive sides this weekend, and probably the combined focus for the side is their semifinal in a couple of weeks' time against Havelock North.
In Manawatu Women's Top 4 action, Wanganui Athletic Women have all but sewn up the title.
Cruelly, tomorrow's 1.30pm match with North End Women's 1sts will be their last home fixture as their remaining two fixtures have be drawn over in the Manawatu.
While mathematically their nearest rivals Massey Women's Reserves still have the remotest of chances, Athletic with a win tomorrow will consolidate their current five point cushion and then only have to draw their September 1 match against Massey.
Should Massey slip up in any way, then the title will go to Dave Downes' hard-working and well deserved group of gals.
They have been unbeaten in all matches this season, seemingly scoring goals at will with another convincing 5-0 win over PN Marist last Sunday.
Athletic are also in the Federation Cup (Women) final, which will be held September 8.
Unfortunately, despite lobbying, it will be an away again for the locals at Hawera's Turuturu Park against Moturoa, who to be fair will also have to travel down from New Plymouth.
Before then, the girl's focus will be to continue on with their winning ways and pencil in their name on the 2013 Top 4 trophy.
Given another week, and should they win their penultimate match against PN Marist, the pencil can turn into the engraving pen.