On Sunday our SU women played up North against top of the table Auckland Football.

Starting off strong, SU had a few great shots on target with in the first half.

Twelve minutes in, the team were pushing forward and holding possession on counter attack. Renee Bacon had a great shot on target, with another at 24’ which went just high.

At 34 minutes in, Southern had a great chance to take the lead with a solid shot from Chelsea Whittaker off a ball sent through by Macey Fraser, unfortunately Auckland’s keeper was ready for the hit and kept the 0-0 score line.

36 minutes in, Auckland striker Rina Hirano noticed SU keeper Blair Currie off her line, and took the shot into top right corner. Great dive from Blair, who got fingers to the ball before skimming overhead. With the 1-0 lead, leading to 2-0 at half time, Auckland’s confidence soared and their commitment to getting the win was obvious.

Southern’s head coach Ignacio Sande was proud of how the players competed against such a class act team, however is becoming frustrated with the players struggling to score goals.

“We were competitive, but unfortunately we missed all the opportunities we created to score.

“We prepared the game around both teams strengths and weaknesses, so we preferred to sit a bit deeper and contra attack,” he said.

The SU coaching squad doesn’t regret any decisions they make when it comes to the squad chosen to start.

Auckland had the possession as they were expecting, and SU had the best opportunities in the first half.

“If we had scored the opportunities we had, we would be talking about another game.”

With the first of Auckland’s goal coming as a bit of a shock to the team from outside the box, Sande believes the second goal was due to lack of attention.

“We are still extremely proud, as the players did exactly what we have been working on, and they left absolutely everything they had on the field.”

Southern’s focus for their final two games of the season is to secure a win. “To win, we must score,” he said, so training this week will be reinforcing some defensive concepts that are costing them some goals.

Coming to the end of the season, Sande still believes the team can beat any team in this league. “The next step will be to do our best to try to get the 3 points on Sunday and celebrate this with our people.”

This Sunday at the Logan Park Turf, our SU Women are hosting WaiBOP, with an 11am kick off. We would love to see you all there supporting our ladies!!

There will be a Night ‘n Day festival following the game for the kids, with some cool prizes, skill sessions, and the opportunity for photos and autographs with their role models!! Please see our Facebook page for further information.