Yet the nervous tension surrounding Logan Park Turf lingered.
It was not until the final whistle sounded some 40 minutes later, the scoreboard showing Southern ahead 5-3, that the celebrations started in earnest.
And there was so much to celebrate: game won, title secured, drought over, history made.
Southern’s win over Canterbury United on Saturday secured the women’s South Central Series title.
Four goals in a devastating 21-minute period did the damage for Southern.
It defended with intensity and it counterattacked with flair and cohesiveness.
Most importantly, it was clinical in front of goal.
Chelsea Whittaker bagged two before halftime and added a third from the spot in the 49th minute to put Southern 5-2 up.
While Canterbury fought back, it could not break down Southern’s defence well enough.
For a team that had just one win to its name from 2009 to 2016, it was a significant achievement.
Doing it against a Canterbury team that had won five of the past six titles made it even more special.
‘‘I’m blown away,’’ Southern coach Graeme Smaill said.
‘‘I’m just so proud of the girls. To win it is really special, but to win it with a performance like the performance we put in today ...
‘‘I’ve been saying to a few people, I don’t think we’re far off clicking, putting in a 90-minute performance.
‘‘Today, I think we were pretty close to that.’’
Southern had to come from behind for the fifth time this season.
A misjudged reception from keeper Amy Simmers enabled Kate Loye’s ballooning high ball to bounce softly into the goal.
It was a potentially catastrophic moment. But the team rallied.
The intensity in its press was clear and, having already created two early chances, Southern set out on its comeback mission.
She read a pass at the back, before playing Kirsty Hayr into space through the middle
Hayr linked with Whittaker on the left wing, before receiving it back and putting a ball through for a flying Whittaker to finish.
It was as a good a goal as this team has scored in the past five years, although perhaps its timeliness was the most important thing.
A Mackay-Wright tackle initiated the second goal as well.
She toed it through to the dangerous Margarida Dias, who put in a superb ball for Amy Hislop to run on to and finish.
It gave Southern the lead in the 29th minute.
Four minutes later, Dias was provider again.
She put Whittaker into space, before the experienced midfielder beat the final defender and finished well.
Another followed four minutes later. Hislop shot from a tight angle, but caught the boot of former Southern star Lara Wall, who deflected one in against her old team.
It was a dominant period and a half Smaill described as a ‘‘dream’’.
‘‘That was spectacular,’’ he said.
‘‘The goals we scored were top-notch. The combination play was out of this world, at times.
‘‘That’s something you dream of, four goals in the first half. That set the tone for us.
‘‘That was off the back of our press. That was a superb press by the girls, to force them into mistakes, and we were winning the ball in good areas of the park.’’
It was far from over, however.
Another former Southern player, Kate Guildford, hit back for the visiting side n the stroke of halftime.
But when Hislop was brought down in the box early in the second half, Whittaker restored the three-goal lead.
Canterbury gained ascendancy at that point and Annalie Longo pulled one back. The Southern defence held, though.
In Saturday’s other game, Capital beat Central 5-0 to finish second in the league.
