We have had two youth development teams playing in the Southern League — Amalgamated Builders Old Boys and Queens Park, a team in the Fletcher Cup, two teams in the Southern Premier League, and the return of a founding father to the Donald Gray Premiership, so it has been an eventful season.
The youth development league appears to have been a success. Park coach Dion Cameron was delighted with the progress his side had made.
"The development I have seen in our lads has been nothing short of phenomenal. We are now light years ahead of where we would have been had we stayed in the local league," he said.
"The fact two Invercargill teams have finished in the top half of the table shows we are doing the right thing with youth football in Southland," Cameron added.
This was echoed by Old Boys co-coach Gordon Lamont.
"It has been great to have two teams from the province as it has given more players the opportunity to play at that level."
Lamont was delighted with the second-place finish of his side, "the highest placing for a Southland team in recent memory".
"[Co-coach Mira Sahib] has brought a very technical creative lens to his coaching and the boys have developed skills and understanding of how to play football. It has definitely been worthwhile [playing the youth development league] for the boys to test themselves against tougher opponents."
Old Boys Fletcher Cup journey however, has arguably been a detour rather than a direct route. I say that as I believe the squad would have taken out the Donald Gray with ease, therefore earning a playoff with Queenstown. Instead, they have an extra hurdle to jump, playing the Donald Gray winners, before earning that right.
The standard of the Fletcher Cup is not vastly different from Donald Gray but the fact the league is twice the size would arguably provide a more competitive and challenging environment, so I can see the attraction, although I’m not sure it was worth the expense.
I think Southern Football does need to be clearer on the rules of promotion and relegation before a league kicks off as this would help clubs make better, more informed decisions.
Had Old Boys known they would have to play the Donald Gray winners, it may have impacted their decision to enter the Fletcher Cup.
However, Old Boys start their campaign for promotion to the SPL by playing Queens Park on Tuesday September 3 at the ILT Turf.
I covered Queens Park’s men’s SPL team last week with the club playing for pride in its remaining away fixture which gets all the glitz and glamour of Forsyth Barr Stadium. Not a bad way to finish the season. Park went down 3-1 to champions Mosgiel last week but will look to enjoy the occasion as they face Northern in their final SPL fixture for this season which kicks off at the Forsyth Barr on Sunday at 2.45pm.
Park’s SPL women came so close to winning their SPL league with a win or possibly a draw against Dunedin City Royals being enough to win the league.
Unfortunately, a 3-2 loss spoiled the party in what has been a fantastic debut season for the Park Women.
Coach Leeann Duston was proud of the team but disappointed not to have lifted the trophy, blaming previous results rather than the result on the day.
"I’m a little gutted as I believe we could have taken it out if we hadn’t slipped up a couple of times, but overall, I’m proud of the team of the first season at this level". Duston said.
Duston said travel had taken its toll, but the commitment shown by the girls was exemplary.
"We will work to retain as much of this team as we can, but hopefully add some depth to relieve pressure, but also add a bit of competition within the squad," Duston added.
What Park has achieved shouldn’t be overlooked. This was the team’s first season and they were competing right from the off. They didn’t look out of place in the initial playoffs for the South Island League and continued that form into the Southern Premier League.
Duston’s efforts shouldn’t be overlooked. She coached the Kolk Cup team, but this was a major step up, and Duston proved she could coach at this level and compete and win.
It is a young squad, so the future is bright, but managing such a young squad, particularly with the travel commitments, takes a special coach and Duston has more than delivered.
When sports awards are up for grabs, her name should be one of the ones for coach of the year.
In the Donald Gray, Park won the competition with two games in hand. That is a great achievement for what is a reserve squad and a squad that was forced to use 39 players throughout the season just to meet match commitments across the club.
However, another good story also came out of this year’s Donald Gray. That was the return of Waihopai AFC to the premier competition. The club has a rich history in the Donald Gray, the Fletcher Cup and the Southern Premier League. They have been out of top-flight action for over six years but despite a tough season, they are back where they belong.
What the club has done should be applauded. They knew they didn’t quite have the numbers, or the quality, but they knew the only way to build that was to offer Donald Gray football. They were right, the squad grew and when they had everyone available, they offered up a competitive team, none more so than the team that played the league winners at the weekend.
Despite a 3-1 loss, the Surrey Park side took it to the wire and made it a nervy finish for Park, who had the Larry O’Rorke trophy on the line. Park was leading 2-1 but had lost all their shape in what was a messy 35 minutes for the champions. It took until the 86th minute for Park to breathe easy when Brayan Orobio scored a third to put the game beyond Waihopai with the time remaining on the clock.
It was a valiant effort from Waihopai and showed they were going in the right direction.
Club president Jarrid Halder was pleased with the effort. "When we can get everyone on the pitch, we can compete."
Halder knows he needs more depth but will use the offseason to plug that gap, but the fact Donald Gray football is on offer will make his job a lot easier. This season wasn’t about results, it was about re-establishing the club at the top level, and they have done that, so hats off to them. Waihopai ends their season with a home game against Old Boys on Saturday, 3pm at Surrey Park. However, they are also in action tonight against Gore in the Charity Cup semifinal at the ILT turf, kicking off at 7pm.
- By Chris Montgomery
