It was a day to forget for Otago United in Christchurch yesterday, going down 2-0 to Canterbury with two of its key players stood down before the game for disciplinary reasons.
With the loss Otago slipped out of the top four and now has it all to play for in its final game of the league, against Manawatu in Dunedin on March 13.
Otago created plenty of chances in the first half of yesterday's match but could not find the goal, and then fell behind to a Tom Lancaster strike in the 67th minute.
Any chance of Otago getting back into the game was lost when Canterbury striker Aaron Clapham was bundled over in the box after 78 minutes.
He got up and converted the penalty to give his side the win.
Otago United coach Malcolm Fleming had dropped key midfielders Robbie Deeley and Stu Kelly minutes before the game for discipline reasons.
Fleming said he had not found out until after last week's match that the duo had been out until 5am on the day of the match against Waikato, and he felt they had to be punished.
The pair travelled with the team to Christchurch and Fleming said they were told in the dressing room minutes before the match they would not be playing because of their behaviour before the match against Waikato.
"What they did is a slap in the face for everyone in the team, the staff and management.
It's disappointing these guys would do something like that," Fleming said.
"It's just disrespectful for the team. Maybe I could understand if we were bottom of the league and nothing to play for. But last week we had the chance to secure our place in the semifinals. It was a big game. They wouldn't do it in the winter league, so why should they do it in summer?"
Fleming said the duo would be available for the game against Manawatu in two weeks provided they realised what they had done and apologised to the team.
Wellington's last minute 3-2 win over Waikato in Hamilton has taken it into fourth place, pushing Otago back to fifth.
Canterbury is now third, tied on 18 points with Wellington, with Otago one point further back.
The semifinals are played on a home and away two-leg format.
Waitakere and Auckland City are well clear at the top of the league.
Otago United was well in the match in the first half with Canterbury losing its skipper Dan Terris inside the first 15 minutes with an injured collarbone.
But his absence seemed to galvanise the home team's defence and it withstood everything Otago threw at it.
Canterbury grew in the second half and once it went ahead there was only going to be one result.
With Canterbury playing Wellington in its final match, the simple equation for Otago to make the semifinals is to have a good win over Manawatu at Carisbrook.
