The final match of the ASB National Youth league attracted a large crowd at Tahuna Park, but Southern United, despite an improved showing, lost 3-1 to a talented Team Wellington side yesterday.
Southern matched Wellington in the scoreless first half in which both sides would have scored but for top matches by goalkeepers Josh Dyjkstra and his Wellington counterpart Charlie Morris.
In the second half, Southern failed to harness a tail wind and kicked too much possession away, while Wellington got its passing game going and threatened the home side's goal.
Dimairo Tamupiwa opened the scoring after 63 minutes, and in keeping with the cut and thrust of the match, James McGarry shot from 25m to equalise shortly afterwards.
Wellington's composed slick passing upset Southern but it seemed referee Edward Cook had thrown the home side a lifeline when he awarded a penalty.
However, McGarry's penalty was saved by Wellington's keeper and almost immediately coach James Webb's side bounced back to score, and then wrapped up the match with a late goal to produce the final 3-1 score.
Coach Mike McGarry was pleased with his team's improvement after losing in the first round 5-nil.
''We had good spells, and made chances but lacked the killer instinct in their goal area,'' he said. Wellington coach Webb named Will MacIntyre and Finn Moore - both former Otago players - as having had effective matches.
His strong squad also included three New Zealand U17 internationals, Andrew Blake, Tamupiwa Dimairo and Clayton Lewis.
