Scoullar unleashed the pace of Ben Kiori, Lewis Jackson, Connor Neil and Ben Wade, who exposed the Auckland defence. Southern scored within six minutes when Kiore outpaced defenders and laced a strong shot past keeper David Masters.
The superb start stuttered when referee Francis Cuccurullo flashed a red card at defender Blake Porteous for a last ditch tackle, and Southern was reduced to 10 men with 80 minutes left to play.
Despite being outnumbered, Southern still had bite in its attack, and keeper Masters was picking the ball out of his net again eight minutes later, when Lewis Jackson managed to turn inside defenders and scored from a narrow angle to get the Otago bench airborne at 2-0. Southern captain
Keegan Taig rolled up his sleeves and from central defence, led by example, exhorting his fellow defenders to top form. What little Auckland managed in attack, keeper Josh Dijkstra handled in inspirational form.
Halftime team talks sought the key tactics for a tasty second half, and once again coach Scoullar out thought the Northerners. ''We kept pushing up and pressurising them into a longer passing game that suited us,'' he said. Auckland coach Ian Cliff despaired at his side's inability to use its numerical advantage.
''We played below par, and failed to use our possession well,'' he said. Certainly, keeper Dijkstra only had regulation saves, as the few crosses that reached his goalmouth arrived predictably, and despite some pace in the Auckland attack, few clear shots were allowed by captain Taig's resolute defence.
Against the odds, Southern worked the midfield efficiently, with Ben O'Farrell in fine form alongside Hamish Cotter, who was full of energy, as was Ben Wade and, when he came on the second half, Matt Kelly.
The Football South women's team had less fortune yesterday, losing 4-0 to the experienced Northern Region side at Albany.
The Southerners have two members of their squad involved in the current New Zealand U 20 side - goalkeeper Tessa Nicol and defender Samantha Murrell. The team had some good spells against Northern which coach Hayley Stirling hoped to build on.
