It returned to winning ways as it beat WaiBOP 6-3 in the national women’s football league in Auckland.
After a scoreless first 30 minutes, all nine goals were scored during an exhilarating 43-minute period.
Emily Morison put Southern one up in the 35th minute, delivering a quality strike into the top right corner of the goal.
The lead lasted just nine minutes, as Grace Wisnewski took the ball as Southern tried to play it out from the back.
She laid a pass off to Shae Brady, who navigated two scrambling Southern defenders to equalise.
However, Southern hit back off the restart, making a break up the left for Lara Wall to make it 2-1 on the stroke of halftime.
Mikayla Gray doubled the lead early in the second half.
She initially hit the crossbar, but WaiBOP goal keeper Georgia Candy was left out of position and Gray followed up to score.
Six minutes later Candy came up with a quality save after a Southern break up the right.However, the ball trickled out and Kirsty Hayr made it 4-1 off the corner.
This time WaiBOP answered a minute later, Ella Golding finishing in the bottom left corner.
Youngster Ruby Anderson made it five for Southern when she headed in a cross from Wall after 67 minutes.
WaiBOP did not go away though.Wisnewski won a free kick for the hosts, which Emma Cawte fired into the box, and Wisnewski headed in.
That made it 5-3, but any hope of a comeback was swiftly snuffed out by a late goal from Southern.Some nice interplay off a throw-in set up Lara Wall for another wide cross, finding Anderson on the far post.
Anderson timed her run into the box and while her header was slightly awkward, she did enough to bounce it past Candy and into the goal.
The win takes Southern to seven points and leaves it in a tie for second with Auckland and Northern — although both have a game in hand.
That was thanks to a big effort from Capital, which held last year’s champion to a 1-1 draw in Auckland.
Charlotte Wilford-Carroll gave the away team the lead on halftime, but Auckland piled on the pressure late, as it did last week when it robbed Southern 2-1.
Sam Muirhead scored in the 78th minute to equalise, before Jade Parris missed a potential match-winner by inches in the 90th minute.
Northern claimed a crushing 7-0 home win over Central.Southern has a bye next weekend, before playing top-of-the-table Canterbury United twice in three days over Labour Weekend.
National women’s league
The scores
Southern United 6
Emily Morison 35’, Lara Wall 45’, Mikayla Gray 52’, Kirsty Hayr 58’, Ruby Anderson 67’, 78’.
WaiBOP 3
Shae Brady 44’, Ella Golding 59’, Grace Wiznewski 73’.
Halftime: 2-1 Southern.
