It was always coming.
Southern United pressed high and put Wellington United under all kinds of pressure in the opening 30 minutes.
Freya Partridge-Moore had their first chance, followed by a couple more shots from Amy Hislop that went begging.
But in the 34th minute Marissa Porteous’s stunner changed the game.
Abby Rankin passed it wide to the left wing, where the Porteous — who plays for Auckland club West Coast Rangers — controlled it just outside the left corner of the box and curled it over goalie Molly Simons into the back of the net.
The screaming shot was the defender’s first goal all season and secured a 1-0 win for Southern.
The result handed Wellington their first loss of the season and pushed Southern level with Auckland United who are second on the table behind Eastern Suburbs.
It was a well-deserved win, as Southern had all the possession in the first half, stifling Wellington’s opportunities, and were rock-solid on defence.
Wellington looked a touch off the ball and let Southern dictate how they wanted to play.
It was a challenging game in wet and windy conditions at Wakefield Park, the wind picking the ball up and sending in the opposite direction of its intended destination.
Captain Rose Morton got through a power of work in the middle, Porteous put her body on the line at the back, as did Hannah McKay-Wright, and Hislop was sensational.
But it was a full team effort and nothing seemed to faze the southerners, even keeping Wellington at bay playing with 10 players for a portion of the first half when Kendrah Smith was off receiving treatment for a knee injury.
They worked hard to find the openings, but Simons kept them out for the rest of the game.
Wellington came out in the second half stronger and with more intent.
Their first real shot came in the 60th minute when Southern goalkeeper Amy Simmers came out to stop their first shot.
She was left stranded, leaving the goal wide open, for Ellie Kabayama to finish off.
But her chance went begging wide and left Wellington still searching for their equaliser.
Southern’s gritty defence was tight and kept them moving forward, Toni Power having some lovely touches.
Smith had a couple of late shots at goal but could not make anything from them.
In the other games, Western Springs drew 2-2 with Phoenix Reserves, Canterbury United Pride beat Ellerslie 3-0 , Eastern Suburbs downed Waterside Karori 3-0 and Auckland United accounted for Central Football 3-0.
Women’s national league
The scores
Southern United 1
Marissa Porteous 34’
Wellington United 0
Halftime: 1-0
