It will play the table-topping Auckland City at Kiwitea Street in Auckland. Originally scheduled for January 29, the match was moved due to Auckland City’s involvement in the Nike Lunar New Year Cup in Hong Kong. That has left Southern with the mammoth task of having to play the league’s top two teams in the space of four days.
To make things more difficult, several of the team’s top players are unavailable due to the midweek fixture. Ross Howard, Michael Hogan, Liam Little, Andrew Ridden and Sam Collier are among those missing. That has opened the way for several youngsters to get on the pitch.
Coach Paul O’Reilly said it would be a huge challenge for those players, but was hoping to have a good crack nonetheless.
"Even though Auckland have had a couple of poor results, they’re still by far the best team in the league, I think.
"Every game we’ve played this year I think we’ve been pretty competitive and created chances. Even against Auckland we were hard to break down. But I certainly think they’re a step ahead of everyone in the league."
The side has a short turnaround from its 3-1 loss to Team Wellington on Sunday. That makes for a less than ideal preparation, although the team is making the best of it.
"We [trained last night], but it [had] to be light because the players just aren’t going to be able to train hard and then play a game," O’Reilly said.
"The physios will be working overtime. A Sunday to Wednesday turnaround is not ideal at all, but we’ve just got to accept what the league do and get on with it."
With three games remaining, the team’s goal is still to finish above the bottom two. It trails Hamilton Wanderers by three points and Tasman United by four. Both teams have played an extra game, however, and Southern’s final-round clash with Tasman offers an opportunity to close that gap significantly. The team was still training well and O’Reilly said that one of the big positives of the season had been the attitude from the players right through.
"I’d be really disappointed if we finish in the bottom two. Hamilton are still in our sights and, although Tasman are four points ahead of us, they’re still in our sights as well. We’ve still got to play them.
"I don’t think there’s any easy games in this league, but the goal is to still pick up some points. If we can pick up four points in the next couple of games, that might just be enough. It might not, but I think it might just be enough to get us over the line."
Southern United v Auckland City
Kiwitea Park, today, 1pm
Southern United: Josh Dijkstra, Sam Cosgrave, Danny Ledwith, Stephen Last, Conor O’Keeffe, Harley Rodeka, Riley Anderton, Eric Molloy, Ben Wade, Andy Mulligan, Danny Furlong, Tom Stevens, Jack Pirie, Ben O’Farrell, Chris Kessell.
Auckland City (from): Angel Berlanga, Mario Bilen, Ryan de Vries, Marko Dordevic, Danyon Drake, Reid Drake, Harry Edge, Takuya Iwata, Yousif Ali Al-Khalisy, Daewook Kim, Micah Lea’alafa, Clayton Lewis, Joao Moreira, Albert Riera, Alfie Rogers, Jacob Spoonley, Emiliano Tade, Fabrizio Tavano, Darren White, Enaut Zubikarai.
