There was no joy for the Southern teams at the under-21 national tournament in Auckland yesterday.
The women were thrashed 8-0 by a classy Midlands outfit. The men fared better but still lost 3-0 to Central.
The loss has left the Southern women anchored at the bottom of the competition standings with three losses from three games.
The team has conceded 13 goals without popping one in the back of the net in reply.
Its next assignment is against a strong Canterbury side tomorrow.
The men have been much more competitive but found themselves trailing Central after nine minutes when Brendan Payne scored from a penalty corner.
Central stretched the lead early in the second quarter with Dylan Thomas banging in a second goal from a penalty corner.
Aaron Purser's 47th-minute goal clinched the win.
While the loss has left Southern towards the bottom of the standings, it has been better than its lowly position suggests.
It lost its opening game against Capital in a shootout, then Auckland clinched a 4-3 win with a late goal the next day. Southern then bounced back on Monday with a 4-3 win over Midlands in a shootout.
