Southern United is looking to continue its strong start to the national futsal league in Christchurch this weekend.
After winning both games of its opening double-header in Dunedin, the team will play two games each against Capital and Central-Manawatu in the second round of the competition. Those two sides played each other twice during their opening weekend, with Central-Manawatu winning both games by four goals.
Southern head coach Darren Hart expected a physical challenge from Central Manawatu. It had several experienced national football league players and would bring a direct approach to the game. He hoped Southern would be too good for Capital, although he said the side was "a bit of an unknown".
"We always knew leading in it was going to be a busy two weeks, because we’ve got two tournaments back-to-back," Hart said.
"We’ve got no rest or recovery [time], or ability to change things between this week and next week, because we’ve only got one training session. So we’ve had to treat this as a double tournament in terms of preparation, which is not ideal, but it’s the way it is."
The team would drive to Christchurch today, leaving at 7am, with the first game against Central-Manawatu at 2.30pm. It would then play Capital at 7pm, followed by games tomorrow at 9am and 1.30pm.
Southern would be without Michael Taylor, Sean Flett, Fraser Hunt and Daniel Ramsay due to weddings and work commitments. That would hurt its depth, but the addition of Ben O’Farrell from the national football league side would be a boost.
Southern is tied in fourth with Central-Manawatu on the premiership table, although it edges in front by virtue of having a greater goal differential. Having scored 15 goals already, there is reason for optimism in the Southern camp. The overall competition looks to be wide open. Auckland and Waikato-Bay of Plenty are on top of the table, with 10 points from their six games.
