The Otago Youth team will play its final Premier League game against Green Island at Sunnyvale today before it prepares for a seventh consecutive appearance at the Milk Cup tournament in Northern Ireland.
Current internationals and former Youth team players Andy Boyens and Jeremy Brockie showed the heights that can be scaled with solid efforts in their midweek friendly against Italy before the Confederations Cup in South Africa.
Assistant coach Andy Duncan said the Otago team had struck a tough Milk Cup draw, with Shamrock Rovers first up, followed by Porto.
The Portuguese club won the Champions League five years ago under the management of Jose Mourinho.
The Otago Youth team, which includes four players from Timaru and two from Oamaru, has been developing under programmes implemented by coach Neil McKenzie, who has a wealth of experience at all levels.
A July school holiday programme organised by Dusty Quinn, from Back in Motion, for primary and intermediate age players, will act as a tour fundraiser before an intensive week-long training camp during the second week of the July school holidays.
The tournament runs from July 27 to July 31.
The first section of the Footballsouth Premier League season finishes today when the final matches are played before the top four-bottom six split.
The top four will play each other twice before the South Island Football Championship playoffs against Mainland Federation opposition, while the bottom six will conclude the season with matches against each other.
League leader Dunedin Technical has the bye, so Caversham and Roslyn-Wakari can close the gap to three points if they both win.
Caversham should maintain second position, being clear favourite over 10th-placed Grants Braes at Tonga Park, but Roslyn will have a slightly more difficult task at Rugby Park, where it plays eighth-placed Southland.
University will again be on the road when it accepts the tough assignment of playing the Rovers in Queenstown.
Mosgiel will host Northern at Memorial Park, with the young Northern team looking to settle into a good early rhythm against a Mosgiel side that includes playmakers who generally convert good opportunities.
- Wilson James
