They finished their dominant men’s Southern Premier League season with a 5-2 win over Queens Park in Invercargill on Saturday.
The win ensured they finished their champion season with a 100% record, their only on-field blip being restored after Otago University fielded an ineligible player a week ago, turning the draw into a 3-0 Northern win.
Rory Hibbert added another two goals to his tally to finish the season on 24 goals, while Janic Gorman also scored a brace and Luka Mandrich gave them a seventh-minute lead.
That left Northern in control at 5-0 after 53 minutes, before livewire substitution Anton Fitzgerald bagged two goals in the last three minutes for the hosts.
It leaves Northern well placed to challenge for a spot in the South Island-wide Southern League, in a home-and-away promotion tie against a Mainland challenger.
Those games are expected to be played on September 27 and October 4, the latter at home.
In other games, University claimed second spot on goal difference, coming from behind to beat the Dunedin City Royals 3-1.
Green Island also came back to beat relegated Queens Park 4-2, while Roslyn Wakari did it a little easier in a 6-1 win over Northern Hearts.
Meanwhile, in the men’s Southern League, the Dunedin City Royals wrapped up their season with an emphatic 5-0 win over Wānaka.
In doing, so they finished the season on a run of six consecutive unbeaten matches.
En Watanabe opened the scoring on six minutes and Jack Julian doubled the lead after 18 minutes to score for the third consecutive match.
Will Turner gave the Royals a three-goal buffer on the half-hour mark. Watanabe bagged his brace on 60 minutes, before the returning Connor Neil, who had missed the previous four matches, scored the last two goals to take his tally to eight for the season.
Christchurch United did what no team had done so far this year — win in Nelson — in beating Suburbs 4-0.
In doing so, they claimed the last National League spot at the expense of Cashmere Tech, thus avoiding any embarrassment, as they have recently been granted an O-League licence.
In the women’s South Island league, the Dunedin City Royals finished their campaign with an emphatic 8-0 win in Christchurch over Halswell.
However, it took until the 44th minute to break the deadlock when Abby Rankin scored.
The floodgates opened in the second half. Amy Hislop scored a brace, taking her tally to 19 for the season. Nieve Collin and Keira Pettefar scored, before club stalwart Kelsey Kennard scored her first goal of the season with 15 minutes remaining.
Skipper Rose Morton and Rankin added the last two in the final 10 minutes, to leave the Royals eight points clear and with an impressive +55 goal difference atop the final standings.
Otago University missed the chance to finish level with winners Green Island in the women’s Southern Premier League.
They were held to a 2-2 draw with Queens Park, leaving them on 40 points to Green Island’s 42.
Caitlin Toohey gave them an early lead, although Queens Park hit back via Rebecca Walker and Alex McIntosh.
Toohey restored parity just before halftime, but University were unable to edge ahead in the second half.
