There is a long way to go in the National League, but they could hardly have asked for a more positive beginning than the one they delivered at Logan Park yesterday.
They played all the right football at all the right moments to beat Wellington Phoenix Reserves 4-1.
Only a late, late consolation goal to the visitors after a scrappy corner denied Southern United what would have been a deserved clean sheet.
"I think I made the cardinal sin of saying ‘clean sheet’ with about two minutes to go," coach Kris Ridley said with the hint of a grin after the game.
"We probably should have cleared that one, but it doesn’t really matter."
Southern effectively controlled the game from start to finish.
It gave Ridley a winning start for the first time in his coaching tenure and offered him an opportunity to get a bunch of newcomers blooded on home turf.
"To have our new players come in and sort of just gel and adjust to our system was quite positive.
"I’m really happy with the rotations, and our workrate off the ball as well.
"We know it’s only one game. Were we good? Yeah, we were really good. Can we get better? Absolutely."
The stand-out performer for Southern was classy central defender Hannah Mackay-Wright.
She blasted home two penalties, guided a defence that was rarely threatened, and popped up in the right place countless times to make interceptions and snuff out attacks.
"That’s down to Hannah’s smarts, being a footballer and reading the play," Ridley said.
"She was the best on ground for me today."
Mackay-Wright’s first penalty came after just six minutes when Phoenix goalie Harriet Muller clattered into Southern forward Georgia Nixon.
The Nix had the advantage of the howling breeze in the first half but, apart from some bright work from exciting midfielder Sienna Candy and Ruby Barber up front, and a volley from Holly Robins that hit the crossbar, they were thoroughly contained by the home side.
Southern enjoyed long patches in the opposition half and were rewarded right before halftime when the ball popped loose after a corner and Nixon lashed it into the net.
Seven minutes after the break, a Nix handball gave Mackay-Wright a second opportunity from the spot, and she again gave Muller no chance to make it 3-0.
Nixon had a couple more decent looks at goal, and Nieve Collin blasted a low free kick from just outside the box that Muller had to gather.
The pressure told when a through ball was gathered by the industrious Emma Vane, who rounded Muller to score.
Southern would have richly deserved a 4-0 victory but there was at least a local link to the Phoenix consolation.
In the sixth minute of stoppage time, former Southern, Roslyn-Wakari and St Hilda’s representative Freya des Fountain scrambled in a goal.
Southern’s next game is against Wellington United in the capital on Saturday.
Wellington were pipped 5-4 by Western Springs yesterday, while Eastern Suburbs gave Central a 9-0 hiding.
On Saturday, Chloe Knott scored a hat-trick to lead Auckland United to an 8-0 demolition of Canterbury United, and Petone beat Rangers 1-0.
National League
The scores
Southern United 4
Hannah Mackay-Wright 6’ pen, 52’ pen, Georgia Nixon 45+2’, Emma Vane 76’
Wellington Phoenix Reserves 1
Freya des Fountain 90+6’
