They learned — if they did not already know it — their team is full of gutsy competitors, and they learned the Logan Park turf could really use a little grandstand.
The weather turned shockingly bad in the second half, but there was no surprise Southern battled to the final whistle as they slipped to a 1-0 loss to West Coast Rangers yesterday.
No home loss is particularly welcome, obviously.
But Southern could be proud of the effort and commitment they showed to fight back into the game in the second half.
Rangers, looking much more fluent as a result of having been playing together for about six months longer than the home team, dominated much of the first spell.
They were aggressive on the ball and extremely well-drilled off it, and their defensive efficiency offered almost no space for Southern in the opening 45 minutes.
Rangers appeared to have opened the scoring after just 13 minutes when Lorna Selby tucked the ball into the net after a Kailey Short shot had been parried by busy Southern goalkeeper Lauren Paterson, but the ruling was offside.
Georgia Nixon created Southern’s first real opportunity with a tantalising cross that proved just out of reach for Emma Vane.
After visiting captain Marissa Porteous blazed a shot over the bar, Southern had one more first-half sniff when a short corner was followed by a delightful Vane cross and a Nixon shot that went straight to glove.
Paterson was then forced into a save when Anjelina Ujdur’s through ball found Emily Lyon.
A prolonged scrappy period followed until three minutes before halftime when the same Rangers combination flourished, Ujdur threading possession to Lyon, who slid the ball past Paterson.
Southern were in the game at the break but needed to lift their passing accuracy and turn scrappiness into creative football.
To their credit, they lifted the tempo and were the better team for much of the second half.
Nixon produced a silky turn before her low shot was pouched by Rangers keeper Sophie Campbell, Amy Hislop got in a nice shot and Nixon looked a fair bet to score when she got on the ball in the box but was blocked.
Against the run of play, Shannon Henson appeared to have made it 2-0 to Rangers, but her angled effort was scratched for offside.
The final 20 minutes were about the weather — and it was truly horrific, making for a miserable experience for the fans and a tough ask for both teams to create more opportunities.
Southern’s next game is on the road this Saturday against Petone, who were beaten 3-1 by Western Springs yesterday. Maddison Ollington scored all three goals for Western Springs.
Canterbury United and Phoenix Reserves drew 2-2, Wellington United beat Eastern Suburbs 3-2 and Ava Collins scored a hat-trick in Auckland United’s 10-0 rout of battling Central.
National League
The scores
West Coast Rangers 1
Emily Lyon 43’
Southern United 0
Halftime: Rangers 1-0.
