Southern’s unbeaten run comes to an end after short defeat to Team Wellington

The opening ten minutes saw Southern pushing on the front foot against a strong Team Wellington side. Garbhan Coughlan, Cody Brook and Cam Mackenzie all showed great drive to break into the opposition's third and were unfortunate for nothing to come from their early opportunities.

Around the 15th minute mark visitors Team Wellington began to settle into the game more as Palezevic had Welly’s first opportunity of the match in which his shot fired just past the right post.

Southern gave Team Wellington the ability to move the ball around their defensive line and looked to regain possession as the visitors began to press into Southern’s half.

Impressive defensive performances by centre backs Andrew Cromb and Stephen Last proved Team Wellington would struggle to penetrate Southern’s defensive line.

Team Wellington continued to build pressure with shots from Moreira which began to test Southern goalkeeper Liam Little but he did well to keep them at bay.

Southern did well to hold out a strong Team Wellington to the brink of half time but the visiting team was able to utilise the two minutes of added time to convert a corner kick which found the head of Sinclair on the penalty spot, making it 1-0 as the half-time whistle was blown.

Into the second half and Southern showed good enthusiasm to try and find an equaliser. Positive runs from Adam Hewson on the left and Ben Wade on the right put Team Wellington’s defense under pressure.

Southern’s best chance of the game occurred after a defensive error by Team Wellington which allowed Wade to win back possession in the opposition’s third and shoot from range which almost slipped under a diving Basalaj.

Coughlan also had a great opportunity as he strode towards the visitors’ defense, ball at feet, and with some fancy footwork, almost opened them up to allow him to get his shot on goal.

Team Wellington had a couple of late chances that could have allowed them to double their lead but Southern were able to hold them out, seeing the score stay at 1-0 at full time.

Southern will travel for their final away game of the season on Sunday 22 March where they face top of the table Auckland City. Kick-off is at 2pm at Kiwitea Street.

Photo Credit: Adam Binns Photography