Three home venues, no TV games for Southern Utd

HARDY Southern United fans are going to have to use planes, trains and automobiles to catch their team live in the national football league.

The release of this season’s draw shows the Dunedin team will not play in any televised matches.

To catch their team live in Dunedin, Southern United fans will commute to three home venues.

The team will play four games at Sunnyvale, three games at Forsyth Barr Stadium and two games at the Caledonian Ground.

The scheduling of matches at three home grounds was to fit with league licensing rules, Football South chief executive Chris Wright said.

The Southern United squad will run out on to an improved Caledonian Ground in its first match there on October 28.

The ground was closed before the end of last season because of waterlogging, Wright said.

It has since had remedial work done and is in good order for next month’s match.

To win the national league, Southern United must overcome a brutal draw in its opening rounds.

The Dunedinbased side will play just two home games in the first nine rounds of the competition.

Southern United will start the new season with a provincial derby against Canterbury United in Christchurch on October 21.

The team returns to Dunedin the following week to play defending champion Auckland at the Caledonian Ground before playing three consecutive away matches.

It clashes with Hamilton Wanderers, Team Wellington and Waitakere United before returning to Dunedin to play Tasman United at Sunnyvale on November 25.

Southern United must then play two more away games against the Wellington Phoenix on December 2 and Hawke’s Bay United on December 9.

After its brutal opening run, Southern United will return to Dunedin for consecutive home matches against Canterbury United and Eastern Suburbs.

There is a threeweek break over Christmas with the game against Eastern Suburbs set to get the side rolling again in the new year on January 6.

An away match against Auckland FC is followed by three consecutive home games against Hamilton Wanderers, Team Wellington and Waitakere United.

The regular season finishes with alternating home and away matches against Tasman United (away), Wellington Phoenix (home), Hawke’s Bay United (home) and Eastern Suburbs (away).

The final is set for the end of March.