Southland United’s efforts leave their coach feeling ‘very positive’
Southland United coach Luis Paiva is feeling ‘‘very positive’’ halfway through the team’s first season back in the Southern Premier League, despite the team sitting in seventh place in the nine-team competition.
With the competition at its halfway point, Southland United have nine points from eight games, with two wins, three draws and three losses, 17 goals for and 19 goals conceded, representing a solid showing after losing their first two games of the season against Queenstown and Caversham.
The team entered this year’s competition as one of two new teams from 2016, with relatively low expectations.
‘‘I think everyone looked at us as the outsider when we first started, probably not many people believed that we would challenge the teams from Dunedin. I think so far we have done enough that we can challenge them, we have been competitive enough to make good results,’’ Paiva said.
While Paiva is generally pleased with his team’s performance, he thinks a lack of experience has cost them.
Their squad features several players new to the Southern Premier League, and has been bolstered by three experienced Japanese imports.
‘‘Personally, I think we should have done better in a couple of games. In the past we drew against University and Tech Technical],’’ he said.
‘‘I thought we should have been better in those games and got the three points, we didn’t and I think we learned the lessons.
‘‘We have a pretty young squad and experience makes such a dif- [Dunedin ference for the outcome of the game, but I assess the season as positive, I give it six or seven out of 10 points.’’
Southland United players get a chance to return to Donald Gray Cup action tomorrow, with their scheduled premier league opponents, Queenstown Rovers, involved in a third round Chatham Cup fixture against Dunedin Technical on Saturday.
Paiva is confident his side will keep producing encouraging performances with the team in their first season of a guaranteed three season minimum stay in the Southern Premier League without the threat of relegation.
‘‘We will now start repeating against the same teams and we expect to be even more competitive and get more points, we are where we are, we have no pressure to win this league, but we will try to do as good as we can and try to make as many points as we can,’’ he said.
In Saturday’s Donald Gray Cup fixtures, Gore Wanderers host Queens Park in an eagerly anticipated clash.
The teams drew 2-2 in round four and both teams will be desperate to claim three competition points to stay in touch with competition leaders Old Boys.
In other matches, Southend United host Old Boys, while Thistle and Winton meet at the ILT Turf.
The men’s division two competition is split into top six and bottom four for the second half of the season.
Meanwhile, in women’s action, Southend United host Queens Park in the Women’s Knockout Cup at the Turf at 2pm on Sunday, while the men’s Edinburgh Cup starts next week.