It was a season of huge progress for Southern United across the four national league competitions, with notable highlights for all four teams throughout the summer season.

Our premier men’s team has just completed the 2017/18 ISPS Handa Premiership season with a third consecutive win, to seal fifth position on the ladder, just one spot outside the play-offs.

The Paul O’Reilly coached side achieved six victories, including two wins each over former champions Waitakere United and 2015 grand finalists Hawke’s Bay United.

The team also had an admirable record against the two of the competition’s standout teams, Auckland City and Team Wellington, managing three draws against the heavyweights.

It’s been a remarkable turnaround for the team. The achievements were based around a hard-working and organised defence, combined with a confidence in possession and attack that grew as the season went on.

Garbhan Coughlan recovered from a couple of unfortunate injuries at the start of the season to finish with eight Premiership goals. Defender Kristian Gibson joined returning players Danny Ledwith, Stephen Last, and captain Conor O’Keeffe and all were consistent standouts throughout the season.

Local players like Jared Grove, Tom Connor, Liam Little, and Tim McLennan all displayed career-best form and enjoyed the professionalism and new-found confidence across the wider playing group.

Meanwhile, local youngster Andrew Cromb made the step up from the Southern United National Youth League team, his form and effort in training giving him the chance to appear for the senior Men’s team towards the end of the season. Winger Ben Wade, who starred in last year’s Youth team, featured regularly for the Premiership side in 2017/18, confirming there is a pathway in place for young talent.

The Southern United Women’s team also had a best-ever season, shocking the country in the first round of the National Women’s League to beat the star-studded Auckland Football team at Forsyth Barr Stadium - remarkably the team’s first victory over another federation in ten years.

That result certainly wasn’t a fluke though, as the Terry Parle coached side also defeated Northern and Canterbury United Pride and came within one match of the grand final, before a heartbreaking play-off loss to Auckland.

Instrumental in the team’s success were midfielder Ellie Isaac who was voted the overall National Women’s League MVP by her peers, and captain Elise Mamanu-Gray whose outstanding form led her to win a debut senior Football Ferns cap against Thailand.

Along with coach Parle, these two helped instil a new-found confidence across the squad which featured a number of young local players who matched the country’s best players.

Meanwhile, Darren Hart’s Southern United Futsal team achieved the ultimate accolade by winning the Futsal National League after another fantastic season.

The team performed consistently well throughout the season, and beat Northern Football 4-3 in a pulsating final in Auckland.

The side were respected for their collective team effort and work rate, while Michael Sannum’s outstanding form was recognised in being named the Player of the League.

Southern United’s progress wouldn’t have been possible without the support of our sponsors throughout the season. This includes Gold sponsor McDonald's Dunedin, Freshwater Solutions Environmental Consultants, RD Petroleum Ltd, Integrated Health Otago, Ultra Football (formerly Kit Man), along with all of our Match Day Sponsors & 250 Club members.

A big thank you to all of our coaching and support staff, along with everyone else who has volunteered their time and energy to help our teams perform on the pitch.

Thank you to everyone involved at Sunnyvale, who helped us to create a family-friendly home base in the ISPS Handa Premiership this summer.

Finally, a huge thank you to everyone who came along to our matches and supported our teams throughout the season - the players loved the support, especially the dozens of kids who were part of the match day experience!