After 19 years in the wilderness, the latest iteration of the Southern League returns. The 2018 South Island League will pitch the top 5 Mainland Premier League teams and the top 3 Football South Premier League teams into battle over one round, with a scheduled kick off of June 30.
It's been a long while coming, with regular talk around the grounds about its future return over the best part of the last two decades. Of note are these words from Jeremy Ruane in 2015: http://www.ultimatenzsoccer.com/NZClubSoccer/2015...
If you're on Jeremy's website it's interesting to look at the changing face of Canterbury clubs particularly. In 1999 the top 3 teams were Christchurch Technical, Woolston Workingmen's Club and Cashmere Wanderers. Jump forward to 2018 and those 3 teams now form one powerhouse club - Cashmere Technical, with it's premier teams playing at Woolston's Garrick Memorial Park.
So, back to the present.
This years Mainland Premier League was played over 2 rounds and won by Cashmere Tech last week. The other places were settled weeks ago. Final matches next week will determine the standings of Coastal Spirit, Ferrymead Bays, Nomads United and Nelson Suburbs.
However in the deep south, matters are going down to the wire with four teams in the running for the thee spots available: Dunedin Technical, Caversham, Queenstown Rovers and Southland United - and they all play each other next weekend!
Initially, it all hangs on the Southern Scenic derby between Rovers and United, with Southland needing a win to stay in the running. Lose, and the top 3 will Tech, Cavvy and Queenstown.
If Southland win, it brings into play two matches: firstly Dunedin heavyweights Tech v. Caversham, with the Tonga Park team probably the more desperate; and also the following week's final league match, Tech v Queenstown.
Gotta love football on Te Waipounamu.