Southland footballers make Southern United

There is a Southland flavour in the Southern United extended football squad named recently.

New Southern United football head coach Paul O’Reilly has announced an extended squad of southern-based players to prepare for the upcoming National League season.

Talented Queenstown Rovers quartet Niall Malone, Daniel De Souza, Hidde Verschuur and Tom Cairns made the cut, along with Thistle’s Luis Paiva.

Another notable inclusion is Invercargillborn midfielder Andrew Ridden who impressed after a good season with Dunedin club Caversham.

O’Reilly has been busy viewing players across the southern region since June, taking in league and Chatham Cup matches in Dunedin, Timaru, Oamaru, Invercargill and Queenstown.

He has been strong in his view that players in Southern United should be based in the southern region while representing the team.

The squad features several new faces from throughout the region as well as a number of teenagers who are still eligible to play in the Southern United under-19 youth team this season.

They will be coming into the club to compete for places alongside a number of returning players with previous National League experience with the side.

The extended squad will assemble on Wednesday September 7 to begin preparations, while O’Reilly will also be assessing a group of trialists in the next fortnight, providing an opportunity for new players to break into the squad for the upcoming season.