The Southern United Herald
Match17 Oct 2026
Noah Bell leads the rout of Auckland City
5‑2, and Noah Bell took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Southern United tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Bailey Nelson could not have asked for more on his first appearance — 8.43
Debuts are survived rather than enjoyed. This one was enjoyed: 8.43, 1 goals, and a manager already being asked whether he starts again next week.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Noah Bell scores twice — 7.99
Two goals and a mark of 7.99 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Real improvement from Monty Tuiloma at Southern United
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Monty Tuiloma is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Up for the corner, and Monty Tuiloma delivers — 7.78
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Monty Tuiloma scored, was marked 7.78, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Tempers go at Southern United
Winston Smith was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match17 Oct 2026
Nobody could stop scoring
7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Southern United and Auckland City in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Squad19 Oct 2026
A late step up for Wandile Ndisile
At 26 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 5 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
Boardroom19 Oct 2026
Graduation day at Southern United
5 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
In brief
- The terraces Southern United supporters have found a favourite in Monty Tuiloma
- Market Southern United promote James McCowatt from within
- Market One of our own: Tommy Garbett joins the Southern United first team