Football: Musa has hand in finals glory

Wanganui export James Musa and his South Melbourne club have won the Victorian state championship and now focus on claiming the National Premier Leagues title in Australia. PHOTO/SUPPLIED

Expat Wanganui footballer James Musa played a big part in his latest club's performance to claim the Victorian state title in Melbourne this month.

The talented defender helped South Melbourne end its 2014 regular season in style with a comfortable 4-1 victory over the Goulburn Valley Suns at McEwen Reserve on Sunday.

Goals from Mathew Theodore, Nick Epifano, Milos Lujic and Jamie Reed sealed South's 21st win from 26 league matches this season. That meant coach Chris Taylor's side finished seven points ahead of the Oakleigh Cannons at the top of the Victoria division of the National Premier Leagues, Australian club football's second tier below the A-League.

With South already state champions and the Goulburn Valley Suns already relegated, the match was always going to be seen as a dead-rubber affair and Taylor used the match to blood some younger players to keep the squad fresh ahead of the Premier Leagues playoffs in the next few weeks.

Musa, a former Wellington Phoenix and Fulham under-21 defender returned from England at the start of summer to link with Team Wellington in the ASB Premiership, while also doing extramural studies through Massey University's Wellington campus.

Team Wellington made the ASB Premiership grand final in March but went down 1-0 to Auckland City, with Musa having a chance to level the match in the dying moments but his shot at goal was deflected wide.

His signing with South Melbourne was made public days later, the 22-year-old joining the club in the semi-professional state league.

A month after signing with South Melbourne, the Wanganui export graduated to full national honours after being called into the All Whites squad to face South Africa at Mt Smart.

South Melbourne were willing to release Musa for national duty after a series of withdrawals from the All Whites squad.

Following All White duties Musa returned to South, considered one of the most successful clubs in Australia. Established in 1959, they won four national NSL championships (the forerunner of the A-League), a host of Victorian titles and represented Oceania at the 2000 Fifa Club World Championship.

Musa scored once for South during the season (not normally a role for defenders) and won several Man of the Match awards in 2014.

South Melbourne now play an elimination final against Tasmanian champions South Hobart at the South Hobart ground on Saturday.

The winner of that match will progress to the semifinals to play the winner of Bayswater City (NPL Western Australia) and MetroStars Soccer Club (NPL South Australia).