Hamilton North 4 v Matamata Swifts 0

A gallant first half performance proved to be of little value as an under-strength Matamata Swifts side lost 4-0 at high scoring, title chasing, Hamilton North. With the major worry being just to get a team on the field, the Swifts were left hunting for players on the morning of the match. The bulk of the team only arrived less than half an hour before kick-off. This was not ideal preparation for a Swifts side hoping to give the home side, one of the best teams in the league, a decent game.

Despite this, and the makeshift nature of their line-up, Matamata looked the more likely team to score during the early stages. Playing, by necessity, a counter-attacking game they had several good half chances, with Billy Garcia, Bevan Shelley and Colin Taylor all causing trouble for the home side.

As the first half wore on, however, Hamilton North began to impose their possession style of football on the Swifts but, largely due to the horribly bumpy surface, seemed unable to carve out more than the occasional shot from distance.

The first goal, when it did come, had an unfortunate hint of controversy about it. The Swifts were looking to keep things tight until half time but they were caught out on the break. With Hamilton North having players in what seemed to be off-side positions, the whistle never came and Matamata found themselves a goal down.

After the break it was largely one way traffic, although the Swifts did finish the stronger of the two sides. Unfortunately, by then, they had let in a further three goals, with the first coming less than a minute after the restart. The goals, while probably deserved, were also avoidable as they came about more through crucial Swifts' errors than anything else. Against a clinical team like Hamilton North they were mistakes that should have been avoided at all costs.

Refreshingly, for Matamata, they did manage to chisel out some late chances. Colin Taylor had a goal-bound rocket tipped wide, while Billy Garcia and Bevan Shelley had chances scrambled away through some desperate defending. To round things out, the Swifts had a cast-iron penalty appeal turned when Adam Graham was hauled down in the act of shooting. The fact the whistle never came was by then no surprise, but it rounded out a thoroughly miserable, if luckless, day for Matamata.

Player of the day for Matamata was Colin Taylor whose work rate could have been rewarded with at least one goal, while Conal Couchman, dragged into the side at literally the last second, did well up front for the full 90 minutes.

Swifts XI 1-Dave Taylor; 13-Neil Wiseman, 6-Gwyn Hughes, 16-David Mann (5-David Wiseman 70m); 7-Bevan Shelley, 3-Colin Taylor, 8-Dwayne Barlow, 2-Adam Graham, 10-Ryan Carter; 9-Billy Garcia, 4-Conal Couchman.

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