It was back down to earth for the Stanley Group Matamata Swifts Federation 1 side after they failed to continue their winning streak, going down away from home to a competitive Waikato Unicol side. The loss sees them in a 4 way tie for 5th place (including Unicol) as they hit the half way point in their season, with the middle of the table seeing a logjam of teams.

It was a murky day in Hamilton and the Unicol pitch looked like it had struggled to cope with the recent rain making attractive football, something which both times have tried to play throughout the season, a tricky proposition. However it was the Unicol side, possibly knowing their pitch better, who settled first, enjoying the better of the early possession. Chances though were few and far between, and it seemed as though Matamata had weathered the early storm with only a couple of headed attempts to keep out.

Then, with the Swifts beginning to push forward, Unicol struck. A through ball found space behind the Matamata defence and the unmarked Unicol striker ran through, chipping the ball over the advancing keeper. Any momentum the Swifts had gained was quickly lost and a second goal to the home side seemed imminent. But, against the run of play, Scott Parsonage was put away on goal. He put the ball past the Unicol keeper but was brought down with the equaliser beckoning, a clear penalty. Unfortunately though, in what was perhaps a sign of the sort of day the visiting side was to have, the resulting shot was knocked over the bar.

The Matamata side have had had trouble with lifting themselves after a setback and it was to be no different on this occasion. At 1-0 down the game was still in the balance. Ten minutes later the score was 3-0 and the game practically over. The second goal came from a ball knocked across the box which was slotted as the Swifts failed to pick up the advancing runners, while the third came from a free kick played into the box which was knocked down and not cleared, giving the Unicol striker his hat trick.

Half time gave the Swifts a chance to regroup and recover, with the game threatening to run away from them and turn into a rout. Fortunately, the effort to start the second half was significantly improved. An early goal was required to give the visitors a sniff and it was provided by leading goal scorer Ben Watson after an interchange of passing with Peter McCoskrie put him through on goal for his tenth this season.

Matamata continued to push forward in search of the second which would have really sent some jitters into the Unicol defence. And there were no shortage of chances. Shots were fired wide, final passes mishit, and the referee even managed an intercept but, crucially, the Unicol goal stayed intact until virtually the last kick of the game. Adrian Naicker, coming off the bench for the Swifts, found the ball on the right and cut inside to unleash a left footed drive. It gave the keeper no chance as it curled wickedly around him and inside the left hand post.

Unfortunately it was too little, too late. The final whistle went a few seconds after the resumption to hand the Swifts a 3-2 loss. A much improved effort in the second spell from Matamata, but a disappointing loss none the less.

There was only one other senior match this weekend as the Federation 2 side had the bye, with the Challenge Ladies travelling to Claudelands looking to build on their first point last week. Conditions were tough once again and a few stand-out players in the Claudelands side dominated much of the match. It was still a better result than some of the early season efforts but the final score was a 5-1 loss. Tasha Saw scored the only goal for Matamata and also took player of the match honours for a tireless effort all around the park. Good performances were also put in from Gabrielle Raynel and Morgan Norris.

Next week sees all three sides back at home looing to find some momentum again. On Saturday the Federation 2 side take on West Hamilton (12.30) while the 2.45 game sees Whakatane visiting the Domain (2.45). On Sunday the ladies welcome Ngaruawahia (11.00).