Metso Matamata Swifts appeared to be suffering from a classic post-championship hang over as they produced a disappointingly disjointed effort in drawing 2-2 with Melville Old Boys on Saturday. The Swifts wrapped the Waikato Premier League (WPL) title up last Saturday but didn't appear to have the required motivation to extend their run of victories in this, one of three remaining league games they still have to play.

Matamata struggled to make their passes stick in benign conditions and against defensively well organised opponents. An almost ho-hum approach to the match also led to the Swifts repeatedly failing in the most important area of the pitch: in front of their opponents goal.

Two goals away from home should have been enough for Matamata to take all three points, but the side was guilty of missing horribly a catalogue of gilt-edged chances. Having said that, the Melville 'keeper was in inspired form and pulled off a succession of superb saves.

The first half was goalless but Matamata generally held the upper hand, despite not being close to their best form. Captain Andy Birchenough ran things from the middle of the park and was well supported by Juan Carlos Rodriguez on the left hand side of the midfield four.

The Swifts repeatedly came close to breaking down their opponents but were denied by a poor final pass, a last ditch tackle, or a weak effort on goal. The lack of off-the-ball movement by the Swifts front three was also a major concern.

Melville almost took a shock lead just before the break, following a decisive counter-attack by their sole striker. Swifts goalie, Gary Darkes, did enough to put him off his stride and he screwed his shot on to the upright. Darkes had earlier been called on the make two smart saves as Melville looked to captalise on the chances they were given.

The goals came after the break with Melville making no mistake in taking the lead at the second time of asking. A defensive mistake on the hour mark let in the home side's wide midfielder who drilled home an emphatic, unstoppable shot from a tight angle.

Thankfully this goal stirred Matamata into action. Andy Birchenough soon levelled things with a tidy finish from outside the box and was joined on the score sheet by Scott Parsonage who hooked the ball home from ten yards. With the Swifts now finally clicking up through the gears more goals looked on the cards. Both John Massey and Jason Collins were denied by excellent close range saves before the final, deflating, sting in the tail of this match arrived.

With less than ten minutes remaining Melville capitalised on another Swifts botch up at the back to score the equaliser and that's how it stayed to the end.

While the Swifts are gutted to lose their 100% WPL record the small mercy is they were able to stretch their unbeaten run to ten games. Hopefully this is the shake-up the side needs to get things back in order for the next round of games and the end of season Caper Cup.