If it was thrills, spills and goals you were after on Saturday, then the Matamata Domain was the place to be.

The Swifts gave Huntly a two goal head start before coming home with an irrepressible, four goal, second half performance that would have been too much for most teams in the Waikato Premier League (WPL) to handle. In doing so they kept the pressure on Otorohanga at the top of the WPL table.

The Swifts, perhaps still awakening from a mid-season slumber that has seen them in action only twice over the last five weekends, were caught cold at the start of the match and found themselves behind with less than a minute on the clock. It was a comedy of errors at the back as several miskicks and much misjudgement gave the visitors the opening, which was scuffed just inside Gary Darkes' far post.

Worse was to follow as Matamata gifted Huntly a second goal before the twenty minute mark. More sloppiness by the Swifts defence, normally the meanest in the league, presented a simple opportunity that the lone Huntly striker was more than happy to take.

Shock, but not panic, was the Matamata response. In the lead up to half time the Swifts created more than enough opportunities to go ahead, but their lack of match sharpness meant they remained scoreless. Man of the match, Adam Graham, did well through the middle and helped create opportunities for Scott Parsonage, Jason Collins and Hayri Cihan that were either saved or put wide.

After the break Matamata was in a different class to a Huntly side that had, by then, lost one of their key defenders to injury. It took quarter of an hour for the Swifts to break their duck but the goal, when it finally came, was worth waiting for. As has so often been the case this season it came from centre back, Ged Parkinson, but this time it was not from the penalty spot. Parkinson drove home an unstoppable shot from 35 metres that would have had most keepers in the country scrambling.

Within minutes Matamata was level thanks to some clinical close range finishing from Neil Slater. From then on there was only going to be one winner as the gallant Huntly side, that had done so well up to that point, seemed to implode under the weight of the Swifts pressure.

Slater grabbed his second goal, another reflex finish, with just over fifteen minutes to go to put Matamata ahead and then captain, Andy Birchenough, completed the scoring with a flourish. Birchenough displayed dribbling skills reminiscent of Stanley Matthews in his prime to go past a multitude of Huntly defenders before clipping a sweet left footed shot into the top corner.

At this stage of the season finding a way to win is the only thing that matters. Matamata achieved that and, as this game went on, rediscovered their footballing mojo as well. This is a promising sign for the weeks and months ahead. Special mention must go to Mike Collins who made his first start for Matamata. Collins was a little shaky to start with but looked much more at home as the game went on.