For the second season in a row Metso Matamata Swifts lost their opening league match and this time around they made a decent job of it. On the face of it 3-0 looks like a real roasting but there was more, oh so much more, to it than the stark reality of what the scoreline might suggest.

Almost against the odds the Matamata was able to field close to a full strength team. A whiter than usual Ged Parkinson had recovered enough from illness to make it back onto the field, while Alberto Romero's calf injury was sufficiently healed to allow him to start. The starting eleven was missing only player/coach, Duncan Lowry, who was serving a one match suspension carried over from the 2006 season.

Despite this the Swifts made a slow start against an energetic Taupo outfit that is one of the pre-season favourites to win the Federation League. The home side looked more likely during the first twenty minutes and capped their excellent start with a quality goal from Alan Lamb, one of the best players in the league.

Matamata wasn't without their chances, but was guilty of sending some good chances wide, including four free headers during the first half hour alone. The Swifts gradually clicked through the gears, more than got back in the game, and thought they'd tucked away a deserved equaliser just before the break when Jason Collins bundled the ball home from the middle of his barrel chest. The goal was incorrectly ruled out for hand ball. On such decisions are games decided.

Instead of going into the break on a real high a frustrated Swifts side entered the changing rooms angry at themselves, angry at the officials and angry with the world. This annoyance flooded into the second half as the Swifts became less and less of a competitive factor, a shocking state of affairs on which the home side capitalised.

Within twenty minutes of the break Taupo were three goals ahead and seemingly headed for the hills with the points. Opting to sit a bit deeper and catch the Swifts as they bombed forward, Taupo scored their second from a classic counter attack. The Swifts left Lamb free in the box and, after a couple of shimmies and breathless quick-step that any dancing star would have been proud of, he slammed the ball home.

The third goal was also down purely to a piece of Lamb magic, although this time he was the provider for Brad Frew, his strike partner. His no-look, outside-of-the-foot pass was something Michael Jordon would have been proud of (had Jordan been a footballer, of course).

Matamata was suffering but, as bad as they were, this match was far from one way traffic in the shots on goal stakes. During the second half the Swifts bombed two one-on-one-with-the-keeper chances, saw Daniel Frischknecht hit the upright and watched in awe as Taupo's keeper pulled of a blinding save to deny an Alberto Romero free kick. The Swifts were also, rather fortunately, awarded an indirect free kick ten yards out, but Andy Birchenough's pile driver rammed into a defender's head and bounced forty yards back up the field.

This was one of those games where the Matamata players were just happy to get off the field. When they'd done that, however, they had the long drive home to look forward to. A thoroughly miserable day all round.