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Matamata Swifts have fallen to a heartbreaking, but not completely fatal, defeat against Taupo at the Matamata Domain. It was a match the Swifts should have had in their pocket, particularly during the second half, but it was a victory the visitors needed more and was decided by a piece of Alan Lamb magic inside the last quarter.
While the Swifts went into the half time break a goal down they were more than comfortable in going about their work as neither side really created anything of note during the first 45 minutes. The goal,  such that it was, came from the penalty spot after a rare Taupo raid. Swifts keeper, Gary Darkes, mishandled a shot from distance and, in clearing the threat, was deemed to have fouled a Taupo striker. The decision took a long time in coming.
Each side had a couple of long range efforts, none of which threatened either goal. The Swifts went close to equalising not long before the break when Andre Freitas found himself unmarked on the far post but his first time shot was placed just wide.
The second half was a real roller coaster ride for the home side and their army of fans. The Swifts outshot and came oh so close to taking out the four times league champion Taupo side. Daniel Frischknecht set the ball rolling by having a shot cleared off the line. Soon after neither the referee nor his assistant saw a clear hand ball in the box, something that was particularly frustrating for Matamata after the earlier penalty call.
The pressure didn't let up. Andre Freitas was soon threatening again, getting his head to a cross at the far post. The Taupo keeper, Brendon Feck, did enough to put Freitas off his line, but in doing so collided with the Swifts striker, fell awkwardly and injured himself so badly he took no further part in the game.
The Swifts finally managed to get back on level terms when Leo Pardini placed the ball home from a well worked set piece that left the visitors exposed at the back. The goal lifted the Swifts and they pressed forward in search of a second goal that would have ended the game.
Ged Parkinson soon rose high to head the ball off a defender's scalp and onto the underside of the cross bar. The ball bounced down and, to at least two Swifts players who were standing close, over the line before it was hooked clear by a Taupo defender. There was no flag, as had been the case all day, and the visitors survived again.
With Taupo rattled at the back the Swifts then had their best chance of the match. Andre Freitas was played clean through but couldn't find the target from right out in front of goal. Such profligacy, of course, couldn't go unpunished.
After this period of sustained pressure the inevitable happened. The Swifts failed to clear an innocuous ball on the edge of their box and it fell to Alan Lamb who jinked past two Swifts defenders and calmly knocked home what ended up being the winner. In the end, a player of the class of Alan Lamb was the difference between these two evenly matched sides.
Matamata created more openings, had more of the ball, were the better side for large chunks of the match but, crucially, didn't score more goals. And that's why football is the maddening, frustrating, joyous game that it is.
This victory has pulled Taupo two points clear of the Swifts on the table, but it is still Matamata's title to lose. Taupo has one game to play while Matamata, crucially, have two left. The Swifts need to win both their remaining games if they are to be sure of winning the league.
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Above Jason Collins gets into his work. 
Above Scott Parsonage lines up a shot. Note the tyre marks - some idiot picked the night before the game to use the main field as a drag strip. 
AboveYou're about to get nailed Alberto. Again.
Above Andre Freitas goes close. This collision left Taupo's keeper on the deck and out of the match. 
Above Leo Pardini, the Swift furthest to the left, finally got his side on the score sheet.