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Matamata Swifts have been bundled out of the Chatham Cup at the first hurdle. The Swifts were defeated 4-1 at Birkenhead United, in Auckland, although the starkness of the score line says little about the reality of the game. Two goals in the last five minutes to the hosts blew the score out over an unlucky Swifts side who had spent most of the second half chasing the game with ten players, following a harsh red card to Grant Cooper.
The Swifts entered this match with high hopes of pulling off an upset and, on their performance alone, stood a good chance. Coach Lowry was forced into another couple of changes, with Ismail  Awad cup-tied and Neil Slater unavailable. In came Jon Allen, back from suspension, and Alberto Romero, who had only just arrived in the country after four weeks visiting his sick father in his native Uruguay.
The first half hour of the game was a scrappy affair, with both sides not really knowing what to expect as they were so unfamiliar with each other. Matamata gave as goot as they got, but neither side was able to create much in the way of genuine openings.
The hosts snuck into a rather fortunate lead in the 31st minute when an over-hit corner kick sunk just under the cross bar at the far post, but Matamata was quick to respond. Andy Birchenough prodded the ball home at the near post from a Mark Abbs free to get the team back on level terms. Five Birkenhead players crowded aggressively around the referee to protest the fact he didn't appear to blow his whistle at the right time to re-start play. None of them were booked, which was curious, and more than a little inconsistent, given what was to happen to Cooper later on.
Two incidents either side of half time tipped the match the way of Birkenhead. They scored from another corner two minutes into first half injury time, although Tom Pamment in the Swifts goal appeared to be fouled in the swampy 6-yard box. Then, just after the break, the Matamata players were forced to watch in astonishment as Cooper was sent from the field - apparently for verbal abuse of an opponent. As if there is such a thing. What can we say? The ref made a howler (cue the usual abuse on the Federation League forum...).
Ten-man Matamata gave an excellent account of themselves, playing some of the best football of the match during a sustained spell. Mark Abbs and Mike Spencer both went close to grabbing an equaliser, while Birkenhead used the extra space available to them to create a couple of chances on the counter. Spencer and Mark Knell ran themselves into the ground up front, while the Swifts midfield was so much stronger than Birkenhead's that it caused the home side to by-pass their own midfield, bombing a long balls forward, to no real effect.
The killer third goal came in the 85th minute when the home side finally worked some space out wide. They fashioned a cross that was deftly nodded home for the goal that realistically snuffed out the Swifts' hopes.
Then the final goal came right on 90 minutes, with Matamata throwing everyone, including goalie Tom Pamment, forward in a vain attempt to get something positive from the game. Pamment was forward for a corner that was cleared to one of Birkenhead's strikers who was able to roll the ball 45 yards into an empty net.
Despite the result this was a very good, aggressive footballing performance from Matamata, which bodes well for the side when they get back to their league campaign this coming Saturday. The Swifts didn't get the breaks in this game but will console themselves with the knowledge that that sort of stuff evens itself out over the course of a long season.
We'd like to thank Birkenhead United for their superb hospitality. It was a pleasure to visit a club with good facilities and an excellent attitude towards the game. It's a great shame they were forced into the embarrassing position of having one of their subs run the line after only two officials were sent to the match. That doesn't reflect well on the US1 appointments body, but it does make us appreciate the service we get in the Waikato Bay of Plenty.
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Above Yep, that's a Birkenhead sub running the line. In a Chatham Cup game. Cheers US1.