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Matamata Swifts won their opening home fixture of 2009 campaign, dispatching the highly rated Hamilton team, Claudelands Rovers, at a wet and windy Matamata Domain. In truth, this was a tight, physical contest, with the improving Swifts side edging a Rovers outfit that arrived with a quiet air of confidence and departed in frustration.
The Swifts were ahead within seven minutes when Tim Miller rose to head a superb Jack McKenna cross across the keeper and inside the upright. The early goal raised the confidence levels and  helped lead to the home side getting on top of Rovers and staying their for most of the first half.
Rovers had one early chance when they looped a close range header over the bar and another just before the break when a long range shot was well saved by Tom Pamment.
The Swifts had to wait until ten minutes before the break before doubling their lead. The busy Mike Spencer got across the front of his defender and was upended in the box. Mark Knell stepped up to calmly steer the ball home off the upright. A two goal difference was an accurate reflection of the way the first half had gone.
It was 3-0 and game over only five minutes after half time. Jon Allen, in his first start for the club, was pole-axed in the box for a stone-cold penalty. Knell stepped up again and this time drove his shot home for his second goal of the day.
Claudelands came into the game a little more as the game went on. With the game gone, they moved to four at the back (from five) and chanced their arm a little more. The solid Swifts back four coped with everything, however, leaving an aggrivated Rovers coaching staff searhing for answers.
To their credit Rovers had, at least, come to play. While their in-your-face aggression wasn't enough to win them any points, it did lead to a handful of sticky moments for Matamata and moments of pressure the like of which the Swifts hadn't seen previously.
Rovers scored with the last kick of the game from a harshly awarded free-kick out wide. It put a slight dampener on the day for a Swifts side that finished with ten men after Allen’s late red card (something that, strangely, brought the loudest cheer of the day from the Rovers bench).
Once again, Mark Abbs, the Merhaba Man of the Match, was superb in midfield for the Swifts. Habbs was the fulcrum around which Matamata dictated terms. The two goal scorers, Knell and Miller, were good again, while Pamment in the Matamata goal pulled off two good quality saves and was unlucky to be denied his third clean sheet following the goal at the death.
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