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Matamata Swifts began the 2009 football season in the right manner with a well earned and fully merited victory at a dusty Te Awamutu Stadium.
With six players making their competitive debut for the Swifts, and off the back of a stunted pre-season schedule, where opponents were as rare to come by as raindrops, there was always a question mark over how the team would perform. Coach Lowry opted for a 4-3-3 variant, which  allowed all three available central midfielders the opportunity to ply their trade on opening day.
The nerves were settled as early as the ninth minute when Mark Knell poked the ball home from close range after a good Swifts build up. Geordie Knell, at home in the black and white of Matamata, has scored a goal a game during the pre-season and he kept his fine run going with this instinctive strike.
It was 2-0 on twenty five minutes when Te Awamutu were exposed down the left. A strong run from Neil Slater was followed by an excellent cross to Tim Miller at the far post. Miller rose, showing some serious hang time, to head the ball home for his first goal for Matamata.
The Swifts were comfortable going into the break two goals up but found a better opponent join them on the field during the second half. Matamata was stretched a couple of times, with Jack McKenna called on to head the ball off the line and goalie, Tom Pamment, pushed to full extension to save a free kick.
Alberto Romero went close for Matamata with a free kick of his own, while Mike Spencer used his strength to shrug off a defender and get his head to a cross he really had no right to. His header scraped the cross bar.
Matamata didn’t quite have the execution to extend their lead, however, despite creating a good handful of half openings. We’ll blame the surface for that...
Young left-back, Jamie Baxter, picked up the Swifts man of the match award. Baxter, along with the entire Swifts back five, which also included Jack McKenna (pictured), Ged Parkinson, Grant Cooper and Tom Pamment in goal, did a good job in shutting Te Awamutu down. They were only stretched when the ball took one of its few quirky bounces. Mark Abbs looked solid on his debut in midfield, alongside the experienced duo of Alberto Romero and captain Andy Birchenough.
The side will be much better for this match. A strong, winning performance against willing opponents on a dodgy surface was exactly what the Swifts coaching staff wanted to see.
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