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Matamata Swifts received a nice little wake-up call at current league leaders, Whakatane Town, and a salient message to their supporters who may be expecting the team to do well in the league this season. Games of football are all about scoring goals, no matter how they come. Nothing else matters.
On this day the Swifts weren’t at their best, but they were still good enough to have won. When Merhaba Man of the Match, Mike Spencer, slammed the ball into the roof of the net on fifteen minutes, following a move  that started at the back, the Swifts looked like they would coast away from their uncharacteristcally dishevelled opponents.
With the Whakatane defence pushing high up the compact field, it was only the spring-loaded linesman's flag that denied three one-on-one opportunities for Mark Knell. Knell curved his runs to perfection, only to hear the flap of a hastily raised flag. While players may know less than half the rules, we are, at least, aware that if a player is flagged off-side he should be in that position when the ball is kicked, not when he receives it...
It seemed only a matter of time before the Swifts would double their lead. Unfortunately, games of football don’t always go according to the script. A poor piece of team defending, during which the ball should have been cleared on a couple of occasions, only led to a sliced drive finding Whakatane's Brendon Mitchell, who couldn’t miss when the ball rebounded off his forehead.
It was the mistake that let Whakatane into the game.
Worse was to follow only minutes later when another slip at the back gave Mitchell an opening, which he drilled home expertly.
Whakatane finished the first half the stronger of the two teams. Tom Pamment in the Swifts goal needed to be lively on several occasions, while Jamie Baxter had to be at his best to contain Mitchell down the Matamata left.
After the break it was a different game. Whakatane appeared content to defend their lead, something they did with the sort of passion and desperation that gave their club immense credit, rather than search for the killer third goal. This tactic, however, gave Swifts plenty of possession.
Matamata created countless opportunities to grab at least an equaliser. Andy Birchenough was denied by a brilliant one-on-one save, while Neil Slater shot over from close range. On three separate occasions the ball pin-balled around the rain-slickened Whakatane 18-yard box, bouncing off knees, feet, chests and other body parts, but never off a Swifts foot and into the goal. Tim Miller was at full stretch to shave another superb Jack McKenna cross. Slater even had the ball in the net, but was denied by the refs whistle. A foul somewhere, apparently.
Whakatane forced a couple of attacking free-kicks during the last five minutes, and one of their players also had Pamment at full stretch to superbly save an excellent drive.
At the final whistle Whakatane celebrated like they'd won a game far more important than this one. Perhaps that displayed the sort of passion that was ultimately the difference between the two sides. Their victory has marked Whakatane as serious title contenders, although the Swifts coaching staff will be annoyed, more than anything, to come away from this one empty handed.
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