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Peter Vossen Builders Matamata Swifts completed a satisfying first half of their tricky Easter double header by securing victory over a fiesty Cambridge outfit at John Kerkhof Park. The Swifts were made to work hard for the win by a motivated home side and had to wait for two late goals from Mike Beard to wrap up a well deserved three points.
With five ex-Swifts in the Cambridge starting eleven this had all the makings of a real humdinger of a derby, but it was basically one way traffic right from the start. The fit young home side spent much of  the day chasing the ball around John Kerkof Park and that ultimaltely proved their undoing as they faded badly during the closing stages.
The game should have been over as a contest well before then, however, as Matamata created a sack full of openings. Cambridge's keeper was in rare form, pulling off a string of fine saves, while the desperation in the home side's defending was a credit to their club.
Matamata's move to a 3-4-3 set up gave a first start to Mike Beard, who joined Stu Watene and Andy Cooper up front, to create and extra option going forward. It was also all change for the Swifts' central midfield pairing as Tim Miller, back from suspension, and Alberto Romero replaced an unavailable Andy Birchenough and an injured Jon Allen.
The change of formation for this particular match worked in terms of the performance, with only the finishing touches a little lacking. The opening goal came in the 17th minute as some Swifts pressure down the left led to a teasing cross that was placed into his own net by ex-Swift, Scott Parsonage. It was a little unlucky on the home side, although Stu Watene and Simon Arthur were both lurking with intent had Parsonage not played at the ball.
The next hour was an exercise in patience as the Swifts ground away at their opponents, while Cambridge fought, scrapped and ran themselves into the bleached surface in an attempt to keep themselves in the game. Indeed, Cambridge came close to levelling the scores not long before Matamata doubled their lead, but captain-for-the-day, Grant Cooper, was quick enough to get across and clear the danger.
Mike Beard finally eased Matamata's nerves in the 80th minute as he slipped home his first goal following good work on the touchline by Stu Watene. Beard's second six minutes later was a left footed bullet from outside the box that underlined the win for Matamata and, in a fraction of a second, illustrated the difference between the two teams better than any match report can.
This was a must win match for Matamata and the team duly delivered. Monday's trip to Michaels Ave in Auckland will be a completely different story, however, as Ellerslie sit at the top of the league and is the only side with a 100% record after three rounds.
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