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Peter Vossen Builders Matamata Swifts have returned home from Whangarei with three precious, well deserved points that were earned the hard way. The Swifts put in the hard graft, coupled with a decent amount of skill and personality, to wrest victory away from a good North Force side.
The Swifts were forced into a couple of changes for this game. Ged Parkinson came in for Grant Cooper at the back, while Alberto Romero's illness forced coach Lowry to re-shape the Swifts midfield. Mark Knell was pushed into a midfield four and Willie Mason was brought in at right back.
The home side shaded the first half arm wrestle, but not by much. North Force opened well, knocking the ball intelligently around the superb Kamo Sports Ground playing surface. They poked and  prodded the Swifts defence but couldn’t come up with any more than a handful of half chances against the disciplined Swifts outfit.
Matamata came more into the game as the first 45 minutes wore on, forcing several corners and seeing a Tim Miller shot from the edge of the box fly just wide.
Mark Knell, playing on the right of midfield for Matamata, bore the brunt of the home side’s first half frustration at their inability to force an opening goal. He was flattened twice, either side of having a set of studs driven into his shin. Heavily concussed, Knell had to be substituted at the break as he barely knew the score, let alone where he was.
Matamata continued their improvement into the second half, limiting their hosts to a couple of corners while looking more dangerous going forward. Miller just about scored the goal of the season for the Swifts but his first time shot, following a length of the field move involving five players and more than a dozen passes, hit the upright.
Pete Shannon opened the scoring in the 69th minute with a deft finish. He was played in by Mike Spencer, on as a half time substitute for Knell, who burst down the left then picked him out with a well crafted pass. Shannon calmly lifted the ball over the advancing keeper.
Matamata’s leading scorer, Mike Beard, scored what turned out to be the winner just over ten minutes later. He attacked space in the North Force box and headed home a measured cross from right back, Willie Mason.
The home side didn’t throw in the towel. They hit the cross bar minutes later then grabbed a goal right on the 90 minute mark. The goal was rough justice for a Swifts defensive unit that had been so strong all day. The Swifts central midfield duo of Jon Allen and captain, Andy Birchenough, proved to strong and too experienced for their direct opponents, while the front two combined well, to the point where the Swifts could have had more than just the two goals. Miller, in particular, deserved a goal for his efforts.
The result was just what Matamata needed from a fixture that would have to be the longest trip undertaken by a club from our town for a regular league game in any sport.
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