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Peter Vossen Builders Matamata Swifts have suffered their second loss in two games in NRFL Division 1A, the end of season group that will help determine where teams play in 2010. The visitors, Papatoetoe AFC, are the first of the ex-Premier Division teams the Swifts will play and their intensity, along with the way they harried and pressed the Swifts players, proved to be the difference in a very tight contest.
The first half had little of note to recommend it. Matamata coughed up too much cheap possession, while the visitors persevered with the long ball and duly got caught off-side or flopped the ball into  no man’s land. The best goal scoring chance of the half came not long before the break. The Swifts countered quickly and found Tim Miller in space. His early left footed strike was well saved by the Papatoetoe keeper’s trailing leg and the rebound, which fell to Michael Beard, was snuffed out. The visitors had the best of the first 45 minutes, without creating much of note.
Pete Shannon was forced from the field in the 27th minute after receiving a nasty head injury. A flailing elbow caught him just above the eye leaving his face a bloody mess.
The Swifts should have been ahead right after the break when Andy Cooper nipped in behind the Papatoetoe defence to get on the end of a cross. His first time shot left the advancing keeper stranded but the ball rolled just wide. Matamata fell behind not long after in the most annoying of circumstances. The two Matamata centre-backs, Bevan Woltersdorf and Grant Cooper, slipped into each other, handing possession to the Papatoetoe wide man. He strode into the box and played the ball to the far post where it was well finished.
Matamata continued to do enough to be worth a goal and it duly came in the 77th minute. Michael Beard created and scored it himself. He was too strong for the Papatoetoe defender, winning the ball, beating another defender and sending a tracer bullet into the net from just outside the box. Soon after Alberto Romero hit the cross bar from a free kick.
The final, decisive, goal came at the wrong end for Matamata. A late run forward was halted twenty metres out by a solid tackle from Willie Mason. The World Cup dive that followed, however, led to the ref awarding a free kick in a dangerous area. The resulting shot was a superb effort that was worthy of winning any game of football. It was also a reminder of the step up Matamata has made recently and the sting in the tail that sometimes happens when you don’t take your chances.
The Swifts will need to up their game next Saturday when they entertain Manurewa at the Domain. Manurewa are another ex-Premier League side and have won both their NRFL Division 1A matches. Kick-off is at 2.45pm.
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