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Tokoroa 2 v Matamata Swifts 3
Saturday July 6, 2002
Waikato 1st Division

Matamata Swifts continued their excellent recent run of form with a tough away victory over a struggling Tokoroa team. The Swifts found the going difficult in atrocious conditions, with the match being played on a pitch only passed as fit for play on the morning of the game. The home team also played their part by refusing to lie down and put in a battling performance belying their lowly status.

Matamata were solid in the first half and, in truth, should have had the match wrapped up before the change of ends. A couple of hometown offside decisions, coupled with at least one glaring miss slowed the Swifts down, but they did at least score once before the break. Bevan Shelley found himself on the end of a flowing passing move and arrowed home an unstoppable shot to give his team the lead.

The match opened up completely after the half time adjournment. The Swifts were shaken on the hour when the home side got themselves back into the match with a stunning goal. Tokoroa's playmaker found himself unmarked on the edge of the area and smashed in the goal of the game.

Thankfully that was enough to kickstart the Swift's victory charge with two quick goals putting the Swifts back in control. Shelley scored his second and was joined on the scoresheet, moments later, by David Hyslop who rounded the keeper to roll in Matamata's third.

That should have been game over but, just as the Swifts looked to close the game down, they suffered a couple of self-inflicted scares. First, with less than five minutes left on the clock, Tokoroa grabbed their second goal of the game. A free-kick from distance slipped through Swifts keeper, Ian Moody's, fingers and dropped over the line to give the home side a sniff of a result.

Then, literally seconds from the end, the Matamata players watched in horror as a Tokoroa player was presented with an open goal, following a defensive mix up. Thankfully, for Matamata, the resulting shot shaved the right side of the cross bar and bounced into the trees behind the goal.

Anything less than a Matamata victory would, however, have been rough justice for the Swifts as they created far more clear-cut chances than their hosts. At least they got out of the match with another victory and, hopefully, will learn from their shaky finish.

The Matamata Hotel player of the day was two-goal hero, Bevan Shelley.

Other Results:
Cambridge pp v Ngaruawahia pp, Unicol 1 v Melville 4,
Wanderers 2 v Claudelands 1, West Ham pp v Te Awamutu pp.

Full Table (as at July 6):