Matamata Swifts v Melville Utd

Recap

Waikato Stud Matamata Swifts ended their season as they have often ended games this season, with a narrow defeat that, with a bit more incisiveness and concentration, should have been a victory.

The Swifts didn’t help themselves early on, putting through their own net twice inside the first quarter hour to give the visitors, who were superbly attired in Matamata’s away kit, a two goal cushion that could easily have been avoided. But Matamata improved as the half wore on and were rewarded for their industry just before the break when Michael Dawson headed home his second goal of the season to halve the deficit.

The second half was a brighter affair for Matamata as they looked to square things up. The equaliser came twenty minutes in and it was another Sam Masterson special. The young Swifts midfielder spotted his opportunity and floated the ball home from all of 45 yards to restore parity and set the game up for a bright finish.

While Matamata looked the more likely to grab a winner, the sucker punch came inside the final ten minutes when they failed to deal with a routine corner and Melville headed home. Brad West had an excellent late opportunity to level things up again, but his close range shot was superbly saved and Melville escaped with all three points.

The result left the Swifts eighth in the twelve team WaiBOP Premiership. While this was an improvement on 2014, the club will be looking for more next year as the large amount of young players, who were given an extended taste of senior football, will be expected to turn this experience into results.