Swifts 3-1 Old Blues

Recap

Waikato Stud Matamata Swifts 3-1 Tauranga Old Blues
WaiBOP Premiership

Waikato Stud Matamata Swifts maintained their unbeaten start to the 2016 WaiBOP Premiership season with an energetic 3-1 victory over their visitors from Tauranga, Old Blues.

This was a bruising encounter, as it always is against this opposition, but unlike in recent seasons the Swifts were able to rise above that and ease themselves to a well-deserved win.

The visitors began strongly, opening the scoring inside ten minutes then going close again not long after, but that was about it for them until late on as the Swifts first forced themselves into the game, then took over control. Dwayne Signal, who had an eventful match, nodded Matamata level on the half hour mark after getting on the end of a Jamie Baxter free kick, before Joe Tompsett was felled in the box by Old Blues’ keeper five minutes later.

Baxter tucked the penalty away to give the Swifts the lead, but would have been a little surprised to have been taking his spot kick against a keeper who should not have been on the field. Last defender… no-one else in sight… goal scoring opportunity… usually a red.

Matamata continued to keep their visitors at arm’s length after the break before sealing victory with just over 20 minutes left. Energetic substitute, Callum Barr, got on the end of a Swifts counter to nudge home his team’s third goal. The Swifts were denied a fourth when substitute Jordane Lambert, in his first match, rattled the cross bar from distance, before Barr was felled in the aftermath in what looked like a clear penalty… which was not given.

After waiting four weeks for his international clearance to come through, Frenchman Lambert showed glimpses of what’s to come in his brief cameo. [Yes Old Blues, his clearance came through before the match. If you’d just have asked we could have saved you calling the Fed :).]

Jordan Wise made a full stretch save late on to keep the score at 3-1 before Signal, who’d been booted all over the park, was shown red for a ‘vicious’ challenge in the final minute.