Swifts 1-0 Claudelands Rovers

Recap

For the Swifts, it was a case of keeping their heads in the game for the full, frustrating 90 minutes against their visiting Claudelands Rovers opponents. They created chance after chance but a combination of resolute defending, wasteful finishing and a sloppy Domain surface combined to deny them until the closing stages.

Chris Walker struck the game’s only goal, to the immense relief of the Domain faithful, with five minutes remaining handing Matamata a 1-0 victory that was the least they deserved.

Local fans, however, were forced to sit through another afternoon of their team doing their best to confound all footballing logic. Matamata’s pacey front three failed to gel on a day they really should have been filling their boots, while captain, Jamie Baxter, could well have woken up on Sunday morning with a groin strain following the sheer volume of corners and set pieces he was forced to take.

The visitors all but handed Matamata the result when they missed an open goal, not long before Walker’s winner, from one of their few chances on the day.