It was another trying afternoon at the Domain on Saturday, but the Swifts ladies brightened things up on Sunday with six of the best in Otorohanga.
Waikato Stud Matamata Swifts 0-4 Waikato Unicol
WaiBOP Premiership
Waikato Stud Matamata Swifts have slumped to a disappointing defeat against a lively Waikato Unicol outfit in their penultimate home game of the season.
The Swifts were second best for most of this match and trailed by a goal at the break. It could have been worse, however, after Unicol were awarded a penalty but they failed to convert. Two Swifts defensive errors during the opening stages of the second half allowed the visitors to extend their lead to three and effectively kill the game off.
It wasn’t all bad for Matamata. The Swifts were able to give plenty of their young players more game time ahead of the upcoming National Under-19 Club Championships and they were also able to hand Mike Candy a first team debut when he appeared from the bench just after the break.
But in the end it was a dreary performance from the Swifts and not one the players will look back on with fondness. Even though it’s the end of the season with little to play for, the coaching staff and fans would have been looking for more from their team.
Richardson Racing Stables Swifts Reserves 0-3 Kawerau Sports
WaiBOP Championship
The Richardson Racing Stables Swifts reserves faced their second promotion contending opposition in two weeks and again had their moments, but they were ultimately well beaten by a side that are now favourites to win the WaiBOP Championship.
Kawerau are the leading scorers in the Championship, by a long way, so the Swifts reserves knew they were in for an onslaught. But the young reserve side matched up well during the first half limiting the visitors to a single goal after another willing performance.
Kawerau eventually broke the reserves down with two goals during the second half to put themselves in pole position to win the league and gain promotion to next season’s Premiership. For Matamata, it was another afternoon of effort with little reward. The squad, across both teams, was stretched again, with another bout of forced selection changes not exactly helping with the two teams’ consistency of performance.
At this stage of the season, with both teams safe in mid-table in their respective leagues, the focusis very much on preparation for the U-19 champs in Napier over Labour Weekend.
Otorohanga 1-6 Challenge Matamata Swifts Ladies
Waikato Ladies Division B – top 6
Challenge Matamata Swifts Ladies have returned from Otorohanga, in what was their final away match of the 2016 season, with a big win to back up last weekend’s Waikato Plate win.
Matamata exploded out of the blocks and two strikes from Krystal Morrison had the team two up inside five minutes in close to the ideal start. Annemieke Verstraten scored Matamata’s third before half time and, although the hosts got a goal back, Matamata rattled home three more in the second half.
Verstraten scored her second of the day, and club-leading thirteenth, ten minutes into the second half then Tania Meehan hit the team’s fifth goal on the hour. Sommer Rickard made it six of the best for Matamata in the shadow of fullt time. The sometimes torrential rain throughout the second half made the match a challenge, but one worth meeting for a team that was comfortably dealing with bedraggled opposition.
This was the perfect way for the team to complete the away portion of their 2015 schedule.
This Saturday sees all three senior teams play at home in a Swiftacular day of football which brings the curtain down on this part of the 2015 season. The Challenge Matamata Swifts Ladies get things going at 10.30am, followed by the Richardson Racing Stables Swifts Reserves at 12.30pm and the Waikato Stud Matamata Swifts at 2.45pm. It’s the first time the planets have aligned to allow such a line-up of games and promises to be a nice way to end what has been, at times, a challenging season.