Comag Matamata Swifts was held to a disappointing 2-2 draw by West Hamilton United in Saturday’s Soccer Shop WaiBOP Premiership match, while both the Challenge Matamata Swifts Ladies and Camel Kebab Swifts 3rd team were knocked out of their respective cup competitions in games that went to extra time over the weekend.
Matamata began their Premiership match against West Hamilton on the front foot. They scored early through the returning Chris Walker and created a host of further changes during the opening half hour.
At times the Swifts were over-elaborate and this allowed the visitors possession and chances they otherwise shouldn’t have had. They got an unlikely equaliser on the half hour, but that gave them the confidence to counter extremely well, and they hit the woodwork twice before the break.
West Hamilton went ahead five minutes into the second half following a defensive mix-up. Matamata controlled possession for most of the half, but mostly in their own two-thirds of the field. The Swifts did break forward often but the visitors were strong, desperate and resolute in defence, showing the heart required to keep their lead.
Thankfully Brayden Lissington found an angle to pot the Swifts’ equaliser with enough time for the team the win the game, but that was the final piece of scoring on a frustrating afternoon.
Waharoa Transport Matamata Reserves put in another ‘almost’ performance in the early game on Saturday, before going down 4-2 to Claudelands Rovers. Ram Singh scored twice during the first half to keep his side close but it was another afternoon in which a couple of mistakes proved costly.
Camel Kebab Swifts 3rds went down 6-4 after extra time in their Waikato Cup clash at Claudelands Rovers. At one point the team led 3-1 before ending regulation time at 4-4. The hosts scored twice in extra time to progress but it was another good performance by the rapidly improving 3rd team. Jamie Cox notched another hat trick, in the process bringing up 200 senior goals for the club, while Mike Hills was also on the score sheet.
On Sunday the Challenge Matamata Swifts Ladies were taken even further in their Waikato Cup encounter. Their match against Waikato Unicol finished 2-2 after extra time, in a match that ended 1-1 after of 90 minutes, before heading to penalties.
Kerrie Cox and Mary Ontiveros scored for the ladies during what was an evenly fought cup encounter that either side could have edged. The team did well to fight back from the disappointment of going behind in extra time and possibly deserved more from the game.
The two goal scorers from regulation time also hit home in the resulting shoot-out, but the visitors were just a little bit more clinical from 12 yards, taking it 4-2 to gain passage to the next round.