But not always at the right end…

If you want to see goals in this season’s Loaded WaiBOP Premiership you’d better make sure you follow Matamata Swifts. Their second round match, at Hamilton’s Melville United, saw the teams trade eight goals. This followed ten goals in last Saturday’s opener.

Unfortunately this time the Swifts didn’t find themselves on the right side of the final score line, losing 5-3. They let Melville out to a three goal lead in the first half, including two own goals, before the twin threat up front of Chris Walker and Dayne Willemsen hauled the margin back to one by the break.

A similarly open second half saw Melville score again, but the Swifts created enough to at least get a point and possibly win it. Walker made it 4-3 with twelve minutes to go but the equaliser wouldn’t come and Melville sealed it in the final minute.

More precision up top and pragmatism at the back would have seen quite a different result for a Swifts side that was missing several senior players. Lesson learned, hopefully.

The (really) young Richardson Racing Stables Swifts reserves fell to a 4-1 defeat at promotion favourites Tokoroa. The team played some good football at times, but weren’t quite consistent enough to put enough pressure on their stronger, more expreienced opponents. A Tokoroa own goal was all the team had to show for efforts that probably deserved a little bit more.

The Swifts A team made no mistakes this week as they romped to a 7-0 win at Cambridge. They were up 4-0 at the break but, with memories of their opening fixture still burning in their brains, made no mistake this week. Serial goal scorer, Jamie Cox, scored a double and was joined on the score sheet by Fenerbache’s own, Hayri Cihan, as well as Rob Cox, Jason Lawrence, Kyle van Waveren and Ronan Costello.

On Sunday, the Challenge Matamata Swifts Ladies put up another promising showing in Waikato Ladies Division A. Elevated to the top flight less than a week before the start before the season, Matamata has been forced to adjust their goals for the season. Their 5-0 defeat at the hands of Melville United, a leading side in the 2016 WaiBOP Ladies Premier League, was a battling effort against the sort of players the team didn’t expect to be playing.