Papamoa kept their WaiBop Premiership title bid on track in spectacular fashion on Saturday with a resounding 5-1 victory over Matamata Swifts.

In front of a healthy and hugely entertained crowd at Gordon Spratt Reserve, goals from Logan Crawford, Andrew Cooper, Liam Molloy and a brace courtesy of Top Khamwanthong handed the home side a well-deserved win.

After a slightly laboured start, similar to their previous home game against neighbours Otumoetai, the contest was effectively over by half-time thanks to three goals in nine minutes leading up to the break.

Striker Strauss Boom was welcomed back into the starting XI, and it was his pass that carved the opener on 36 minutes when fellow forward Crawford calmly slotted home his first goal for the club.

Within two minutes Papamoa's lead had doubled, and in a departure from their customary passing game, it was a route-one punt from goalkeeper Ryan Foord that set up a smart finish from Cooper.

And before the referee could sound the half-time whistle, man-of-the-match Khamwanthong bagged his first of the afternoon and Papamoa's third after a delicate assist from Dave Molloy.

To their credit, and despite such an ominous onslaught, Matamata regrouped during the interval and were back in the tie just three minutes after the restart when Brayden Lissington's free-kick from outside the penalty area gave Foord no chance.

Their resurgence, however, was short-lived, and Khamwanthong capped arguably his best performance of the season so far with a beautifully-struck shot to restore Papamoa's three-goal cushion.

With the outcome all but assured, the finishing touch was applied by teenaged substitute Liam Molloy with five minutes remaining.

The youngster, who came off the bench to replace older brother Dave, took a clever pass from Cooper before calmly lifting the ball over Matamata's goalkeeper to compound the visitors' misery.

After the game, first team coach Andy Birchenough, who recently returned from a visit to America, was quick to praise Khamwanthong's contribution as well as the team as a whole.

'For me, Tops (Khamwanthong) just edged out Cole (Peverley) as the man-of-the-match. It was a flawless display, and he took his two goals extremely well.

'Cole also produced a solid display of controlled football, and he is outstanding at marshalling those around him. He finds time on the ball, plays in a methodical manner and talks throughout the whole game. Our players are learning so much from him.

'Overall, it was a really pleasing performance. We played a nice brand of football, and the work that our manager Duncan (Lowry) has been doing with the lads while I have been overseas was in evidence.

'We're blessed with quality players who play as a team. All of our goals were quality, and it is great to see goals coming from different players.

'We have been guilty of not scoring as many goals as we believe we are capable of, and I'm looking for more goals as we move into the second half of the season.”

The win sees Papamoa remain in second place in the WaiBop Premiership table, some three points behind leaders Tauranga Boys' College having played two games less.

Their next fixture is a trip to Waikato Unicol on Saturday (July 28), who currently sit in fifth place. Kick-off at Jansen Park is at 2.45pm.

Papamoa FC (3-4-3): Ryan Foord; Campbell Higgins, Campbell Attwood, Phillip Fletcher; Cole Peverley, Top Khamwanthong, Dean Styles, Dave Molloy; Andrew Cooper, Strauss Boom, Logan Crawford. Substitutes: Mitchell Hales, Elijah Welch, Liam Molloy.