The Swans’ top scorer endured a poor day in front of goal during a narrow 2-1 Championship defeat at Hull City, but head coach Matos insisted the striker’s broader contribution far outweighs one frustrating afternoon.
The defeat leaves Swansea in 16th place in the table, seven points above the relegation zone, with the three clubs in the bottom three all having a game in hand.
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The Swans left East Yorkshire empty-handed despite a performance that could have brought more, particularly if Vipotnik had not passed up two clear chances, one of which seemed harder to miss than score.
Those misses proved costly as Hull capitalised either side of the interval, with Oli McBurnie converting a penalty and Regan Slater unleashing a fine strike before Liam Cullen’s header gave Swansea hope after the break.
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But Matos insisted: “It’s about efficiency. Football is about that, about creating chances as well and scoring them.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t and that, I would say, can summarise a little bit the game.
“Vipotnik has given, and gives, so much to us that it’s about a moment. He didn’t score.
“But he scored so many before, so there’s no one more unhappy than him at this moment.
“I think most important, and I said when he scores as well, is what he offers to us in terms of the team – how we press, how we push the team up, how he puts his heart in everything he does.
“He missed these ones but for sure he will score more.”
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The Slovenian striker found himself in the spotlight alongside captain Ben Cabango, whose uncharacteristic handball gifted Hull the opening goal from the penalty spot.
Matos was equally protective of his skipper, choosing to look at the collective rather than single out individuals.
“That is what happens in this game. There are a lot of hurdles in life. Today was one and we need to keep pushing,” he added.
When asked specifically about Cabango’s error, he added: “It's like all the situations that sometimes happen. Ben is a leader. In the tough moments, he has stood up for all of us.
“The most important thing is to analyse the situation, not the individual - how we got deep, how they broke the press, how they got the foul, how we were positioned to defend that set-piece.”
Hull, meanwhile, continued an impressive run under Sergej Jakirovic, grinding out a third win in a week to sit fourth in the table and firmly in the promotion conversation.
The Tigers’ head coach admitted his side rode their luck at times and even joked with Vipotnik after the final whistle.
“He was my player in Maribor,” Jakirovic said. “He’s a fox in the box. I said to him ‘thank you’ because normally he would score two goals.
“I saw the ball in the net already because he’s really a fox in the box. A great finisher.”
