Coach Heinrich Malan hasn't dwelled on the seamer's achievement too much except to say "good job, just keep what you're doing".
The right-armer did not expect much game time either, for that matter, with the likes of Black Caps Doug Bracewell and Adam Milne in the equation, as well as regulars such as Ben Wheeler and Seth Rance.
"No, I didn't. I thought I'd be running out drinks, to be honest," Mathieson says with a laugh.
"I kind of crept up and kept taking wickets at the end, really."
His chances of making the starting XI had the protagonists been around would have been as good as Kevin Pietersen making it back into the England ODI squad for the ICC World Cup in New Zealand and Australia from next month.
"Especially if Milney, Dougie and those other guys [Wheeler and Rance] are back I wouldn't have got too much of a look in."
He thanks his lucky stars for that.
"You only get a couple of opportunities when guys are injured and how long they are out for so you have to make the most of it."
The former Northern Districts cricketer comes in with a healthy dose of aggression to make a breakthrough.
"I change it up if things aren't working. Obviously I'm still relatively new so execution is not always there and I get hit quite a bit looking for those extra wickets."
Resigned to some game time in the first-class Plunket Shield format, Mathieson considers himself "okay" in the white-ball stuff this summer.
"You take those wickets away and there's a lot of runs there so I've still got a lot to improve on."
Tightening things up goes without saying even if it means his wickets may dry up next season.
"At least when you've got a good economy rate you're helping the team out."
He remains a bounce merchant, hitting the deck as hard as he can to sound out any inconsistencies in the wicket before mixing it up with pace for the desired result.
The seamer is in awe of what Milne and Bracewell do with the new ball, something he aspires to emulate.
"It's something I've always tried to work on - ball presentation and basically opening bowling if you want to be a strike bowler."
While he fancies himself as strike bowler when the big boys are away, Mathieson realises his portfolio is one of containment.
In retrospect, he is the first to recognise and appreciate that having so much depth can only be good for the collective.
"You've got Stevie Smidt and he's played a couple of game and he's been all right as well," he says of the Hawke's Bay senior men's representative captain who has sporadically made appearances for CD in previous seasons.
With such intense competition, cementing one's spot is imperative.
"This year our fielding's been a lot better than last year so the majority of boys are taking catches so that helps."
It pleases him to know that if he is not in Malan's matrix in a few weeks there's always The Station Napier Old Boys' Marist's premier club campaign to contribute to in the march towards the New Zealand Inter-club Championship finals.
"The boys are going well and I keep hearing from Skippy [Mathew Sinclair] and Llorne Howell about how the boys are tracking so that's how it goes."
Opening batsman George Worker is also somebody in the cricket numbers game, whether he likes it or not.
The Manawatu left-hander's 500 runs on the dot before the playoffs, including three centuries and a 50, needs no translation of his worthiness and prowess.
"Obviously the last couple of games have been pretty disappointing," says Worker before lauding the other CD batsmen for providing the platform for him to make inroads.
He hasn't let his imagination run wild, expecting Black Caps coach Mike Hesson to include him in his World Cup formula.
In keeping with the CD mantra, he prefers to keep toiling for the communal cause, treating every ball as an event, as it were.
"When you get caught up with things like that then you tend to lose focus," the 23-year-old says.
He's mindful that any perceived sense of hijinks he or Mathieson may harbour will come to nought if they fail to make incremental gains today to book a straight passage to the grand final next weekend.
The losers between the Stags and Aces will have a second life to play the winners of the third and fourth qualifiers.
"I'll take confidence from the runs and will try to do well again."
Worker says while they have beaten Auckland once at the same venue they have to do the job all over again.
"Pukekura is like a home fortress for us and the boys enjoy playing there because the locals get behind us with a great crowd."
Putting on a show for the fans is on the agenda at a picturesque venue where CD posted a venue record total of 405 from 50 overs against the Canterbury Kings in the opening round of the competition for a 217-run flogging a day after Boxing Day, thanks to veteran opening batsman Jamie How's 177 from 99 balls.
Today also will be another step towards farewelling former Black Cap How who has had a stellar career, including the bragging rights to the top three all-time domestic one-day scores.
Nothing would lift the spirits of a rejuvenated CD side more than to see him sign off on a winning note.
Like Auckland's two-wicket stumble, CD are coming off a 22-run loss in their last round-robin game in Wellington against woodenspooners Wellington Firebirds.
However, it is pertinent to point out that the Stags did not lose sleep over the loss because they knew while out chasing the hosts' total that the Aces had lost their chances of grabbing the top rung of the competition ladder at Mount Maunganui.
MATCH DETAILS
WHO: CD Stags v Auckland Aces.
WHEN: Today, from 11am.
WHAT: Ford Trophy, 50-over men's domestic preliminary final.
WHERE: Pukekura Park, New Plymouth.
Teams
CENTRAL DISTRICTS STAGS: Jamie How, George Worker, Dean Robinson, William Young, Kieran Noema-Barnett, Kruger van Wyk (c, wk), Doug Bracewell, Bevan Small, Dane Cleaver, Marty Kain, Andrew Mathieson, Stevie Smidt.
Coach: Heinrich Malan.
AUCKLAND ACES: Jeet Raval, Brad Cachopa (wk), Anaru Kitchen, Craig Cachopa, Colin Munro, Carl Cachopa, Colin de Grandhomme, Donovan Grobbelaar, Tarun Nethula, Michael Bates (c), Matt Quinn, Lockie Ferguson.
Coach: Matt Horne.
