Logica's unbeaten run came to a brave end at the Riverside Lands Stadium on Sunday as they lost to third-placed Olympia by the odd goal in five. Once again they put up a sterling performance, battling back from two goals down to draw level before conceding a cruel and undeserved deciding goal in the last quarter of an hour.

After last Sunday's vital and convincing victory over Everyman, and had decided to celebrate with long holidays, whilst midfielder had come to grief in the Barn. Fortunately answered the call, returning from Sweden once more to make a remarkable ninth appearance of the season. also drafted in and , but was left scratching his head when new boy Tom Perritt failed a late availability test.

The usual calm of week had already been rent asunder by the shock and dramatic retirement of one his star players. The shivery reverberations from ChillyGate appeared to have claimed their first victim when, in a flounce of international-level stroppiness seemingly characteristic of Black Country striking primadonnas such as Stan Collymore, announced his immediate retirement from all forms of football at the relatively early age of thirty-nine, during a low-key press conference held late on Wednesday night. It was not clear whether being appointed understudy to a one-legged , or being asked to stand around in mildly inclement weather had incensed the sensitive striker more.

In any event, was mightily relieved when just three days later, came out of one of the shortest retirements in recent Logica FC history to accept a place in Sunday's starting line-up. Even worrying weather forecasts predicting a bit of a nip in the air could not deter the fanatical , who was clearly hell-bent on putting the good of the team before any personal suffering.

As expected, the promotion-chasing visitors started strongly as Logica struggled to find their game early doors. But although Olympia passed the ball about with some aplomb, Logica's defence continued its fine form of late, and the returning only had a couple of long shots to deal with whilst the home side got their act together. As the half wore on, the Logica midfield began to engage in some slick passing of their own, and as lines of communication were established with the front two, the Olympian rearguard showed signs of nervousness.

With providing guile on the left, and adding a constant threat down the right, Logica forced a series of corners which unfortunately failed to yield a goal. Their best chance in this period came from a deftly weighted cross which bravely headed on as the Olympian keeper flapped unconvincingly. was, as ever, supporting his strikers, and as the swirling ball came over his head, he tried to nod it goalwards, but could not quite get the right angle.

Typically, just as Logica seemed to have got on top, Olympia went down the other end and scored. had already made a brilliant one-on-one block when a low early ball dissected the red back-line. A blue forward was able to gallop away and, despite a gallant effort by , he managed to clip a low reverse shot into the far corner [0-1]. Worse followed almost immediately when another through-ball found the referee ignoring the linesman's offside flag, and allowing an Olympian to sprint clear and finish low past the exposed [0-2].

In keeping with their recently adopted guise of winners, the Logica players did not allow heads to drop but rather resumed some spirited attacking football that found the third-placed side volubly urging each other to hold on to half-time. A crisply hit free kick seemed a simple take for the Olympian keeper until the glove-man inexplicably tried to control the ball on his thigh. had followed in out of habit, but was as surprised as anybody when the ball flipped up behind the keeper. By the time the striker had reacted, the angle was too acute and the first-time shot found only the side-netting.

Further half-chances saw a header from a corner blocked, whilst just failed to make the necessary contact with a cross pulled back from the bye-line. But with practically the last kick of the half, Logica finally got their just reward. As dropped short for a throw, picked out a complementary run from who flicked on first time straight into the path of an equally clever run from . The majestic midfielder took the ball perfectly in his stride before lofting a sublime lob with the outside of his right foot over a helpless keeper [1-2].

Buoyed by this goal, Logica continued to take the game to their opponents after the break. However, good approach play mostly foundered on a poor final pass, and clear-cut chances were few and far between. The home side finally managed to strike an equaliser after an interlude of Olympia dominance. slipped the ball past two markers from a throw before swivelling to flash in a low cross. found himself unmarked six yards out, and having controlled the ball in a flash and disappointingly discounted the feasibility of rounding a keeper rooted to his line, calmly opted to stroke the ball home [2-2].

The fight-back was characteristic of Logica's new year resolution, and efforts were doubled to preserve a point and even try to snatch two more. was again superbly combative, and finally Olympia were forced to resort to provocation to try and stop the superb flank-man who was winning everything. A series of childish niggles culminated in an off-the-ball knee to 's groin, which fortunately the referee spotted. The yellow card was brandished, but this desperate act of frustration ironically seemed to inspire Olympia, and Logica were increasingly on the back-foot as the game approached the last fifteen minutes.

was increasingly being called into the action, and had acrobatically clasped a couple of corners before making the save of the day. The game seemed up when an Olympian forward found himself in the clear with time to pick his spot. But somehow, the Leeds keeper managed to dive full-length to tip the close-range shot past the post. The back-line continued to match the brilliance of their keeper, with and making a number of vital last-ditch tackles.

had made-way for , but the young full-back carried on the good work and showed some nice touches amidst the increasingly ragged play from the weary players in front of him. There was still the occasional foray, such as when turned his marker to whip in a dangerous cross to the back stick. directed an inviting header back across goal, but the six yard proved bereft of red shirts.

Just as it seemed Logica might hold on for another valuable point, the Football Gods decided to intervene in the cruellest fashion. A hopeful through-ball was over-hit, and the home defenders eased up as came out to collect. But somehow the ball seemed to hold up on the uneven surface, and an Olympia striker was able to get to the ball first, round the Logica keeper and slide home past the despairing lunge of [2-3].

This was a body blow that Logica could not recover from, and the final whistle signalled the end of their unbeaten run. The crucial month of February had so nearly seen them emerge with points from all four games. And whilst may have marked this down as a bonus game in his Survival Masterplan, he will have been as gutted as his charges that they did not manage to hang on for a well-deserved point.