Suddenly a week seems a long time in football. Seven days ago Logica were celebrating an emphatic win over second placed Spectraprint [See photos belatedly added] that stretched their unbeaten run to five matches and had players and fans looking at the top of the Division Two table to work out the promotion permutations. But a frustrating and disappointing 3-0 defeat at the hands of Bragança sees us instead looking somewhat deflatedly over our shoulders to see who might catch us up.

Perhaps most frustrating of all is that there can be few complaints about the outcome. The game closely resembled the away fixture back in November, when the Portuguese outfit’s neat and pacey attacking play saw them taking a swift two goal lead and left Logica looking slow and cumbersome by compare. Again Logica played better after the interval without causing too much goal threat, but a killer third goal on the break seemed to have determined the outcome.

But this time the home side were thrown a dramatic lifeline with twenty minutes remaining, when a quite blatant hand-ball in the box saw the visitors down to ten men and Logica given the chance to reduce arrears with a penno. But the normally clinical spot-kicker contrived to miss not once, but twice, from twelve yards, and with that the game really was up.

As one would expect, Logica began full of confidence but from the off were struggling to combat the slick and self-assured passing of Bragança. As the visitors moved the ball around with a confidence that bordered on arrogance at times, the home players became increasingly frustrated, a situation exacerbated by their lack of poise when they did manage to retrieve possession. , , and the recalled skipper all worked hard, but often Logica were exposed by a quick switch in the play or a lightning-swift break from defence.

It was one example of the latter that opened the scoring. A Logica attack came to nothing once more, and three incisive passes were all it took to move the ball with apparent ease up to the other end. The final pass was slipped into the path of a Bragançian forward, and as dallied with his challenge, the ball was clipped simply past the advancing in goal [0-1]. would later bemoan the wisdom of playing a right-footer at left-back, observing that if he had been shadowing his man on the other side, the sliding tackle would have been swift and effective.

A second goal was not far behind. Logica had plenty of bodies back as the Portuguese forward danced back and forth twenty yards out. There seemed little danger until the forward finally worked half a yard of space and fired a low and accurate shot through a crowd of players and into the far corner [0-2].

The home side huffed and puffed in an effort to strike back. But, other than a rare moment of skill down the right flank from , where he flicked the ball over one defender before having his half-volleyed crossed scrambled away for a corner, Logica came no closer to scoring than audacious attempt to repeat his December strike direct from a corner. This time, however, the finger-tips of the Bragançian keeper denied him.

The second half found Logica playing with more application, and most noticeably winning possession back in a more effective manner. But the resultant attacks foundered on a poor final ball, or a lack of options, and once again the frustration began to mount. The usually placid took exception to the Bragança number seven raking his studs down the back of his ageing calves as he tried to turn on a throw-in, and hurled a volley of angry abuse at the aggressor even though a free-kick was promptly awarded. As it turned out, both players would experience far greater upsets before this game was done.

The fragile hope given by Logica’s improved play was shattered when the visitors once again broke with the speed and lethality of a cobra to claim a seemingly decisive third goal twenty minutes into the second period. The ball was moved quickly down the right flank before a superb cross was curled in behind the Logica rear-guard. had little choice but to come out and try to claim the bouncing cross, but the Bragança forward was quicker, diving in bravely to head home [0-3].

To their credit Logica pressed on with their game, and finally a move of conviction and threat was constructed. Four consecutive sharp passes found in a few yards of space midway in the Bragança half. The Logica forward turned and finally played a killer pass inside the full-back to release in the inside right channel. The captain took the ball in his stride before clipping a seemingly perfect cross that took out the keeper and was destined for the unmarked ’s head at the back stick.

That is, until it was quite deliberately intercepted by the upstretched arm of the Bragançian number seven. If the referee was in any doubt as to the appropriate punishment to be meted out, the raker’s explanation, impertinent and implausible in equal measure, must surely have tipped the balance: "I was putting my hand up to claim for offside, ref," claimed the number seven with a straight face. The only thing the red card which greeted this riposte lacked, was the word 'BLUFF' stamped on it in bold letters.

But this was to be only the beginning of the drama. Up stepped and waited until the commotion had died down before replacing the ball on the spot. He hit the penalty kick straight and true towards the top corner, only to see the ball cannon back spectacularly off the underside of the bar.

Even as was leaping to head the rebound goalwards, the referee was blowing for the kick to be retaken having spotted the Bragançian keeper advancing some three yards off his line before the kick was taken. So a game of psychological bluff, double bluff or perhaps even triple bluff ensued as spotted the ball once more. The Logica striker decided to send his kick the same way, but although he again hit the ball hard towards the corner, the keeper had second guessed him, and tipped the ball away at full stretch to pull off a brilliant save.

Had Logica pulled the score back to 3-1 against ten men with twenty minutes remaining, who knows what might have happened. But the three goal cushion allowed Bragança to continue playing with a swagger. The home side continued gamely to press, and although the final ball was largely still lacking, they did create two further moments of drama.

A floated corner saw three Logica players jumping in the six yard box. The headed ball was blocked and fell loose, and rammed home from close range. Inevitably in these situations, however, the referee blew for a foul on the keeper, even though none of the Logica players had touched the keeper whilst in fact the Bragança glove-man was pulling ’s shirt.

As the minutes ticked away, Logica won a free kick forty yards out. curled a dangerous ball to the back stick where had peeled away. Leaping in unaccustomed salmonic style, the Logica skipper arched a looping header back over the keeper. It seemed about to dip under the bar when a finger appeared from nowhere and just tipped it over for a corner.

So Logica were not even allowed the satisfaction of a consolation goal, and were left to reflect on the harsh realities of a cruel game. Whilst spirits will be low for the first time in 2005, especially in the household, the players should not forget all the good work that has gone before to get the team into such a healthy position. now needs to pep up his charges quickly if Logica are to side-step the potential banana-skin presented by bottom club Duke of Edinburgh in a fortnight’s time.