Logica appear to be easing themselves gently into what threatens to be a marathon season. After a pleasant stroll in their opening game, and putting one down to experience against Lillington, the team were looking to move up a gear and secure three points against league leaders Kensington Stanley at the Stade d'Ilea this morning. Unfortunately, Stanley emerged victorious, but with Logica playing extremely well in patches, and in the hunt for an equaliser until the death, there was an overwhelming feeling of both disappointment and frustration in the home dressing room after the game.

After last week's performance between the sticks, the Supremo had fled the country to drown his embarrassment with a large quantity of German ale. Before sneaking through customs with an assumed identity (skilfully reinforced via a false yet elegant dog-hair moustache) to avoid the inevitable media attention, Groom had at least put together a squad which oozed quality from every pore. All it lacked in fact was balance (the squad that is, although we might imagine the Supremo suffering a similar fate come the end of the Oktoberfest), with four strikers, six midfielders and just three "natural" outfield defenders.

Puppet Supremo Mark Abbott addressed this conundrum with some imaginative flair. Despite Fazel's Man of the Match performance in the right-back slot last week, Abbott selected Craig Taylor to play as the fourth defender, based on his versatility, strong running and hard tackling abilities. This maintained the preferred 4-4-2 formation, allowed Fazel to revert to his preferred striker's role along side Abbott (a sort of Sheringham and Owen combination), and left a fantasy four-man midfield of Reevaldo, Loriot, Wood and Clarke.

This piece of tactical perception seemed to have been justified, for, despite an ultimately successful last minute fitness test plus an unlucky start, Taylor turned in a competent display that suggests he might be a natural in the full-back role, and will have the Supremo fretting anxiously about whether he can regain his starting place in any position. Logica had started sluggishly, not for the first time in history, and Kensington had created most of the early pressure before taking the lead on the quarter-hour. An incisive break engineered space for an unmarked striker, and although Taylor did supremely well to move across and cover the danger, he could only watch aghast as the Stanley man's shot deflected off his out-stretched boot, looping up and over the helpless Fleming in goal [0-1]. Somewhat disappointingly, Taylor refused a generous post-match offer to claim the goal for himself via a sitting of the Dubious Goals Committee.

Logica were struggling to get into their passing rhythm, and early attacks tended to falter as the ball was given away too cheaply. At the other end, Kensington were causing more problems with their neat inter-passing and early ball over the top. Both Jeff Hatton and Manlio Trovato were called upon to execute a number of perfectly timed last-ditch tackles as Stanley strikers bore down on goal.

Gradually the home side began to impose themselves as the wide-men Reevaldo, and Clarke began to be fed with more regularity. Reevaldo, who had been unlucky to be penalised for kicking the ball from the keeper's hands in the very first minute, started to weave his deceptively paced magic down the left. Cutting into the box after a quick throw, he doubled back on one defender only to have his ankles clipped. Stumbling briefly, he obviously had the Supremo's Diving Ban preying on his conscience, for he managed to keep on his feet, dance intricately past two more defenders before toe-poking a shot across the face of goal. In truth, Reevaldo was clearly fouled, and a penalty should have been awarded. The referee was persuaded by the hole merchant's persistent perseverance, and the Supremo may have to review his commendable stand for English Fair Play if its going to cost us goals and points.

As Logica moved into the driving seat, more chances were created. Abbott saw a well-placed glancing header from twelve yards adeptly saved by the keeper, and Fazel was extremely unlucky to be flagged offside as he latched onto a through-pass from his strike-partner. The Kensington keeper needed every one of his six and a half feet to brilliantly tip a deflection from his own defender over the bar, although Abbott showed himself undaunted by the goal guardian's height as he attempted an ambitious lob from forty yards which nearly went out for a throw-in.

The pressure finally realised a goal when Loriot was felled on half way. Tim Wood was alert to spot the cross-field run of Jon Clarke, and floated a quick and accurate free-kick forwards. Clarke leapt and deflected the deftest of flicks through an unsuspecting Stanley back line. Nich Fazel anticipated perfectly, beating the keeper to the bouncing ball and flicking it past him into the far corner [1-1].

The half-time interval came at the wrong moment for an ascendant Logica, who seemed to have lost a bit of momentum once the game restarted. Stanley took full advantage and regained their lead when a corner was only half cleared, and the loose ball was thrashed into the roof of the net from ten yards [1-2]. The visitors only had themselves to blame for not extending their lead, when one of their strikers missed two good opportunities from close range in the next five minutes.

As in the first half, Logica slowly reasserted themselves, and steadily posed more of a threat. Abbott anticipated a quick Challinoresque throw from Taylor which should have left the striker with a clear run on goal. Ever mindful that 'assists are the new goals', he opted to fanny about a bit by beating the same defender inside and out before squaring an inviting ball to Reevaldo six yards out. Somehow the hole merchant's shot was blocked on the line and the chance had gone begging. Taylor's Challinors were causing all kinds of problems, as Abbott flicked on one long launch past a stranded keeper only to find no Logica player on hand to convert, and another throw even hitting the post directly!

The referee proved himself a tad on the pernickety side, executing regular jewellery checks and insisting two players leave the field to tape up rings. The impression of a somewhat school-masterly obsession with rules and regulations was enforced when he confiscated Logica's match-ball both before and after the kick-off, leaving us with just one ball to warm up with in the former instance, and refusing to return it in the latter instance until we had stumped up his match fee. After ignoring Reevaldo's first half penalty claim, he proved himself equally unobservant when Nich Fazel was fairly blatantly held down in the box. The striker's somewhat frustrated suggestion that the referee keep an eye open resulted only in a booking for the Logica man.

The man in black was equally unimpressed with a number of Logica claims for free-kicks, although in some instances this was arguably correct. Loriot, Trovato and, at the death, Hoyland will all be nervously waiting to see if the Supremo executes his threatened Diving Sentence with one-match bans for those found guilty. Sven Groom will also be disappointed to learn of a complete breakdown in discipline as soon as his back was turned, with a number of squad members sneaking out for Gerrard-style all-day drinking binges on the pretext of the England v Greece match and looking somewhat the worse for wear come Sunday morning. Not that we're telling tales or anything...

Logica piled on the pressure as the second half progressed, and more chances came and went. Reevaldo had another close-range shot desperately blocked on the line, and Abbott showed quick thinking to receive a short corner from the same player, feint past a defender, but drive a foot the wrong side of the near post. Hoyland and Richard McWilliam were thrown off the bench and into the fray, with the latter making a significant impact with practically his first touch. Taking the ball in his stride, the debutante burned past the left full-back with an impressive burst of pace. Dummying another defender, he cut inside only to have his shot from an acute angle blocked by the keeper.

It was almost inevitable that as Logica piled forward in search of an equaliser, they would leave themselves a tad vulnerable at the back. As another home attack was snuffed out, Kensington broke incisively against an under-populated defence. A Stanley forwarded drove into the penalty area before clipping back a cross for an unmarked colleague to head past an exposed Fleming [1-3]. With just ten minutes left, that might have appeared to be 'Game Over', but Logica struck back almost immediately. A free-kick awarded by our pernickety friend in black was swept home imperiously by Sandric Loriot, his low bullet fizzing just inside the left-hand post from twenty yards [2-3].

The ninety minutes were nearly up, but there was still time for more action. Hoyzone failed to convince the referee after darting into the box and tumbling close to the bye-line. Substitute Paul Banoub (on for cramp-ridden Lag Revaldo) missed a difficult chance when he fired over from twelve yards. It was almost a humane act when Kensington put Logica out of their misery with a final minute fourth goal. Fleming failed to punch away a corner, and Stanley's central midfielder completed his hat-trick with a firm header [2-4].

Part of Logica's post-match disappointment resulted from the fact that they had played some good football in patches and had come close to deservedly earning a draw. But their frustration was caused by the realisation that a team packed chock-a-block with so much talent on a perfect pitch, should really be posing a more consistent and adroit threat. Kensington were a good side whose excellent play contributed to a fine game of football, but as the Puppet Supremo opined afterwards, it was a game that Logica should be looking to win if they are going to achieve their stated objective of promotion, and Groom will have much to contemplate as he lies comatose in a Munich field.