Two weeks worth of Sunday morning lie-ins appeared to have taken their toll as a below par Logica crashed to Parsons Green this morning at the Riverside Lands Stadium in Chiswick. A poor first half saw the home side concede four goals, and a minor improvement after the break only served to limit the final deficit to 6-1.

The die was cast in the first few minutes. Logica's first attack fizzled out after a sloppy pass gave away possession. A minute later they contrived to repeat the faux-pas on the left-hand touchline, and a snappily volleyed ball over the top caught the Logica central pairing by surprise. A nippy Parsons forward latched onto the bouncing ball, broke clear, and from twelve yards mis-hit a shot which never the less bobbled into the far corner past a bemused Gill in goal [0-1].

Logica's collective nightmare continued as they struggled to complete even the simplest of passes. The Parsons were much sharper, winning most of the loose balls with seeming ease, and finding plenty of space in which to apply pressure on the home rearguard. The visitors added three more goals in a one-sided first half, two slid home from acute angles after moves initiated by Logica conceding possession cheaply, and the fourth poked home after a goal-mouth scramble [0-4].

Indeed the home side managed only two attacks worthy of note in the first period. Firstly Abbott collected a loose ball, twisted to the bye-line and fired in a left foot cross that was just a fraction too high for Hoyland, who could only head over the bar from eight yards. Later Abbott chipped a ball over the top to free Reevaldo, and his cross low into the danger-zone was scrambled behind for a corner.

By half-time, goalkeeper Lee Pendleton had overcome his car troubles and was ready for action. Gill moved to right-back with the Supremo sacrificing himself despite displaying some laudably strict self-discipline the night before with an early night. "God, it was boring," wailed Groom afterwards, "I won't be doing that again in a hurry."

Much soul-searching at the interval seemed to have had some impact, as Logica began the second half in substantially better fashion. The game was being played in the Green half, and Taylor soon stabbed a ball through to Hoyland, unmarked eighteen yards out. The Logica striker took the pass in his stride, but in trying to round the keeper, over-ran the ball.

Far more alert, Logica were now winning the ball back quickly, but the passing remained erratic at times. A spell of pressure yielded few further clear-cut chances, with long range efforts from Abbott and Taylor the closest the home side came. Typically, this spell of Logica pressure culminated with a goal for Green, their forward controlling a ball eight yards out before swivelling to smash it past Pendleton [0-5].

To their credit, Logica kept plugging away. Hatton Major led the way, twice galloping forward to get on the end of long Taylor throws, but each time he couldn't get his shot on target. Taylor himself curled a free kick over the bar before the team were rewarded with a consolation goal ten minutes from time. Hatton won a block tackle on the edge of his own box. The ball rebounded forwards, and Abbott squared to Taylor. The Leeds man set off on a strong run, powering past two defenders before returning the ball to Abbott. Logica had a three-on-two scenario, as Big Ron would have it, and Abbott picked out the spare man Hoyland at inside right. The Logica striker showed excellent composure to drill a low shot across the keeper and in at the far post [1-5].

Sadly, Logica were not permitted to enjoy this smallest of satisfactions, as the Parsons were straight back up the other end to add a sixth. The ball was slipped through on half way and Green's pacey striker galloped clear to slot clinically past Pendleton [1-6]. In the few minutes that remained, Trovato took a leaf out of his centre-back partner's book, rampaging forward to play a wall pass with Abbott. The Italian libero strode clear, but just as he was about to shoot, a tackle from nowhere snuffed out the chance.

Even the slight improvement in the second half did little to hide an extremely disappointing performance from Logica. The difference in sharpness between the two sides was painfully evident at times, and Logica's idle fortnight clearly did not help matters. But that was far from the whole story, and whilst Green were quite a good outfit, the Logica players just seemed to have a collective mare. A match best forgotten, in truth.