Logica had something to prove this morning, and at least the performance, if not the ultimate result, gave cautious grounds for optimism.

After the team's woeful Cup capitulation a fortnight ago against Fourth Division Wandsworth, thoughts turned back unavoidably to the 8-0 drubbing Broadway had handed out to Logica on the opening day of this season. But the team's commitment to the cause ensured that there was never likely to be a repeat of either of those humiliations.

Indeed, entering the last quarter of the game, Logica were well worth the 1-1 scoreline at that stage. But the next goal was always going to be decisive, and having grabbed it with a moment of individual brilliance, Broadway cruelly added two further goals in the dying seconds to give the final result a flattering spin.

This was also going to be a tough fixture against a title-chasing outfit who have only lost one league game all season. But 's chances of upsetting the form-book weren't helped by the absence of key players such as , , and .

But a new central defender was drafted in, and performed excellently for an hour, despite confessing beforehand that he was unable to head the ball. Unfortunately for and the team, his debut was cut short at that point by an increasingly painful injury sustained in the first half. Initial amateur diagnoses suggested a hernia, which immediately impressed a number of Lag scouts in the stands.

Up until that point, 's introduction had allowed to play a roving midfield role that had greatly helped Logica put continual pressure on the home side. Ably abetted by , and in particular , the Logica midfield had snapped at their opponents' heels, disrupting the elegant rhythms they were hoping to establish, and forcing increasingly frequent mistakes.

Their success was such that it was quite a surprise when Broadway took the lead on the hour mark. A rare glimpse of space was ruthlessly exploited as they moved the ball quickly across the edge of the box to play in the extra man, who thrashed the ball past from 10 yards out [0-1].

It was at this juncture in the reverse fixture that Logica had wilted and conceded five further goals before half time. Here, however, they responded by battling even harder whilst also producing some neat football at times. Logica came close to scoring when latched onto a poor defensive pass, turned his man and scooped a cross from the bye-line over the keeper. was preparing to leap on the goal-line with the last defender when the Logica forward crumpled in a heap, but the quirky referee was not interested.

Logica did get their equaliser with their best move of the half. fed who eased a neat pass to send clear down the left, and his precisely squared cross picked out his marauding strike-partner. But as prepared to pull the trigger from close range, the ball was knocked by a blatant and desperate Broadway defender's hand, and the referee had little choice this time but to point to the spot. Up stepped to fire emphatically just inside the post, and Logica were deservedly level [1-1].

Logica came within inches of taking the lead just before the interval. Another sweeping move down the right saw the ball played across the edge of the box, where it bounced through to . He swivelled and fired goalwards first time, and the ball seemed to be heading in at the back stick until a full-length dive from the Broadway keeper somehow managed to tip it around the post. Who knows what might have happened had Logica bagged the all-important third goal of the game.

The second half continued in much the same vein and Broadway were becoming visibly frustrated as they argued amongst themselves. Logica still posed an offensive threat, twice the excellent forcing corners after being played down the left by . But 's departure coincided with Logica legs beginning to tire (largely a lack of match fitness after playing just one match in seven weeks), and increasingly Logica were penned back into their own half.

The visiting defence held firm, not least with bravely punching and saving from a succession of dangerous Broadway corners. But the deadlock was finally broken by a brilliant strike from a Broadway midfielder, who ran from half–way weaving this way and that, before unleashing an unstoppable low drive into the bottom corner from 25 yards [1-2].

Logica's resolve crumbled in the final minutes, and but for some erratic offside decisions, the scoreline could have been worse. As it was, a Broadway forward latched onto a route-one skier to flick past the advancing [1-3], and a clinical break exploited some defensive dithering as a Broadway forward tucked home a raking cross with practically the last kick of the game [1-4].