A ring-rusty Logica side fell to two late goals yesterday after had reluctantly put Operation Lie-In to bed and boldly led his charges back on to the field of play. The lateness of the decisive goals in truth flattered Logica, an understandable lack of match fitness and gallant fight-back to 2-2 notwithstanding. If the quality of Portman Arms' finishing had been even a fraction of that of their build-up play, they would have been out of sight long before levelled the scores with a clinical finish midway through the second half.

Having played just one 'competitive match' in over two months, it felt like the first game of a new season as the cumulative effects of yuletide fare and a lengthy succession of Sunday morning lie-ins rendered the Logica players off the pace pretty much from the start. The kind of sharpness and match fitness that only comes from regular combat was noticeably lacking as a resurgent Arms side - who had claimed their first victory the previous week – dominated in every area of the pitch.

Paradoxically, Operation Lie-In had seen a number of key players pick up serious injuries. , who had broken the Arms in October with a classic demonstration of the dribbling arts, had now broken his own arm. Reports on the newswires suggest the incident occurred on a skiing break, the elaborate hole merchant coming to grief on the slalom course as he tried to round a particular gate for the third time. Closer to home, , clearly under the illusion that Operation Lie-In was still in full swing, had played the previous day and picked up a bad knock that left him "unable to stand".

Despite these notable absentees, Logica were still able to field a decent side but alarm bells began to ring when a number of players called for foil blankets after a light warm-up jog around half the pitch. In fact, Logica gave as good as they got early doors, and it was the home side who took the lead on the quarter-hour mark with the first real opening of the match. was the architect as his visionary slide-rule pass dissected the Arms back-line to feed a perfectly timed run from , who elaborately rounded the keeper before tapping home from a tight angle [1-0].

But it was not long before Logica began to tire, despite having a lead to protect. The ball was given away too quickly, whilst Portman were first to every loose ball. The pace of the visiting forwards, particularly their wide men, began to cause problems, and chances came and went with increasing regularity. was the hero of the hour, making a number of brave and spectacular saves, including one unbelievable full-length tip around the post of a bullet header seemingly destined for the bottom corner. was earning Logica some good fortune, and Portman obliged by spurning as many other good chances through woeful finishing. But finally the inevitable happened, and a corner was headed home from close range just before the interval [1-1].

The second half restarted in much the same vein as the pacey Portman attackers carved out a number of one-on-one chances mostly fired wide. Logica battled back gamely, with the pick of the Logica outfield players as he chased and harried endlessly. But Portman took the lead when a Logica attack broke down: the visitors swept almost unopposed from one end of the pitch to the other, and for once an unmarked Arms forward produced a shot of clinical accuracy that left with no chance [1-2].

Those on the touchline may have thought that was game over, but still had one sizable ace left up a tight-fitting sleeve. Sacrificing himself at left-back, he handed the legendary a dramatic return to first team action after over a year out with a serious Achilles injury that had required surgery. It was soon clear that the striker had lost none of his pace, and the change reaped almost instant dividends. was involved in the move that enabled to advance purposefully into enemy territory. With the visiting defence worrying about the whereabouts of the Boro hit-man, made a great run through the inside-right channel and who better to pick him out than ? Taking the perfect pass in his stride, fired unerringly past the advancing Portman keeper and Logica were level [2-2].

With that, the game returned to its previous pattern as Portman applied some fairly continuous pressure that yielded a number of chances for them to spurn. Logica dug deep as they tried desperately to hold on for a point. The unlikely pair of and dropped back into midfield, whilst the usually mild-mannered was booked for an aggressive challenge on the touchline. Hearts were in mouths when the same player accidentally tripped the galloping Arms right-back close to the bye-line soon after, but fortunately the referee applied common sense and merely a stern lecture.

As Portman continued to fire higher and wider, the nervous Stade faithful dared to believe that their heroes might just escape with a draw. But Logica's luck finally ran out with a little over five minutes remaining. Portman again had players over as they raided down the right wing, but as their winger cut in purposefully towards goal, slid in bravely to block the shot. Unfortunately, the ball ballooned up off the Lurking thigh, and, with already committed to a dive to his right, lolloped tamely up and into the net [2-3]. The game was up, and Portman added a fourth in injury time that went a little way to reflecting the imbalance of chances created by either side [2-4].

At the post-match press conference, pundits were surprised when refused to reactivate Operation Lie-In. "It's a disappointing result, but at least the players have got ninety minutes under their loosened belts" straw-clutched . "What we need now is games every week to get back our match fitness and sharpness as soon as possible. Next week's match against a stuttering high-flier like Charing Cross is just the kind of game we need to reignite our season."