After a terrible start to the season that had seen them lose their first seven league games on the bounce, Logica seemed to have begun to turn a corner by drawing the eighth match, and then winning their next two. Expectations had been raised by this mini-unbeaten run as the team showed some fighting spirit and no little skill in bagging nine goals and seven points. But that run, and 2007, has come to a rather limp end with two rather lack-lustre defeats.

At least there were some old-fashioned excuses to get in early doors before this last match of the season, as a flu virus triggered a swathe of last-minute call-offs and left a bare XI that contained at least two players who had been laid low for most of the week. This was a huge blow, for Parklife were just two points above us at the start of play, and a 0-0 draw back at the start of November had identified these opponents as eminently beatable.

The first half saw Logica begin poorly, unable to string many passes together, and thus concede possession to the visitors far too regularly. But had not been overly exerted until just after the half-hour mark when Parklife scored twice in quick succession. First the visitor's central midfielder was allowed to dribble from half-way, an invitation he was only too happy to accept before firing home from 20 yards [0-1]. Shortly afterwards, a Parklife striker was able to turn too easily in the box and stab the ball past a livid [0-2].

Remarkably, Logica responded with their only coherent move of the half. intercepted a long ball, and collected before feeding the ball inside. powered past one opponent before slipping a perceptive pass between two defenders, which latched onto with some aplomb, rounding the keeper and slotting home his sixth goal of the season [1-2].

Logica didn't really deserve to still be in the game as the teams turned around, and soon after the restart they weren't. Within minutes, a corner was headed back across goal, and Parklife's lanky defender reacted fastest to turn the ball home from close range [1-3]. The player's celebration suggested he didn't score too many, and there were wider smiles on visiting faces when they added two further goals before the hour-mark as Logica's collective resolve disintegrated rapidly [1-5].

The most disappointing aspect of all of this was that Parklife's own defence was just as vulnerable, as demonstrated the few times Logica managed to coordinate any kind of threat. Not long after had shot tamely straight back at the keeper after intercepting the glove-man's poor throw-out, exposed the visitors' defensive frailties again with a neat long pass between their two centre halves. was the target, and his well-timed run created the space for the Logica midfielder to take the ball on unchallenged and slot home clinically [2-5]. This goal had been created and finished by two of Logica's better performers on the day.

Another ball over the top again carved open Parklife's square back four, and was desperately unlucky to see his skilful first-time lob beat the keeper but dip just an inch over the bar. The match quickly reverted to its previous pattern though, and it was the visitors who added the game's only further goal [2-6].

A match and performance best forgotten, and Logica now have a month over the Christmas break to regroup and psych themselves up for the relegation dog-fight ahead. The shrewder pundits are predicting a total of 16 points as the absolute minimum needed for survival, so the new Supremi will need to inspire their charges to at least three further victories in the new year. The good news is that this is more than achievable, with few of the teams we have faced so far looking a class above. But it will require the Logica players to quickly re-establish the commitment and application shown in those recent wins over Maxilla and Old Sergeant.