And so it came to the last day of the season. Cambridge South 2s for whom a win would remove the faint mathematical chance of relegation faced an Ely side positioned comfortably mid-table with little but pride to play for. With the 2s Captain swanning off to Holland and the students away for Easter there was the welcome return of some old familiars to the team with Andy and Bhav and some fresh young eagerness in Laurie facing his old club.

The twos performances this season have been characterized by an ability to compete with or beat the teams just above them in the league but struggle against those below. And so it was to prove again. After captain on the day Tom's rather more gentle warm up ("We aren't going to sprint it just tires me out pregame") battle was commenced in nigh on perfect hockey conditions.

The early exchanges were rather end to end with flurries from South down the wings and some sharp break outs from Ely that had the home side scuttling back. It quickly became clear that the biggest danger to the hosts was the sheer pace of the Ely frontman who could out-sprint any of the back four if given space to do so. Tenacious marking from Andy combined with Paresh's usual ability to stop any attack dead on his stick meant that this space generally wasn't available.

It was the home side who first broke the deadlock when, having been awarded a short, the slightly off target injection was adjusted to by Bhav who took two steps to his right and lasered the ball into the bottom left hand corner.

Never one to give up, Rob then decided to start a late charge for goal kings (knowing he was only six behind) and finding himself one on one with the Ely keeper calmly slotted the ball below the diving player to make to 2-0 to the hosts at half time.

The second half Ely attacks became more concerted resulting in a few short corners and one clearance off the line for South but simultaneously they apparently decided to play without a left wing or left half leaving areas of space reminiscent of the American Prairies for Dom, Chris P and Ian to attack on the right hand side cheered on by a growing crowd of Men's 3s and 4s. So of course the goal was scored by our inside left; Laurie obtained bragging rights over his old team mates by toe poking it past the keeper with just enough force to dribble over the line before the nearest defender could reach it.

And so was survival guaranteed in Div 3. With 4 wins against teams that finished above us in the table and the ability to push even the top teams close on our day we clearly belong, but a record of 4 draws and a solitary win in six games against the three sides below us show that could have been a much more comfortable season. Hone the killer instinct against worse teams (see above), score more goals (flat last), develop more consistency (cf. early season vs Wisbech 2 and Peterborough) and aim for a top six finish next season.