In a seesaw game which both teams could have won, South defied further absences and injuries to edge past a very determined Horncastle outfit whose recent results belie their lowly position in the table.

The home side started menacingly, creating plenty of space in the South defence and as early as the fourth minute won a short corner which was superbly kept out by Steve Parker as he stacked the pads. Chris Graveling and Keith Simpson then cleared effectively, sparking a series of attacks from South in which the dynamic Rick Erlebach and Sanjay Agarwala were prominent. Agarwala, extending his range, put in a tumbling reverse-stick sweep from left D which forced the home keeper into a diving save, and moments later created havoc with a powerful dribble, beating off three strong challenges before finally being baulked.

But it was Erlebach who drew first blood on twelve minutes when, from South's first short, he struck a sweetly-timed shot with millimetric precision into the far corner, the ball pinging in off the post to clatter resoundingly against the metallic backboards. South's joy was only temporary, however, as Horncastle surged forward and, thickly populating the visitors' D, made the most of some questionable marking to bundle the ball home for an equaliser after fourteen minutes. They nearly had another golden opportunity three minutes later as a huge space suddenly opened at the back with two attackers free but Parker was alert to the danger and raced out to kick clear from the edge of the D in the nick of time.

Rob Barton carved out a great run down the middle to put the pressure back on the home side, who shrugged it off to win a second short which they placed just wide from a mistimed drag-flick. Jan Brynjolffssen, who had done a sensible job on the right in demanding circumstances, then pulled a thigh muscle, opening the way for Louis Polet to make his first-team debut. The game continued to fluctuate, with a further South attack sending the ball whizzing past an upright before Jim Thorpe saved the day at the other end with two last-ditch tackles. Horncastle then sent a cross straight through the D and, after a long corner was cut out, Erlebach fought tigerishly in the corner, releasing a pass to Graveling, who sent Barton clear to test the keeper.

South were starting to look dangerous at this point and, though Polet was unable to make a dream start by getting a stick to a loose ball near the spot with the keeper out of position, he soon cleverly won a short after an incisive wing pass from John Benedikz. The home side repelled this despite strong work from Vijay Agarwala and Barton and soon turned the tables with their third short after thirty minutes. A neat switch move opened up acres of room for a free shot but Parker, with the odds well against him, rushed out to narrow the angles and, diving, got enough pad on the ball for the impressively calm Benedikz to knock the resulting lob down from his position on the line and away to Simpson, who was on hand to clear with his usual pragmatism. South made the most of this escape to push up and, on thirty-three minutes, they created a decisive advantage at just the right time when Erlebach's strike from a short led to a rebound which Barton rammed home with a minimum of ceremony for a 2-1 lead.

There was no slackening in the pace of the game after the interval and Thorpe immediately had to be at his best to repel boarders as Horncastle swarmed upfield, with their no. 9, a nifty dribbler, always causing problems with his willingness and ability to take the man on. But although South had difficulty in keeping Horncastle pinned down, they largely kept their composure, with John Benedikz applying sound defensive sense after Brynjolffssen, bravely trying to carry on after half-time, was eventually forced to retreat to the sidelines. Andy Pounce, too, stuck tightly to his man and, with Thorpe playing a blinder in the centre, there was room for Vijay and Sanjay Agarwala to work some worthwhile ball up the left and for the savvy Barton to hold things up while Agarwala (S) ran creatively to find an opening.

After forty minutes, Erlebach made his way into the D but the keeper denied him on this occasion, and again at a firmly-struck short two minutes later, before Horncastle, noisily urged on by subs and supporters, explored the wings and started peppering the D with shots and crosses. Parker had a busy few minutes at this point but kept South afloat with several safe kicks which defused the situation, while Sanjay Agarwala and Erlebach nearly made Horncastle pay for a giveaway with a blistering run which the home defence eventually did well to thwart.

On the right, Polet worked hard to make himself available, Benedikz tackled resolutely and with precision and Graveling managed to get in a tricky run along the back line but South appeared unlucky to miss out on one or two short corners after the tireless Erlebach had forced advantages. Still the deadlock could not be broken, even when Thorpe showed a touch of class by dribbling round three men out of defence, although the best chance fell to Horncastle when a cross from the right found two men free on the far post. But Parker's positioning was again immaculate as he first gloved the ensuing shot down and then cleared it to safety. A further dangerous-looking shot was deflected past the post after sixty minutes and, shortly afterwards, Simpson had to break up a speedy attack after Vijay Agarwala and Graveling had threaded their way through a knot of defenders into the Horncastle D.

More opportunities came in the next five minutes as first Erlebach was denied and then Agarwala and Graveling, again, combined to set up a diagonal ball well sticked away by the keeper. The direction of play continually reversed, with Thorpe and Simpson in particular standing firm against some very aggressive running and the Agarwalas bolstering the defensive effort with typical determination; a great run by Erlebach was followed by two massively important tackles from Simpson and a nerveless block from Thorpe and, to cap it all, Horncastle hit the post from a short corner after sixty-eight minutes. The ball rebounded into play but the home forward put it agonisingly wide as Parker flung himself across to cover.

There was still time for Thorpe to set Sanjay Agarwala up for another lung-bursting run but Horncastle's desperate efforts to get the equaliser came to naught as the whistle blew to end a game which could have gone either way but which South gutsed their way through for an invaluable three points.

Skipper Steve Parker, having delivered a rackety team talk to little more than half a side at the start, ended the day a relieved man and very grateful to the hardy souls who had trekked through the Fens (or even further) to put up such a wholehearted and committed effort in the sort of game that could so easily have proved a stumbling-block.