Dum-dum. Da-DAH-da dum-dum. Dum-dum, da-DAH-da-da-da dum-dum. Dah-dah-dah dum-dum, da-DAH-da dum-dum. Dum-dum, da-dum-dum, DA-DUM!

Phew! So much for an afternoon stroll in the sun for the last home game of the season. Instead, Cambridge South 2nds found themselves engaged in an epic production, a classic in glorious technicolor featuring an all-star cast. Looking down and out at half time, South had to dig deep to fashion their own Great Escape.

Captain Kev "the Cooler King" Rowland's Plan A - let's call it "Tom" - had been to overwhelm a St Ives team sitting near the foot of the table with quick, passing hockey. The early signs were encouraging. The St Ives side featured a handful of experienced older heads and a number of good, skilful youngsters, but South's team play gave them the upper hand. The home side duly took the lead from a typical effort from Flight Lieutenant Rob "the Scrounger" Barton. Receiving the ball in the D with his back to goal, he threw a quick look over his shoulder before sweeping the ball with his reverse stick to flummox the covering defender and score past the unsighted keeper.

So, a textbook start but it wasn't long before the first portent of future problems appeared. Through on goal, Flt Lt Mark "the Forger" Pears drew and then rounded the keeper before inexplicably slotting the ball wide of the gaping goal. Worse was soon to follow. Capitalising on their let-off, St Ives rallied and gained a short corner. The strike from the top of the D was charged down by Group Captain George "the SBO" Wych only for the ball to deflect up off his stick. As it arced past the stranded Lieutenant Commander Lino "Dispersal" Di Lorenzo towards the top corner of the goal, Squadron Leader Dave "Big X" Monck on the line elected not to repeat the shoulder-height blocking swing that had got him penalised in the away fixture.

Pegged back to level terms, the Cooler King turned to Plan B - we'll call it "Dick": a rally, a surge and South would re-establish control of the game before the break. Unfortunately, that plan too swiftly went for a Burton. With their tails up, St Ives were buzzing in and around South's twenty-five. An attack down the right from St Ives saw the ball squared across goal to the left winger. His initial shot was blocked by Flt Lt Neil "the Surveyor" Sneade before "Dispersal" hurled himself at speed into the melee. In the confusion, the ball was slipped beneath the prone keeper to give the away side the lead.

Rocking on their heels, South's cohesion was fading faster than the Cooler King's fake tan. With too many slack passes and aimless clearances, South were ceding territory and inviting their opponents on to them. In the final ten minutes of the half, yet more confusion at the back by South amid repeated failures to clear the ball presented another gift-wrapped opportunity to St Ives. The ball was knocked into the unguarded net to complete the reversal of fortunes.

"Tom" and "Dick" were both history, leaving South at half time down to their last option: "Harry". It was time to role up the sleeves and graft to dig out a victory through grit, effort and sheer bloody-mindedness. Determined to show their true quality, South started the second period in the best possible fashion. From their first attack, heroic play from Flying Officer Mike "the Manufacturer" Coffin in midfield finished with him putting a well-placed shot past the St Ives keeper to bring the gap back to one.

Now it was game on and a revived South took the match to their opponents. With passing, movement and tackling all much improved, South set about seeking the equaliser. In midfield, Flt Lt Nick "the Tunneler" Bristowe was doing the spade work to win possession and distribute early, accurate ball. Down the left, Fg Off John "the Mole" Benedikz was stifling St Ives's right wing while Flt Lt Dave "Intelligence" Aston ahead of him was interlinking beautifully with the Forger and the Manufacturer. Triangular passing and balls played into space were opening up the opposing defence with increasing regularity.

The warm weather and close nature of the contest were forcing everyone to work hard. With relegation still a possibility, St Ives were keen to hang on to their lead. South, meanwhile, wanted to avoid frustration against their opponents for the second time this season. St Ives were increasingly relying on long balls out of defence into the corners to try and gain territory, but when they broke they showed they still had the pace and the skills to be dangerous. Their attacks ran aground though on the immovable stick of Flt Lt Chris "Tunnel King" Graveling, now moved into the centre from right midfield, whose calm and intelligent play was proving increasingly influential.

There was a quarter of the match left before South's pressure finally brought about the equaliser, courtesy of who else but the Scrounger. When the ball came to him in the D, the umpire opted to play advantage from what looked like an infringement. Rob made no mistake to bury the opportunity and level the scores.

Neither team looked content to settle for the draw but, having wiped out St Ives's half time lead, the momentum favoured South. With legs beginning to tire, the play was stretched as attacks from both teams broke down to leave space in behind for counterattack. Just six minutes remained on the clock when, coming in from the left wing, "Intelligence" struck a hard ball towards the goal. Unmarked in the D, the Scrounger nipped in front of the keeper and his jabbed stick deflected the ball up into the roof of the net to complete South's comeback and his hat trick.

At the final whistle, South could congratulate themselves on digging themselves out of a hole (sic) with their best comeback of the season. As against Rutland a few weeks previously, South had started brightly before finding themselves seemingly out of the contest by half time. Only this time, the second half fight back had produced more than just a moral victory. What a way to finish the last home game of the year!