Previous acquaintance and a quick glance at their recent record suggested that Rutland were going to set a stiff test for a South side looking for their first win in four games, and so it proved. A visit to strugglers Boston last week may just have provided South with the perfect tonic in the middle of a tough series of games against other leading contenders but, sadly, the game was postponed owing to a mud-related incident, leaving South with no match practice for a fortnight.

In Saturday's floodlit game at Stamford High School, South made a reasonably bright start, with good possession and some confident passing movements. John Benedikz, playing his first league game of the season, distributed sensibly and conservatively, while Chris Massey and Eliot Read also struck up a profitable relationship in left midfield. An early Rutland attack was comprehensively smothered by keeper Steve Parker, who then batted away a hard flick from the subsequent penalty corner. That master of disguise Chris Graveling then "won" a sixteen by diverting a second flick behind the back line before Rob Garrett sliced upfield, teasing the left defence, only to be outpaced for once by the ball, which always moved quickly on the fast surface.

South had to rejig their lines just eight minutes into the game, with Jim Thorpe dropping to sweeper and Massey to left back, when Graveling unwisely elected to play the ball with his chin and had to be replaced by "blood substitute" James Cobbe. But the transition was seamless (unlike Graveling's chin, which later required five stitches) and South, spurred by resolute tackling from Read and Matt Readman, had a good patch, with Chris Baker's firm shot from the left drawing a rebound which Garrett reverse-sticked goalwards only to see the attempt deflected.

This seemed to sting the hosts into action, however, and their directness coming forward and ability to get the ball into the D quickly posed a serious threat. Parker, reading the situations well, saved twice in quick succession from close range and safety-first clearances were the order of the day for the defence as Rutland converted their sudden territorial dominance into a series of short corners. One was flicked low and wide, another skimmed a post (excellent judgment from all concerned) and Parker made confident, well-positioned saves with pads and kickers from the next three. From the last of these, however, there was no clearing sweep and the loose ball was put away to give Rutland the lead on twenty-two minutes.

Graveling eventually returned three minutes later after a makeshift workaround with half a ton of Elastoplast and immediately set up an ingenious move down the right, Rupert Webb and Garrett breaking Rutland's tight control of the wings with pinpoint work up the sideline. The defence again covered capably on a dangerous two-man run from the opposition before Baker, Webb and Russell Johnson shuttled the ball swiftly across the field to try and find that elusive opening. Garrett finally squeezed through the eye of the needle, forcing the keeper to dive, but there was still no joy for South, who had to continue beavering away at the back to limit opportunities for the Rutland forwards. Massey and Benedikz strong-armed their way out of a tight spot in the left corner, Graveling brought off two storming tackles and both Cobbe and Johnson were also found contributing to the war effort. But the half ended with two further Rutland short corners (bringing their total for the first thirty-five minutes to nine) as Parker reacted quickly to block a dangerous low flick with his left pad before Thorpe niftily cleared.

South initially struggled to get a sustained hold of the ball in the second half but, after an interception by Graveling, Garrett raced in hard to the top of the D, shirking nothing as the classic irresistible-immovable encounter with the keeper occurred. From the fall-out, Read tenaciously negotiated round the back line to slip a cross in front of goal, where Cobbe was on hand to tip in nonchalantly at the far post.

With Garrett continuing to trouble the Rutland rearguard, South could have taken the lead a couple of minutes later when Benedikz supplied the catalyst for Readman's fierce rising shot which the keeper did well to palm away. Rutland stuck to their guns, though, preferring the quick central ball, sometimes too eagerly so, when more haste and less speed might have served their purpose better. Their next chance came at a failed breakout from a sixteen, when Parker had to make a reverse diving save with stick and glove from a standing start, and Graveling and Readman in particular had to be on the qui vive to intercept plenty of attempted through balls.

All the while, South were itching to find gaps in the quick-thinking, no-faff home defence - a drive by Massey, a last-lap Brazilian overtaking manoeuvre by Garrett and Baker's methodical probing to right and left - but it was Rutland, with their tenth short corner, who broke the deadlock when a canny slip-walk-pass routine opened up clear water for a good hard smack to make it 2-1 on forty minutes.

Massey cleared another dangerous situation from the circle before heading full pelt for the touchline and then either break-dancing spectacularly or simply tripping up - it was difficult to say which - but at least the ball went to safety as the spectators were royally entertained. Garrett and Johnson had time for a nice bit of interpassing up front but the action then headed back to the South D where the umpire unexpectedly opted to play advantage after a defensive infraction, leaving a Rutland forward to whack a free shot from three yards which Parker firmly repelled.

A minute later, however, the home side extended their lead to terminal proportions when another deftly-worked short evaded three tackles and created space for a close-range flick which left no-one with any chance. With ten minutes to go, South tried everything to get back in the game; Parker creamed it over the halfway line to Read, who put Garrett clear for a reverse shot which just slipped past the left post, Massey and Readman continued to press tigerishly in midfield, while Read got into a good position for a late shot but saw the ball dribble tantalisingly off his stick to sum up South's afternoon as Rutland ran out deserved 3-1 winners.

Though South did well to score an open-play goal, the real difference in this game lay in the short corners. South found it difficult in general to penetrate the Rutland circle and were unable to create a significant advantage when they got there, whilst Rutland had twelve penalty corners and employed plenty of variety in them, scoring three times. The South defence held up extremely well under pressure outside the set pieces but the hosts' routines at the shorts were carefully thought out and efficiently executed. It was a shame that South had no opportunity to use some of their own proven routines in this department.

South hope fervently that next week's game on home turf will get them back to winning ways as they seek to close out the pre-Christmas half with a run of maximum points. They will have to do so without Rupert Webb - rumours of whose departure last week were greatly exaggerated - who makes for the Land of the Long White Cloud on Wednesday certain of his place in South history as the man who lost £2 on Buckaroo at his own leaving do thanks to a crippling ignorance of Coronation Street actresses of the 1970s. Nevertheless, we wish Rupert and Jodee all the very best and thank them for everything they've done for the club, both indoor and outdoor, on the field and off it.