This was the big one, the decider, the crunch match. After seven months of hockey during which fortunes had fluctuated back and forth, it had all come down to the final game of the season. Not our league finishing position of course; that had been settled for a couple of weeks. No, what was at stake was something infinitely bigger and more important: this year's Lemon of the Season award.

Going into the re-arranged fixture at Boston, Kev Rowland and Neil Sneade were tied for the lead on 4.5 Lemon votes each with keeper Lino Di Lorenzo close behind on 4 votes after receiving a tactical Lemon for the previous match against St Ives. On arrival at Boston though, it looked as if the whole contest could be derailed by the intervention of Dave Aston. His pre-match meal of sushi combined with his comic inability to open a packet of wasabi threatened to swing the votes away from the three contenders.

However, on the eve of push-back the contest took a decisive turn. Neil's selfless decision to emerge from the dressing room sporting a rather natty navy blue bandana for a look that crossed a smidgen of Johnny Depp with a rather large dose of Mrs Mop settled the decision to the relief of Kev and Lino.

Despite the fixture being a dead rubber in league terms, South had travelled with a full complement of twelve, ten of whom had played in the previous day's epic contest with St Ives. On a warm spring afternoon, South stretched out their tired legs on the patch of beaten up old carpet that passes as astroturf in Boston. After clearing off the itinerant footballers, lobbing back some stray basketballs from the court next door and fixing up the goal nets (a prime target for thieves in Boston, apparently), the game was ready to get underway.

The opening period turned out to be closely contested. South were playing the more coherent hockey but Boston were disciplined at the back and sufficiently capable to break into South's twenty-five and pose their own threat. With the Monckosaurus absent by divine command (despite the Cardinal's attempt to claim Episcopal authority to the contrary) South's defence was marshalled by Leo Tomita. His timely tackles and wickedly disguised sweeps were setting up the play from the back. Boston were dropping deep to defend, allowing full backs John Benedikz and Neil to get up the pitch to support Wasabi and Sanjay Agarwala on the wings.

Half time was approaching and the score remained goalless. With their last attack of the period, South worked the ball forward before playing it into the D. In a melee of players, the ball fell loose a few yards out from goal to find both of South's forwards, Mark Pears and Rob Barton, occupying the same space. After what seemed like an eternity while the two strikers engaged in a few steps of the Ladies' Excuse Me, Arsenal elbowed gallantry (and Rob) aside to twat the ball hard past the Boston keeper. South had their breakthrough almost literally on the stroke of half time, the quintessential "good time to score" (when's a bad time?).

Rejuvenated by the goal, South emerged after the change of ends eager to kill the game off. Boston, though, were equally keen to recoup their deficit. As the half progressed, it became apparent that it was South who posed the greater threat. Nick Bristowe and Mike Coffin were commanding in the centre of the pitch while George Wych at centre back was well capable of marshalling Boston's none-too-sprightly centre forward.

Despite plenty of ball, South were finding it hard to create clear chances to extend their lead. On the break, Boston were still threatening and South had to defend a number of penalty corners, including one harshly given for an attempted sweep off the side by Neil that found the back line instead, although admittedly someway short of the corner! Mike's slightly-too-audible protest when shortly afterwards a ball diverted over Boston's back line by a defender was awarded as a long rather than a short corner saw it promptly turned into a sixteen yard hit.

The general flow of the game was somewhat staccato, not assisted by the periodic stoppages to retrieve balls that went under or through the mangled pitch-side fencing. It was midway through the half before South managed to put clear water between themselves and their opponents. A move down the right from Neil and Kev, back on the pitch in place of Sanjay, finished in a cross into the D. The ball was beautifully struck first time by Arsenal to leave the keeper with no chance.

Their nerves settled, South were able to relax and play less urgent but more adventurous hockey. Arsenal completed his hat trick to seal the win with a quarter of the match to go. As Boston resolutely pressed on in search of a consolation, an attacker being shadowed out of the South D with his back to goal decided to try his luck with a strike on the turn. However, he succeeded only in connecting with Neil's hand, typically on the one game where he'd forgotten to bring his glove. With knuckles skinned, bruised and swollen, he departed the pitch to be replaced at right back for the remaining ten minutes by Sanjay.

The disruption to their defensive formation or possibly the exertion of two games in two days seemed to catch up with South. The final minutes were mostly played out defending their lead but, at the whistle, South had preserved Lino's much-prized clean sheet and wrapped up their season with a third win on the bounce.

Before the match, Kev had announced his intention to stand down as captain for the following season to give himself the chance to focus on his own game for a while. After two seasons during which the 2nds have achieved successive record league finishes, he passes on a golden legacy to whoever takes on the mantle of the mighty 2nds come the autumn. We'll miss his ceaseless encouragement, inspiring team talks and the pre-dawn match meets!