La Chiesa produced their best performance of the season so far this Sunday, when they travelled to championship challengers May & Bakers and left with all three points. To put the victory in perspective, the home side were unbeaten since October 5th, had conceded just fifteen goals all season, and had recently beaten two LC/DC conquerers, Woodford Hammers and Esprit, by four goals to one. Local bookies were offering odds of up to 13/2 on an away victory, and were seeing little or no business such was the confidence in the favourites, who were the last leg of many 'home banker accumulators' throughout East London.

LC/DC team news was not encouraging. Striker Adam Jeffers was laid low with flu, Cy Taylor, Danny Trew and Alan Lamont were still  recovering from ankle injuries, and Benny Gillham's back was playing up, while keeper Danny Hardwick was playing despite a niggling knee problem. On the plus side, first choice centre backs John Riley and Warren Hardwick were available again, returning from injury and suspension respectively, and skipper Darren Hodsoll was free from Valentines Day duties.

I'll let you into a secret...nothing upsets an LC/DC player more than when somebody mispronounces their team name - the 'ch' of Chiesa is as in 'Loch' not as in 'Charity' -  time after time at league council meetings this problem has arisen, so, although they had arrived at Brian & Cheryl's place in a determined mood anyway, when a May & Baker official asked if the team in dressing room four were 'La Cheezia', the boys from the Church of the Horn's resolve was strengthened even more. (It's 'La Key-ayza Dell Korno', phonetically speaking).

Following the pre match huddle which was supposed to give the impression that they knew what they were doing, but was in fact a opportunity for any new jokes to be shared, the match started in the same vein as last weeks trip to Astra, the home side enjoying the lions share of posession, and the strong wind behind enabling them to force plenty of early corners. The difference this week was that it was LC/DC who took the lead. Iain Gay found Matt Gillham on the left wing, and after a breakdown in communication between keeper and his defence, Gillham side footed the ball across the six yard box and there was Jonny Gray in acres of space to slide the ball into the empty net for his first goal for the club. 

As is so often the case, the opening goal was followed by a sustained spell of Chiesa pressure, they began to knock the ball around with more confidence, and when a ball from the right ricocheted into the path of Matt Gillham, a two goal lead for La Chiesa seemed a certainty, but though his shot beat the keeper, it sneaked just past the far post, and the score remained 1-0. Inevitably, the next attack brought the equaliser for M & B. A long goal kick was deflected into the path of Robert Battram, and he slotted the ball past Hardwick to make it 1-1.

As usual, Danny Hardwick was producing quality save after quality save in the LC/DC goal, and so, when brother Warren fouled May & Baker captain Tyrone Lighterness for a clear cut penalty ten minutes before half time, Chiesa fans were not unduly concerned. Left back Sean Russell stepped up to take the kick and Hardwick pulled off his third penalty save from the five spot kicks he has faced the season. Let there be no more discussion on the matter - THERE IS NOT A BETTER KEEPER IN THE LEAGUE! The importance of the penalty save was reinforced just before the break when Chiesa retook the lead. Jonny Gray wento on a run down the right and chipped the ball to Gillham, his canny header fell perfectly to Gray to control the ball with his first touch, and flick it past the keeper with the outside of his boot with his second, a superb peice of interplay between the two forwards.Gray was injured in the process of scoring the goal, and bizzarely, May & Baker keeper Gary Leatherbarrow refused to carry on, throwing his gloves on the ground and storming off the pitch! There was just time for Hardwick to gain claim some respect back for the goalkeepers union with another fantastic save from a long range effort before the interval.

All things considered, a fantastic half for Chiesa. They soaked up the pressure from the home side and hit them with two stunning counter attacks for the goals. When the ball was passed around on the deck they looked a classy outfit, a far cry from the shambles that started the season back in September.   

May & Baker were sure to come out with all guns blazing in the second half, and indeed that was the case. Even though they now had the wind in their favour, the Hornchurch Boys found it difficult to make inroads into the opposition half, and had their backs against the wall for long periods. The defence performed heroically throughout these tough times, Warren Hardwick making some vital interceptions, and John Riley sweeping up anything that got by his sidekick in no nonsense fashion. Full backs Mark Harris and Terry Soteriou tucked in to form a tight unit that May & Bakers were struggling to penetrate, and when they did, they found a keeper in inspired form. The whole team were defending as one, even Matt Gillham sacrificing the flicks and tricks he loves so much to use his energy pestering defenders into mistakes. On a pitch that was the most level they had played on for months, when they did get the ball Chiesa were playing some intricate passing football, skipper Darren Hodsoll was was winning the ball, playing it easy, and generally holding things together on his reappearance on the right hand side of midfield, with Iain Gay doing much the same on the left. The away following that yelled encouragement throughout the difficult periods of the second half were like an extra man at times, but for all this, it must be said that stand in keeper Scott Davis did not have a thing to do in until the dying moments of the match.

With May & Bakers pushing men forward in search of an equaliser, gaps were going to appear at the back eventually, and when, in the eightieth minute, Mark Harris made a sortie from right back and picked out Gray in the penalty area, the chance came for LC/DC to wrap things up. Gray drew his defender and unselfishly cut the ball back to Sam Knowles, who crashed the ball into the top corner from twelve yards to make the game safe. A long overdue goal from the La Chiesa player/manager, and another almost arrived immediately, but he volleyed wide when picked out by Hodsoll's superb ball from the right. That goal not only sealed the points for the Hornchurch Rossineri, but kept Colin Williams and Knowles 100% record together in the centre of midfield going.

Ten minutes to go then, and it was time for La Chiesa to run down the clock, playing keepball and showing off a few tricks to tempt their opponents into tackles. An incident on the right saw defender Johnny Bartram curiously withdrawn by his own manager for some hotheaded behaviour, and Chiesa's Ian Gay was shown the yellow card by the otherwise excellent referee for dissent. Gray then almost capped a magnificent performance by grabbing a his hat trick, only to be denied by a fingertip save from Davis.

The whistle blew for full time shortly afterwards and  La Chiesa had the greatest win in their short history. Not many teams come away from May & Bakers with anything to show for their troubles, and to do it without any substitutes showed great spirit and a fitness level from the boys that they may not have known they possessed. Ashton Park's win over Stonewood means they remain in seventh place, making next weeks visit to Ashton all the more mouthwatering!