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La Chiesa had to dig 'deep' in E17 this Sunday, but eventually ran out easy winners, thanks in part to what surely must be the Corinthian League Goal Of The Season, from striker Adam Jeffers.

 

Yet again LC/DC boss Samuel Knowles had to shuffle the pack, with last weeks defensive lynchpins John Riley and Mark Ede unavailable and Darren Hodsell a late flu victim. Regular keeper Danny Hardwick and top scorer Jon Gray had both failed to recover from their knocks, while Danny Button and Alan Lamont were nowhere to be seen. LC/DC were left with a distinct lack of defenders, and it was this more than anything else that prompted the change in formation from their regular 4-4-2, to 3-5-2, with long term absentee Danny Trew back to partner Jeffers up front.

 

Stonewood had given Chiesa a scare on their last visit to the Stow, and it was imperative that they were not taken lightly despite their lowly league position. The majority of the play in the opening fifteen minutes was played in the crowded midfield, but it was Stonewood who had the first chance of the Corinthian version of the Milanese derby. When a long throw palmed away by Mark Harris fell to a blue and black shirt eight yards out, a goal seemed inevitable, but the shot was screwed horribly wide, and Chiesa were off the hook. Sam Knowles had an opportunity to give the visitors the lead, cutting in from the left but shooting straight at the keeper, while the Rossineri were forcing plenty of corners, expertly taken by the Gillham brothers, that were keeping the pressure on the home side.

 

The deadlock was broken on the half hour thanks to some classic wingplay from Cy Taylor. Asked to play in an unfamiliar role at wingback, the only player in the team that plays better when suffering from a hangover jinked past two men on the right, before delivering a cross that was headed into his own net by a Stonewood defender. Chiesa piled on the pressure for the remaining fifteen minutes in an attempt to give themselves some breathing space, chances fell to Warren Hardwick, Benny G, Trew and Taylor, but they couldn't add a second, and went into the break leading by a solitary goal to nil. 

 

The switch to 3-5-2 appeared to be working well, Colin Williams, Terry Soteriou, and Hardwick were looking comfortable on the ball at the back, Matt Gillham was showing some silky skills on the left, while Taylor was looking dangerous on the right. Benny Gillham, Iain Gay and Knowles were covering each others tracks in midfield, with Jeffers and Trew looking lively up front.

 

LC/DC started the second half as they finished the first, searching for the second goal, but, after having the better of the first quarter of an hour, they almost fell to a sucker punch. A Chiesa corner from the right was cleared, and suddenly Stonewood had a man advantage on the counter attack. Tackles from Knowles and Hardwick were evaded and it was three on one; an equaliser looked odds on, but when the ball was released, a Stonewood forward had criminally strayed offside. Naive play to say the least, but it was the wake up call that Chiesa needed. Jeffers went close when he latched on to a long pass, his shot being blocked by the keeper, but within ten minutes the match was over as a contest.

 

This was Chiesa gaffer Knowles' final match before the ludicrously severe suspension for his dubious sending off at Astra kicked in, and he was desperate to finish his season on a high note. The opportunity to do so came when Gay's through ball split the Stonewood defence in two, and left him with a 50-50 versus the home keeper. Knowles won the race, pushed the ball past the Stonewood stopper and managed to to flick it into the empty net before it rolled wide. That goal gave LC/DC the breathing space they had been looking for, and now it was time for them to turn on the style.

 

A flowing move between Gay, Taylor, Knowles and Jeffers set up a chance for Trew, before Jeffers made the game safe with one of the most spectacular goals seen in Sunday Morning Football this season. Taylor picked the ball up on the right and clipped an inch perfect ball over the Stonewood left back into the path of Chiesa's No 8. Jeffers proceeded to lob the ball over the head of his marker with his right foot, and unleash a unstoppable volley into the top corner from twenty yards with his left. A truly sensational strike, evoking memories of Gazza in Euro 96 vs Scotland, although surely the 'daft as a brush' midfielder would agree that Jeffers' effort was head and shoulders above his famous goal. What was all that about muggers snatches.....

 

Chiesa were brimming with confidence now, and the home side had 'gone'. Iain Gay was turning Stonewood side inside out at will, Warren Hardwick was spraying the ball around like Franco Baresi, and rather than sitting on their three goal lead, the whole team were working their socks off to deny the boys from E17 any time on the ball. They seem to have learned the lessons of the painful defeat at St Augustines, and are working harder off the ball.  A rare Stonewood corner ten minutes from time gave Chiesa a chance for one of their lightning counter attacks. The ball was cleared as far as Terry Soteriou, who found Taylor on the right. His precise pass set Trew on his way, and he ran half the length of the pitch before calmly tucking the ball past the keeper to make it four. A fitting way for DT to complete his return from injury, he held the ball up well throughout, and finished for the goal as though he had never been away.

 

Chiesa indulged in a trick or two in the minutes that remained as they wound down the clock, Matt Gillham who had stuck doggedly to his left wing back role went on a couple of mazy runs, while Soteriou was charging forward at every opportunity to try and notch his first  goal for the club. When the full time whistle blew, LCDC could look back on another professional display, brushing aside Stonewood with a minimum of fuss. Cy Taylor impressed with assists for three of the goals, Mark Harris gave another assured display between the sticks, in fact everyone in a red and black shirt had an excellent game. But the abiding memory of the match will be that wonderful strike from the man who only scores tap ins - Goal of the Season from the artist formerly known as 'the fox in the box', without a shadow of a doubt.

 

LCDC; (3-5-2) Harris; Soteriou, W Hardwick, Williams; Taylor, Gay, Knowles, B Gillham, M Gillham; Jeffers, Trew

 

Gols - og, Knowles, Jeffers, Trew

 

Arbitro - R Harris