La Chiesa Del Corno showed that they are made of
strong stuff this Sunday, coming from a goal down to beat May & Bakers 3-1 and climb to second place in the
table.
Adam Jeffers was ruled out with a hamstring injury, and skipper
Darren 'Judith Chalmers' Hodsoll on holiday AGAIN, so Chiesa boss Samuel Knowles unwisely decided it was time to tinker with
the formation. Matt Gillham was brought in on the right of midfield , with Knowles playing slightly further forward than usual
in a 4-4-1-1 formation. Needless to say, as with every other occasion he has felt the need to 'tinker', the plan backfired,
and when the boys from the church of the horn fell behind, they reverted to the tried and tested 4-4-2. Knowles' license to
tinker has been revoked!
It always seems to be the case that LC/DC start games slower
than the opposition, no matter who they are. If they were a car they'd struggle to do 0-60 in less than a minute, and this
week was no exception as May & Baker dominated the opening quarter of the match. Man mountain Centre Half Robbie Still
was winning most of the long balls that Chiesa were uncharacteristically launching, while Dennis Peck cut an isolated figure
on his own up front. May and Bakers had underestimated LC/DC twice last season and come unstuck, but this time they were winning
all the second balls, and seemed determined to go back to 'Nam with all three points.
They took the lead when Chiesa skipper for the day John Riley
was caught in possession thirty yards out. Pace at the back has never been LC/DC's strong point, Italian style tackling is
more up their street, and once the fleet footed No. 10 was away it was just a question of whether he could finish, and he
answered in the affirmitive, tucking the ball past Harris to give the away side the lead.
Senior Chiesa players implored Knowles to change tactics, and
so Matt Gillham was pushed up front, with Iain Gay taking over on the right. No sooner had the change been made than it was
back to the Chiesa we know and love - slick passing and chances aplenty. Defender Warren Harwick tried his luck from long
range on a couple of occasions, the first 'sighter' hitting a St Marys Lane lampost, the second unluckily rebounding
off the upright. Matt Gillham had three chances in five minutes that you would expect a player of his ability to finish, a
header and volley going wide after flawless delivery from Colin Williams, while stand in keeper Sean Russell made a great
save to deny him on the third occasion. LC/DC had abandoned the strange tactic of lumping the ball onto the biggest player
on the oppositions head, and got back to the passing game that is far easier on the eye, and when Williams found Knowles just
inside the eighteen yard box, the Chiesa player/manager drew a clumsy foul from a M&B defender for an obvious penalty.
The fourth spot kick that LC/DC have been awarded this season was converted by the player that won it, and the home
side were back on level terms.
Mark Harris has been an unsung hero for the Hornchurch Rossoneri
this season, giving up his right back role to take over between the sticks in the absence of Danny Hardwick, and he
can claim an assist on the second Chiesa goal. A sixty yard pass was aimed from Harris' boot to the head of Iain Gay,
who rose majestically to flick into the path of Gillham. The crowd held their breath in anticipation of Maggsy's first
of the season, but his well hit shot bounced back off the bar. Dennis Peck was first to the rebound and Colin
WIlliams was on hand to steady himself before firing the ball past Russell and the defenders on the line - exactly the right
man for the situation.
Chiesa led 2-1 at half time, and were as accomplished in the last twenty minutes of the half as they had been
poor in the first twenty five. This was down in no small part to midfielder Dean Jordan, playing his last game before suspension,
who dragged the LC/DC back into the match when heads may have been tempted to drop. The home side knew that
if they could match Brian and Cheryls crew for commitment, they were favourites to win the match and started the second half
in confident mood.
May & Bakers altered their approach in the second period
throwing an extra man in the middle of the park to try and stem the creativity of the Chiesa midfield four. To a
certain extent this move worked, and the second forty five minutes were more of a scrappy affair that the first. Iain Gay
received a yellow card for a tackle that M&B fans seemed to take a dislike to, and a lot of free kicks were being given
in the midfield area, peventing the game from flowing. Jordan was upended on the edge of the area, some 'handbags' ensued
and the game threatened to get nasty, but Chiesa kept their composure and refused to get drawn into any shenanigans.
Similar to last years 3-1 victory in Dagenham, Chiesa couldn't
relax until they had a two goal cushion. Dennis Peck, scorer of four goals last week squandered a chance to wrap things up
after good work from Williams on the left, but minutes later he turned provider, controlling a ball from Knowles before setting
substitute Danny Trew on his way. Trew showed his usual cool head in front of goal, firing into the top corner from the edge
of the area to make the game safe fo La Chiesa, who now have an embarrasment of riches up front, twenty two goals from six
games already so far this season, almost as many as in the whole of last.
Chiesa unsuccessfully tried to showboat for the last ten minutes,
but despite forcing a couple of corners, May and Baker never looked like geting back in it, and three crucial points in the
Chiesa quest for promotion had been secured.
Now to the pub to watch some of the worst refereeing, and light
weight drinking, in the history of the game...
LCDC; (4-4-2) Harris; McCarthy, Riley, W Hardwick,
Soteriou; Gay, Knowles, Jordan, Williams; Peck, M Gillham ( Trew)
Gols - Knowles (pen), Williams, Trew
Tarjeta Amarilla - Gay
Arbitro - B Fox
