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Chelsea 3-0 Skonto Riga Champions League 3rd rnd qual (1) 11th Aug 99
Total Eclipse
A disappointing 22,000 crowd turned out to watch this game. I know it was live on TV, but I can't help but think that some people are getting a teeny bit blasé in their attitude. Think back to ten years ago when we were putting up with Ian Britton's shots from the six yard line that ended up going for a throw-in... Never mind. The stay-at-homes missed the atmosphere, which was intense. The game started off at what seemed a mind-numbingly slow pace, with Chelsea patiently setting up their attacks, without leaving themselves open to counter attack. It was an impressive display of organisation, if frustrating to watch, especially when one is used to the blinding speed of Premiership games. I was watching with an Italian friend who regularly watches Juventus at home. He told me that the build-up was slow, even compared to the patient Italian game. All I know is that I was squirming around in my seat with barely suppressed frustration for most of the match. I suppose we'll just have to learn to be as patient as the players. Skonto are apparently a poor club, even by East European standards, which may explain why they only brought around fifty fans with them. Their football is not poor, though. I found them to be a well organised, committed and skillful side, who never lost hope of poaching an away goal. Their keeper, Kolinko, was outstanding, keeping them in the match until the last quarter of the game with a string of outlandish, improbable saves - you would not believe some of the gymnastics that bloke was getting up to. Chelsea were constantly probing Skonto's defences, but were never quite able to finish, mainly due to Kolinko's last line of defence. The main excitement of the half revolved around an incident before a Chelsea corner, where Skonto defender Tereskinas decided it would be a good idea to kick the crap out of Franck Leboeuf as they waited for the cross. Franck, being no mug, went down like a felled tree. The referee, who was an officious little shit, by the way, duly sent Tereskinas off. Chris Sutton once again distinguished himself by receiving the ball with his back to the goal not three yards out, swivelling round to shoot, and, skillfully, completely missing the ball. The frustration piled up until the half time whistle, but there were grounds for optimism about the second half, so we were reasonably happy. Having avoided the idiots blocking the passageways under the stand, we relieved our bladders, bought our over-salted crisps, and shuffled back into our tiny little seats for the second half, full of hope, empty of beer. Unfortunately we were due for more of the same kind of bad luck (or woeful finishing, whichever you want) until around fifteen minutes from the end, when Vialli brought on Babayaro and Flo for Deschamps (who'd had what was for him a poor game - I saw him miss at least two passes) and Zola respectively. This caused some raised eyebrows, but I thought it was a good idea, especially as the Latvians had been subjecting poor old Franco to some substantial physical abuse. The substitutions proved to be something of a masterstroke, which restored our faith in Vialli's sanity after his earlier interview on Sky Sports, where he'd been banging on about how "watching Chelsea was like making love, and you didn't want to do that too often", etc. Too much iron in the diet, Luca. You need to eat less spinach, old son. You're in danger of becoming like one of those bloody little dogs that latch onto your leg and refuse to stop humping until they're killed. We've all had to put up with it (No, not all of us - Ed.), but we don't expect it from our Manager. Suddenly, from toe-clenching frustration, our emotions veered wildly to joy, as Sutton passed to Baba, whose sweet, right footed shot rifled through a crowd of players to finally beat Kolinko. Cue mayhem, as we all relieved our frustration by dancing around in the three inches of our allotted space, while Baba performed his back flips on the pitch. Better was to come with a minute, as Gus Poyet banged the ball past Kolinko in similar style. The joy on the terraces was something to behold. Chelsea went into Sunderland mode, and became far more convincing and incisive in passing and their running off the ball, as if they could sense that the flood gates were about to open. It was only a short time before Sutton received the ball close to goal, turned and fired a vicious shot that Kolinko could only palm into the goal. Sutton was obviously delighted, as were all the Chelsea players, particularly Le Saux, who celebrated by smacking Sutton round the face a couple of times in a sort of gladiatorial display of toughness. Sutton looked dazed, we all felt relieved, everything was coming up roses. Shockingly, I found myself singing along with the crowd "There's only one Chris Sutton". What a hypocrite ! The last few minutes of the game passed in delirium, with the fans cheering every move. To their credit, Skonto never gave up, and looked a lot sharper than Chelsea most of the time - when they got the ball. Fortunately they didn't get the ball that often. There was a tendency for them to hoof the ball up the pitch to their lone striker as often as possible, in the hope of a break, but Chelsea's defence looked assured (I can't believe I just said that..). It looks like, barring cock-ups on a huge scale, that we will be in the Champions League by the end of the month. Perhaps that will draw in the crowds...
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