//------------------------------// // A Stuttering Start // Story: Over Land and Sea // by Wessexbrony //------------------------------// Saturday 26th August “No!” Rainbow Dash’s exclamation summed things up quite nicely in my view. Dinky facehoofed, I cast my eyes up to the August sky, and numerous supporters around us voiced their opinions in far juicier language as Jason Roberts wheeled away in celebration. It was certainly a far cry from the mood before the match. It had seemed easy enough on paper, too. A home fixture against a Blackburn Rovers side who had lost both their opening matches; surely an easy three points. Indeed, Chelsea had dominated the match from the outset, and it came as no surprise when Fontana opened his Chelsea account with an exquisite chip over Brad Friedel midway through the first half. Despite 45 minutes of Chelsea dominance, the scoreline still only read 1-0 when the half time whistle blew. Barely a minute after half time, however, a long ball from defence was met by Blackburn striker Benni McCarthy, who controlled it before wrong-footing Petr Cech to level the scores. Since then, Chelsea had virtually laid siege to the Blackburn goal, but had failed to convert their numerous chances. The score remained 1-1 as the clock ticked on, and an air of nervousness began to permeate Stamford Bridge. And then, with eleven minutes to go, it happened. As a Chelsea attack broke down, Robbie Savage took possession and went on a run, before passing to McCarthy. McCarthy bore down on goal, but as Cech came out to meet him, he passed the ball to Roberts to catch Cech in no-man’s land. Blackburn now held a shock 2-1 lead as the last ten minutes approached. “Well, once again, Chelsea are having problems with teams they should be comfortably beating,” Kick Off proclaimed. “They should have had this game put to bed by now, and instead it looks like they’re going to end up with nothing.” “Indeed, Kick Off,” replied his co-commentator Full Time. “In my view, they’re going to be lucky to get a point if they don’t do something. They really should be playing a lot better.” Down in the dugout, Mourinho motioned to three players to come on. Kovac, Fontana and Kalou made way, with Drogba, Robben and Wight-Phillips replacing them. “An all-or-nothing substitution now for Chelsea,” Kick Off said. “Ten minutes for them to get out of the hole that they’ve dug themselves into.” Chelsea pushed forward as the clock ticked on. With the crowd urging them on, Drogba had a shot blocked by Lucas Neill. The corner was cleared as far as Bridge, who sent the ball skimming over the bar, leaving the home supporters groaning in dismay. As the match entered the last five minutes, Chelsea continued to press. Michael Ballack, making his Chelsea debut, played the ball across to Drogba in the centre. The Blackburn defence anticipated a shot, but Drogba opted to play Robben into the area, and the talented winger received the ball before sending it past Friedel into the far corner to bring Chelsea level with just two minutes to go. As Chelsea celebrated, so did two mares watching the game in the Traveller’s Rest Inn in Ponyville. Derpy breathed a sigh of relief, while Twilight tried to decide whether, in Mourinho’s situation, she’d settle for a point or go for the win. The answer to her question came as the match entered stoppage time. As Chelsea looked to attack once more, Robben broke away down the left side. As Rainbow Dash, Dinky and much of the Matthew Harding End urged him to cut inside, the Dutchman opted for a different course of action. He pulled the ball back for Claude Makelele, who let fly first time from 25 yards and sent the ball into the top corner beyond the despairing dive of Friedel to send the home crowd into raptures. They weren’t the only ones, either. In Ponyville, Derpy reacted by managing to stretch the word “Goal” out over ten seconds, while Kick Off described the goal as “a thing of absolute beauty", adding that it was "destined for the net from the moment it left Makelele's boot. Friedel had no chance!”. Full Time was equally excited, telling Makelele “Take a bow son, what a hit!” Amazingly, in the space of three minutes, Chelsea had snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. Chelsea 3-2 Blackburn Rovers (Fontana 23, Robben 88, Makelele 90+1; McCarthy 46, Roberts 79) “I’d treasure that memory if I were you,” I said as we left the stadium, Dinky practically bouncing along beside me. “It isn’t often that you see Claude Makelele score.” As we made our way back home, the main news was that Aston Villa’s 4-2 win over Reading had moved them top of the league on goal difference above Manchester United. The Blackburn result, however, just made the next game all the more incomprehensible. Charlton Athletic had taken just one point from their opening three matches, including a 4-1 defeat at Liverpool, so it surely stood to reason that the match at The Valley would be fairly straightforward. But then again, we'd thought the same about Blackburn and Reading. In the end, it was Charlton who were celebrating by the end of the evening. Chelsea had put in a thoroughly insipid performance and had received their just desserts in the 60th minute when Darren Bent had met a cross from Dennis Rommedahl and headed the ball past Cech. Charlton Athletic 1-0 Chelsea (Bent 60) As we made our way back home, ominous news filtered through from Old Trafford. Manchester United had beaten Aston Villa 2-0 to sit top of the league on maximum points from their opening four matches. Arsenal had got their first win of the season as well, beating West Ham by the same scoreline. Premier League table at the end of August: 1 Man Utd 12pts 2 Liverpool 10pts 3 Aston Villa 9pts 4 Portsmouth 8pts 5 Newcastle Utd 8pts 6 Chelsea 7pts 7 Reading 7pts … 16 Tottenham 3pts 17 Charlton 3pts 18 Watford 2pts 19 Sheffield United 1pt 20 Blackburn Rovers 1pt