//------------------------------// // Points Needed // Story: Over Land and Sea // by Wessexbrony //------------------------------// Saturday 11th November Chelsea (4th) vs Arsenal (3rd) “We really used to struggle against them,” I said, in response to Dinky's question about today's opposition. “We couldn't beat them in the league and they beat us in the FA Cup four years in a row.” “That's not really encouraging.” “Indeed not. But,” I continued, “We beat them in the Champions League at Highbury during the season they went unbeaten and we beat them home and away last season.” Of course, it wouldn’t be that straightforward. Neither Terry or Lampard were fully fit following the game against Bayern Munich and Ballack was still injured. In addition, Arsenal were in a rich vein of form at present, having not lost since their 2-0 defeat at Reading. The two of us entered the kitchen and I switched the kettle on before switching on Sky Sports, which was previewing the weekend’s matches and currently discussing the one between Tottenham and Manchester United. Of course, it was going to be a tough game. Arsenal’s recent form, the absence of four influential players from fatigue (Terry, Lampard), injury (Ballack) and illness (Fontana) and the general calibre of players in the Arsenal squad could potentially spell real trouble for Chelsea, as well as a referee who was only too keen to reach for his pocket. Hopefully we’d see the strength of the squad shine through, especially since a win would see us go up to third in the table. And as the game started after the ground fell silent for a minute to remember those who’d fallen, it seemed to do so. Chelsea edged the opening fifteen minutes, creating two chances, one of which went wide and the other of which was saved by Lehmann. But then Thierry Henry once again proved why he was one of the most feared strikers in football, and why Barcelona and Real Madrid had been so keen to sign him in the summer. He collected the ball from Fabregas and got past Makelele and Kovac before sending the ball past Cech to give Arsenal the lead. Chelsea responded, with Essien rattling the post shortly afterwards. Robert Kovac was booked in the 37th minute for a foul on Emmanuel Adebayor, with the free kick blocked by the wall. Chelsea then went up the other end, and won a corner in the 41st minute, which was cleared. Three minutes later, however, Ashley Cole beat Fabregas to the ball and passed to Geremi. Geremi passed to Drogba, who played the ball to Joe Cole. Cole ran at William Gallas, his former team-mate who’d joined Arsenal in an exchange deal with Ashley Cole, before turning and sending the ball past the outstretched arm of Lehmann and into the bottom corner of the net off the inside of the post. “Absolutely brilliant!” Kick Off exclaimed. “Superb build-up from Chelsea there, and Joe Cole with a shot which no goalkeeper could have saved! And now, Arsene Wenger has to re-write his half time team talk from scratch!” The second half actually started quietly, with only a couple of half chances in the opening fifteen minutes. Just after the hour mark, Ashley Cole got down the left and sent a cross in to Joe Cole, who fired the ball over the bar. Three minutes later, Michael Essien, looking to launch another attack, passed the ball to Drogba. Drogba played a one-two pass with Robben, before getting to the edge of the area and going for goal. Lehmann actually got his hand to the shot, but it was too powerful and settled in the net. With just under 20 minutes left, Chelsea looked to attack once more. Makelele intercepted a potentially hazardous pass from Hleb to Henry and passed to Drogba, who played the ball onto Joe Cole. Joe Cole took the ball into the area and crossed it in for Robben, who sent a scissor kick over the bar. Mikel then came on to replace the booked Kovac, with Michael Essien slotting in at centre-back. With six minutes remaining, and with Chelsea looking to put the result beyond doubt, Joe Cole passed to Mikel, who sent the ball through Emmanuel Eboue’s legs to Drogba. Drogba ran through the Arsenal half before passing the ball along the edge of the box to Mikel, who played in Robben. Robben then sent the ball flashing wide of the post. For all Chelsea’s dominance, Arsenal went on the attack in the third minute of added time. Hleb crossed to Ljungberg, whose header was straight at Cech. Chelsea 2-1 Arsenal (Joe Cole 44, Drogba 64; Henry 17) Mourinho was elated with the win, and he wasn’t the only one. Both Derpy and Dinky left the Traveller’s Rest and Stamford Bridge respectively with huge smiles on their faces, and the results later that weekend made things even better. Bolton kept Liverpool out in a 0-0 draw at the Reebok, while a late equaliser from Dimitar Berbatov saw Tottenham salvage a 2-2 draw against Man Utd at White Hart Lane. Premier League Table 1 Man Utd 32pts 2 Liverpool 27pts 3 Chelsea 26pts 4 Arsenal 25pts 5 Bolton 23pts 6 Tottenham 20pts … 16 Blackburn 13pts 17 West Ham 11pts 18 Sheffield United 10pts 19 Watford 9pts 20 Charlton 8pts “For crying out loud, respond!” Autumn groaned to herself, as yet again she tried to chase up the form regarding Derpy's visitation rights which she'd filled out and sent to the visitation office weeks ago, only for it to seemingly get lost in the documents department... where, it seemed, important documents went to die. She'd watched The Twelve Tasks of Asterix at the weekend and was strongly reminded of The Place That Sends You Mad. She wondered if they were actively looking to stop Derpy from seeing Dinky again, but dismissed the idea; that would require competence, and that was not a word in their dictionary, which evidently didn't extend beyond “coffee break”. Her thoughts were interrupted, however, by Belladonna stalking past her office with a face like a thunderstorm, carrying a piece of paper. “I'm telling you, if looks could kill, anyone she'd glanced at would have been obliterated,” she told Lyra in the pub that evening. “Makes a change from that smirk she's usually got,” Lyra responded, “What do you reckon rattled her cage anyway?” “My guess? She found someone she can't push around.” Autumn was right; the piece of paper had been a letter which had come from London. “Dear Ms Nightshade, In response to the letter you sent me last week, I can tell you in no uncertain terms that I am not going to change Dinky's name in any way, shape or form. I refuse to effectively erase part of her identity, and if you send me another letter like this one it will go straight into the bin. And if you use this as an excuse to cheat on the agreement, I will report you to the British Embassy. Yours sincerely, George Spencer” Derpy returned to her house after doing her daily rounds. She hung her cap on its hook and produced the last letter from her postbag - the one with the London postmark. “Dear Mommy, Belladonna wrote to George last week asking him to change my name” - Derpy's heart sank - “but he wrote back telling her that if she asked him that again he'd write to the British Embassy and get them to sort her out. Don't worry if you don't get a letter from me until later in the week, as I am being taken to my first European away match this week. We will take the sleeper train from Glasgow to get back after the game. All my love, Muffin”