Saturday 20th January
Aston Villa away was not exactly an ideal fixture off the back of a defeat, as Chelsea had not won at Villa Park since 1999. Still, as I told Dinky that morning, things were looking up. Even Mark Hughes had admitted that Chelsea “should have won by three or four” after the game at Ewood Park, and Villa sat thirteenth in the league after their bright start to the season had turned drab since September.
The supporters’ charter train departed Euston at 12:40pm, and as the match was an evening kick off, all the other games would be played first.
“Get in there!” Sweetie Belle shouted excitedly, while a nearby pony from the embassy allowed himself a smile.
It was the closing stages of the Merseyside Derby at Goodison Park, and a hard-fought match seemed to have been won. As the clock ticked around to the 87th minute, a long ball found Mikel Arteta, who had outmuscled Daniel Agger before slotting the ball past Reina to open the scoring. And for Sweetie Belle, who had been given a hospitality ticket courtesy of the Equestrian embassy, it was becoming the best match she'd been to.
Six minutes later, the referee blew the final whistle, giving Everton a 1-0 win against their bitter rivals.
“Make the most of that, Dinky.” Sweetie Belle thought, as she was escorted back to the portal.
“Well, Chelsea are virtually unrecognisable from what they were not that long ago,” Kick Off said, as Lampard moved across to take a corner 35 minutes into the match. “They're leading 1-0, they’re playing well, and they’re playing together.”
“Indeed, Kick Off,” Full Time added, “December seems a million miles away now, as do all the troubles they endured in the run-up to Christmas.”
Chelsea had controlled the game pretty much from the beginning, and in the sixteenth minute, Robben, Drogba and Gudjohnsen had combined for Gudjohnsen to score an easy tap-in.
Chelsea now looked to increase their lead, and the corner found John Terry, who volleyed the ball wide.
On the stroke of half time, a long ball from Makelele found Gudjohnsen, who passed to Drogba. Drogba let fly from an angle, his shot being tipped wide by Gabor Kiraly in the Villa goal.
The corner was cleared, but Essien intercepted the ball and played a long pass to Gudjohnsen. This time, the Icelander looked to shoot, but his shot was saved by Kiraly, who held onto the ball.
“Well, this is more like it,” I said, as I produced the half time muffins. “This is the side from the last two seasons; we’re finally playing like champions.”
“And with Liverpool losing earlier-” Dinky added.
“Exactly.”
Chelsea looked to dominate the second half as well, and five minutes in a long ball from Makelele found Robben, who took the ball down the right flank. He then looked to send in a cross, but the ball was deflected into the grateful hands of Kiraly. Then, in the 52nd minute, Drogba intercepted the ball and passed to Robben, whose shot was tipped over by Kiraly.
However, Aston Villa then launched a rare attack, which was deflected behind for a corner. The corner was deflected behind off Michael Essien for another corner, which came to nothing.
With 25 minutes remaining, Chelsea won a corner, which was cleared. The ball was cleared back in for Drogba, who sent the shot wide.
“I don’t like this,” Rainbow Dash complained in the Traveller’s Rest as the second half wore on, “So many times this season, our failure to convert chances has cost us. We nearly lost to Blackburn back in August, we did lose at Blackburn last week despite having seven shots on target to their one, and the longer that this stays 1-0, then the bolder Villa will become.”
Twilight wanted to give her a withering look, but she knew that Rainbow Dash was technically right; the game against Watford in the FA Cup had been nervy in the last 25 minutes, and although Chelsea continued to control the match, there was still just the one goal in it as Doyle came on to replace Gudjohnsen for the last ten minutes.
Then, with four minutes to go, Essien played the ball to Robben, who raced down the right flank. He cut inside between Ridgewell and Bouma before firing the ball past Kiraly at the near post to double Chelsea’s lead.
“Finally,” Rainbow Dash said, as the Chelsea players, fans, and Derpy all celebrated. “Took them long enough, but that’s surely the three points in the bag now.”
It wasn’t, however, the last goal of the game. In the first minute of stoppage time, Geremi passed to Essien, who once again played in Robben on the right. Robben took the ball into the area and fired the ball across Kiraly to put the icing on the proverbial cake.
Aston Villa 0-3 Chelsea (Gudjohnsen 16, Robben 86, 90+1)
“Funnily enough, that was the scoreline the last time we won here,” I said, as Mourinho shook hands with Martin O’Neill and the players left the pitch, before we set off for the station.
“...Chelsea’s first win at Villa Park in eight years,” Kick Off said, “And it’s a huge boost to their morale. They can’t ask for more than that, and to make things even better, they move up to third in the league thanks to Liverpool’s defeat in the Merseyside Derby at Goodison Park earlier today…”
Premier League Table
1 Man Utd 54pts
2 Arsenal 50pts
3 Chelsea 45pts
4 Liverpool 43pts
5 Tottenham 40pts
6 Bolton 38pts
…
16 Sheffield Utd 24pts
17 Wigan 22pts
18 West Ham 19pts
19 Charlton 16pts
20 Watford 12pts
Monday 22nd January
“I’m pretty sure that the Ancient Greeks had some sort of story analogous to this,” Autumn muttered to herself, as for the third time she filled in a form recommending that Derpy be granted visitation rights. “Let me think...Lyra?”
“Yes?” Lyra replied, as she entered Autumn’s office.
“Who was that guy in Ancient Greek mythology who got sent to Tartarus and had to perform a task that couldn’t be completed?”
“Sisyphus. He had to roll a huge boulder up a hill and it rolled back down whenever he got near the top.”
“I know how that feels,” Autumn thought, as she placed it in a hardback envelope, stamped “URGENT” on it, and took it to the internal post trolley. She placed it in the trolley...and noticed another pony watching her.
“Can I help you, Belladonna?” she asked pointedly.
“What? Er, no, no, I’m fine. I was just-just going to make a cup of coffee.” Belladonna replied.
“Well, I won’t stop you,” Autumn icily responded, making a mental note to postpone her next cup of tea by about ten minutes. She hadn’t, however, failed to notice the brief look of panic on Belladonna’s face.
“I wonder what she might be hiding…” she muttered, as she went back to her office.