//------------------------------// // Two Winter Nights // Story: Over Land and Sea // by Wessexbrony //------------------------------// “I'm telling you, she's up to something,” Autumn said, as she and Lyra had a drink in The Two Princesses after work on Friday. “In what way?” Lyra asked. “I'm almost certain that she was spying on me when I posted the form on Monday, she seemed very alarmed when I noticed her. She's always been the nosy type.” “Yes, but for something like this, you need solid proof,” Lyra said, “After all, you can't rush in based on hearsay, especially not in our field of work.” There was something about Lyra's words which made them echo around Autumn's head as she went home that night. Saturday 27th January As January drew to a close, a cold snap fell over Britain. Of course, it was usually cold in January, but the temperature dropped into minus figures even south of London. However, Dinky wasn't fazed, telling me that Equestria saw snow from December to February before the ponies cleaned it all up. I idly wondered how much the various train companies would pay for them to come over and clear the rail network, as the BBC News showed footage of it grinding to a halt in the north. Fortunately, the draw for the fourth round of the FA Cup had been kind to Chelsea...geography-wise, at least. They would be playing at Fratton Park, where a missed penalty and a late equaliser had saved them from defeat back in September. Portsmouth, however, would be up for it, and the weather didn’t make things any easier. Snow had started to fall as the train crossed the South Downs, and it was still swirling around as we took our seats and braced ourselves for the inevitable handbell from the other end of the stadium. “I’ve never seen that before,” Dinky said, as the teams emerged with the referee carrying an orange ball. “It’s due to the weather,” I replied, “I saw something similar a couple of seasons back.” I omitted to mention that Chelsea had been beaten 1-0 at Newcastle and subsequently knocked out of the FA Cup on that occasion. Portsmouth, evidently stung by being denied two points back in September, started quickly, and it took only three minutes for former Arsenal midfielder Lauren to go steaming into the area and connect with Taylor’s pass to slide the ball past Cech. Chelsea responded, and in the 20th minute, a lengthy spell of pressure paid off as Lampard’s ball through the middle was latched onto Gudjohnsen, whose shot beat David James to level the scores. Four minutes from the break, Lampard himself got on the scoresheet. A long ball out of defence saw Makelele play in Wright-Phillips, who got down the right before sending a cross into the area. Drogba headed the ball back for Lampard, whose low shot fizzed into the bottom corner of the net. That should have seen Chelsea through to half time, but, a minute from the break, Portsmouth were able to catch them cold. A long ball allowed Pedro Mendes to beat the offside trap before lifting the ball over the onrushing Cech to bring the hosts level. It was certainly thrilling stuff for the neutral, but we weren't watching as neutrals. Portsmouth were showing exactly why they'd been fourth in the league as far into the season as October, and the second half developed into a scrappy midfield battle, with neither side willing to give an inch as the snow continued to swirl around. Then came the final ten minutes. A quick break by Kranjcar down the left saw the Croatian send a cross into the area, where Djimi Traore was able to get a shot past Cech to give Portsmouth the lead with nine minutes to go. Dinky's head drooped, while down on the touchline, Mourinho brought on Joe Cole and Michael Ballack, the latter of which was making his first appearance after three months out with an ankle injury. It took just five minutes for Chelsea to respond. Joe Cole took the ball down the right and passed to Ballack. Ballack played a pass to Drogba which split the Portsmouth defence wide open, and Drogba had no trouble slotting the ball past David James to bring the scores level for a third time. The match was rapidly becoming the tie of the round, and as the last five minutes progressed, nobody wanted to try and second-guess the result. But the pendulum had one last swing in it. As the final whistle loomed, Joe Cole once again marauded down the right, only to be pulled back by Lauren. From the free kick, Lampard crossed the ball into the area, and Drogba rose highest to head the ball down into the corner of the net with David James stranded. The pendulum had made its last swing, and it had swung to the away side. Portsmouth 3-4 Chelsea (Lauren 3, Pedro Mendes 44, Traore 81; Gudjohnsen 20, Lampard 41, Drogba 86, 90) “I don’t know about you,” I said, as the two of us headed back towards Fratton station, “But I’d prefer something a little more straightforward in the next round.” Dinky nodded breathlessly. In fact, the majority of the supporters heading back to the station were breathless, having experienced an entire season’s worth of emotion in the space of 90 minutes. Wednesday 31st January “That goal would never have been given at Old Trafford,” Rainbow Dash complained, as the three of us left Stamford Bridge, Dinky looking sadly up at the stars. A home game against bottom of the table Watford should have been three easy points. Chelsea had dominated from the beginning, and Eidur Gudjohnsen had seen his shot cannon back off the post in the eighteenth minute. However, despite Chelsea’s dominance, it had been the visitors who had struck first. A long ball from a corner found Marlon King, who had sent the ball past Cech to give Watford a shock lead. King had, in fact, been offside by a considerable margin, but the goal had been given. Chelsea had come back in the second half, and ten minutes after half time Drogba had scored with a powerful effort. Yet, despite dominating the remainder of the match, hitting the woodwork twice and seeing a shot cleared off the line, Chelsea had been unable to get the second goal and the match had ended 1-1. Results elsewhere had been no less frustrating, as Arsenal had been held to a 0-0 draw at home to Newcastle and Manchester United had picked up another three points. Premier League Table 1 Man Utd 57pts 2 Arsenal 51pts 3 Chelsea 46pts 4 Liverpool 46pts 5 Bolton 41pts 6 Tottenham 40pts … 16 Sheffield Utd 24pts 17 Wigan 22pts 18 West Ham 20pts 19 Charlton 19pts 20 Watford 13pts Autumn watched the news that night, as Headline covered the Premier League round-up. “I’m sorry, Ms Hooves,” she thought, “But eleven points? I just can’t see it happening.” For some reason, Lyra’s comment about rushing in based on hearsay seemed to keep echoing around her head. “Eleven points is still doable,” I said, as I put Dinky to bed that night. “We go on a winning run – and normally, we would have won tonight – United have a bad run...we’re still yet to face them at home. And bigger margins have been overhauled at the top in the past.”