“But I'll tell you – you can tell him if you're watching it – we're still fighting for this title, and he's got to go to Middlesbrough and get something, and…and I tell you, honestly, I will love it if we beat them, love it!” - Kevin Keegan, 1996
Saturday 28th April
With three matches of the Premier League season left, the title race was wide open. Many eyebrows had been raised back in the summer when the fixture computer had pitted Chelsea against Manchester United on the final day of the season, but it seemed that the season was lining up for a grandstand finish.
“Final away league match today,” I said, as Dinky cuddled up to me, “Wigan away, 5:30 kick off, but you knew that when our tickets arrived,”
“So if United drop points…” Dinky said.
“As long as we win our next two, we shouldn’t concern ourselves with United until we play them,” I said, “We can’t do anything about them until the final league match.”
After finishing her breakfast, Dinky trotted through the sitting room, where Sky Sports was explaining what each side in the relegation zone needed to do to stay up, and went to the table next to the door. She picked up the postcard that had been left for her and carried it into her room, where she’d read it that night.
“Welcome to our final live match today,” Big Match said, as Sport 1 began its coverage from the JJB Stadium in Wigan, “Firstly, a reminder of how the table looks at the top…”
1 Man Utd P36 83pts
2 Chelsea P35 77pts
“...and at the bottom.”
16 Wigan P35 35pts
17 West Ham P36 35pts
18 Sheffield Utd P36 34pts
19 Charlton P36 31pts
R Watford P36 27pts
“...West Ham’s win at Watford condemned the Hornets to relegation this afternoon, but Wigan aren’t out of the woods by any means. Defeat today would keep them nervously looking over their shoulders…”
Wigan seemed to know this, as they dug deep from the beginning, looking to grind out a point that would move them clear of West Ham. Chelsea dominated the opening 40 minutes, looking to get the win which would keep them hot on the heels of Manchester United, but it seemed that the home side would hold firm.
A minute before the break, however, a shot by Kalou was tipped wide by Kirkland. Lampard’s corner was met by John Terry, who powered a header into the net to give Chelsea the goal they needed.
“So, Chelsea know that their fate is in their hands,” Kick Off said, as the teams came out for the second half, “As it stands, they are on their way to another win, to set up a mouth-watering final day showdown.”
“Yes, but they can’t get ahead of themselves,” Full Time added, “They have to take it one game at a time, and of course they face Barcelona on Wednesday night so they’ve got to factor that in as well.”
Chelsea, however, seemed fully focused on the task at hand. Three minutes after the break, Salomon Kalou broke away down the left, sending in a cross which was volleyed wide by Shaun Wright-Phillips.
Wigan had barely threatened all match, but now they had to go forward to get back into the match. In the 52nd minute, Haested looked to send a lofted ball into the area, but it didn’t reach anyone and went out for a goal kick.
As the hour mark approached, yet another scrappy midfield battle saw Lampard get forward, playing the ball into the area for Gudjohnsen. Gudjohnsen then played in Wright-Phillips, who saw his shot saved by Kirkland. Mikel was the next to try his luck, volleying the ball wide from a cross by Ashley Cole.
“Well, this is not the most memorable game by any means,” Kick Off said, as Makelele came on to replace Boulahrouz, “But Chelsea are on course for three points.”
However, Man Utd had a superior goal difference, and as such, getting at least a second goal was vital. And, with just over fifteen minutes left, Terry tackled Emile Heskey in the centre circle and played the ball through to Lampard, who looked to pass forward. Lampard’s pass was intercepted, but David Unsworth lost the ball to Gudjohnsen. Gudjohnsen needed no prompting, and took the ball into the area before sliding it past Kirkland into the bottom corner of the net to double Chelsea’s lead.
“There’s the second,” Kick Off exclaimed, as Gudjohnsen wheeled away to celebrate, “A terrible defensive error there by Wigan, and you just can't do that against Chelsea, especially with the form they’ve been in of late!”
Gudjohnsen was withdrawn shortly afterwards and replaced by Danny Doyle, who’d suffered a spate of niggling injuries throughout the latter half of the season.
Wigan did start to come forward a bit more as the match entered its final stages. With around three minutes left, a cross into the area was cleared behind, forcing a corner, which was also cleared behind for another corner. The second corner, however, was cleared up the field.
In the final minute, Ashley Cole was penalised for handball, giving Wigan a free kick around thirty yards from goal. Former Sunderland player Kevin Kilbane went for goal, but couldn’t get it on target.
Wigan Athletic 0-2 Chelsea (Terry 44, Gudjohnsen 73)
“There it is, it’s another win for Chelsea,” Kick Off said, “And they keep the pressure on Manchester United. Two matches to go, and the two sides meet at Stamford Bridge on the final day of the season in what looks increasingly likely to be a showdown for the title. Chelsea host Charlton next Saturday, in a match that will have huge implications at both ends of the table…”
Premier League Table
1 Man Utd 83pts
2 Chelsea 80pts
3 Arsenal 75pts
4 Liverpool 69pts
5 Tottenham 61pts
6 Everton 54pts
…
16 West Ham 35pts
17 Wigan 35pts
18 Sheffield Utd 34pts
19 Charlton 31pts
R Watford 27pts
“What we need to do now, league-wise, is put as many past Charlton as we can next Saturday,” I said, as the train headed south, “If we’re going to go into the last match three points behind, we need to almost match United’s goal difference. However, before that, Rainbow Dash will be arriving on Tuesday and we’ll fly out to Barcelona on Wednesday morning.”