RED WATCH: Drawing strength from the fact Chelsea can be outplayed again

Apr 24 2008 By Andy Proudfoot

John Arne Riise

ALL of the words used to describe the scarcely believable climax to Tuesday night’s game seem somehow inadequate to convey the gut-wrenching disappointment that suddenly fell upon us deep into stoppage time. Calamitous. Cruel. Catastrophic. Yep, it felt like all that and more.

Somehow even Adebayor’s late equaliser in the previous round didn’t feel as bad as this, despite being the more potentially devastating blow.

Though you can never be entirely comfortable against Chelsea, there was little to suggest that the four minutes displayed on the fourth official’s digital board were anything other than the countdown to assuming pole position in the race to Moscow. Alas, John Arne Riise’s bizarre intervention radically changed the face of the tie. His preference to use almost any other part of his body rather than his right foot has frustrated fans for many a year, and had threatened to knock us out of the FA Cup at the first hurdle at Luton earlier in the year when he diverted a similar cross past his own goalkeeper. On that occasion it was his left foot which did the damage; now it was his newly-dyed blond locks which stooped low to head into his own net when a swing of a right boot would surely have cleared the danger. Like many fans, Riise has questioned his future at the club recently and this was hardly the way to build a case for a longer stay. Yet, tempting as it is to lay the blame at the feet of one man, or indeed to rail against the injustice of the event which yielded Chelsea a crucial away goal, a calmer retrospective will surely conclude that this was just one of those amazing twists which football throws up on a regular basis, particularly when two closely-matched teams compete at the highest level; the small details which Rafa constantly reminds us make the difference at this level.

We can hardly lapse into Wengeresque wailing about the capriciousness of Lady Luck; in truth she has been wearing a red shirt for some time now, no doubt encouraged by the renewed determination of the players to convince her that she should favour the brave.

That she deserted us at such an inopportune time should be a source of regret, but should not be allowed to cloud the fact that, once again, the players on the whole rose to the challenge presented them. We’re getting closer to where we want to be: four fixtures against Arsenal and four against Chelsea this season have yielded only a single defeat, and that with a near-reserve side; only our friends down the East Lancs Road continue to give us night terrors.

As in the league game earlier in the season, Chelsea were outplayed for long periods on Tuesday, and presentable chances were created far in excess of those conceded. But for a wonderful save from Petr Cech, seemingly unencumbered by the suit of armour he now feels obliged to wear, Steven Gerrard would have placed the tie out of their reach. Other chances fell to Babel and Torres, for once his touch betraying him in front of goal. And Chelsea struggled all night to contain the irrepressible Kuyt, whose recent renaissance has been a joy to watch, while Mascherano and Alonso gave an energetic yet controlled display in the heart of midfield. All of which should give us heart for the second leg. For once history may be against us, but rest assured this tie isn’t over yet. Penalties anyone?