There is probably no other sport with more twists and turns than a ninety-minute game of football. Witnessed a truly remarkable game between the English team Chelsea, whom I have been supporting whole-heartedly for the past 5-6 years and the Ukranian outfit, Shakthar Donetsk in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League (UCL) yesterday night. This game meant a lot for Chelsea, the reigning UCL champions, not just to qualify to the next round but also due to the off-field issue of 'racism' that had been plaguing the club for quite sometime now and had been bringing some unnecessary spotlight. Moreover, the same club S. Donetsk had outplayed them 2 weeks earlier at their home-ground. So being a home-tie for Chelsea, this was seen as a must-win game, to redeem themselves.
The start of November had activated the daylight saving time change in Europe. This meant Nepalese football fans like me had to wait till 1:30 AM for the game to kick-off instead of the usual 12:30. As I had done in the previous years, slept early at around 10 PM and woke up in time for the game. (Staying awake all the way was a bad idea, I knew from experience!! :))
The game started brightly for Chelsea as we took the lead early through Fernando Torres. It was more than just an opening goal for us as Torres had performed only in bits and pieces since his big-money move last year and all Chelsea fans (including me!!) were praying for his consistency. (Goals, would be more specific!!) The joy was short-lived however, as Shakthar equalised within minutes. Our defence certainly looked fragile in the absence of the regular captain and centre-back John Terry. As the game went on, Shakthar increased their dominance and we were looking more and more vulnerable. But against the run of play, we took the lead again, this time through Oscar, and what a goal it was!! He took advantage of the goalkeeper's error and volleyed the ball over him and into the net from around 30-35 yards. Just like the commmentators mentioned, it was a world class finish!!
Frustration grew as we squandered the lead again, at the start of the 2nd half. The same leaky defence, was at fault again. We started to play better in the 2nd half than the 1st. Created more chances, the goal looked inevitable but did not come. The game seemed to be heading to a 2-2 draw. I started thinking about how we had won this competition the previous year, for the first time in our history, against all the odds (It was the best moment of supporting Chelsea for me!!) and were now on the brink of elimination. We badly needed 3 points from this game but it looked gone now. It felt all gloomy in that early morning until 21-year old Victor Moses, out of nowhere, scored the headed winner for us in the last minute. He had entered as a sub in the 80th minute, it was the last minute of injury time (94th) and it was just too special!! I jumped up in joy, thought of screaming but held on considering all the people that were sleeping in my new flat (I wouldn't want to upset the new landlord, would I??:)) It felt so good, it reminded of Chelsea legend Didier Drogba's equaliser for us in the UCL final last year. The 2 headed goals and the men who scored it looked identical as well. Moses sure is a future star at Chelsea, I had never doubted him, just hope he reaches the same height that Drogba reached for us.
Had been hearing this line a lot, during cricket commentaries - 'It ain't over till the fat lady sings', (probably related with opera, google will tell) it was proven once again, this time in football!!...
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