Quad No More

Newcastle 1 - Chelsea 0



I switched on the TV shortly after midnight, pressed 23 to turn the channel to ESPN and saw that they were showing another match (probably Tottenham vs Forest). Instant panic attack; had I seen the time wrongly? Was the match supposed to have aired at 10 pm instead of midnight?

"Hey, how come they are not showing the Newcastle-Chelsea match?"

My brother walked out of the bathroom, brushing his teeth.

"I thought they played earlier today," he said through a mouthful of toothpaste foam.

"WHAT???? Cannot be!"

"Well, that's what I thought. Could be wrong." He went back into the bathroom.

This conversation took all of 20 to 30 seconds. I then pressed Prog Up, to change the channel to Star Sports. First thing I saw were the words Newcastle, Chelsea and Live. Still reeling from relief, I started paying attention to the details. The camera was focused on the braided head of Patrick Kluivert. The time was 04:33. The score - Good Heavens!!! - was Newcastle 1 - Chelsea 0. The commentars sounded excited. The score flashed again at the bottom of the screen. Next to Newcastle's score, they informed us about the goal - Kluivert 4'.

So I probably missed the goal by about 30 seconds. Why did I not switch to Star Sports earlier? It's normally an automatic thing to switch between these two channels, yet it was the one thing that did not occur to me last night. If I had not dragged my brother into my panic attack, I may have at least caught the tail end of the celebrations and the slow-motion replay.

But I took what I could get. As realisation dawned that Newcastle had actually taken the lead and penetrated Chelsea's seemingly unbreakable defence, I did the Leyton Hewitt fist-pump and exclaimed "Yes!!!" I settled down to watch the rest of the match and a few minutes later, they rewarded us with a quick replay of the goal.

In the end, the score remained that way. Chelsea was not helped by an unusual set of circumstances, with Mourinho pulling a triple substitution at half time and after losing Wayne Bridge through injury, having to play with 10 men for most of the 2nd half. Chelsea did play better towards the end of the first half and in the 2nd half, despite being one man down. However Newcastle was admirably solid and Chelsea did not really create that many clear-cut chances that they could count themselves robbed or unlucky. I think Newcastle deserved to win this tie, even if I can't say that Chelsea deserved to lose, exactly. I am pleased as punch for Newcastle, who may yet salvage something to remember this season.

Strangely, I think that last night was the most I have ever liked Mourinho. He actually went over to shake Graeme Souness's hand even before the final whistle went. Of course, that does not at all negate the arrogance and smugness that has been the norm since even before he arrived in England. Some people say that it's easy to be gracious in victory because you have the prize and it costs nothing to be nice. The more difficult thing is to be gracious in defeat, when the natural reaction may be bitterness and jealousy. I see it somewhat differently; it's certainly admirable to be gracious in defeat , but the true test of graciousness is in victory when it would be understandable to want to gloat or crow in triumph. After all, if Envy is a deadly sin, so is Pride.

So, Mourinho is not getting a pass from me on the strength of one act of graciousness. I still fervently hope for Barca to pull of something against full-strength Chelsea in mid-week, if not a victory than at least a draw.