The Man in The Shed
© Evening
Standard
25th September – Bring on the boys
Such is the change in attitude at the Bridge these days that
the idea of watching the youngsters play in the Carabao cup was something worth
looking forward to. And by sensibly pricing the game at £10 for a ticket it had
attracted a large crowd.
With Grimsby having taken up the whole Shed end I was left
to find myself a new home for the evening. So here I was, 4 rows from the back
of the East stand with a slight dose of vertigo preparing myself for the game.
With Caballero, Pedro, Batshuayi and Alonso the “seniors”
for the night there were starts for James, Gilmour and Guehi alongside veterans
Pulisic and Hudson-Odoi. That was 11 changes to the starting line-up from the
previous game !
Once I’d overcome the nosebleed and settled down I realised
that it was a pretty good spot to get a real “complete game picture”. You could
really see exactly how a game panned out – helped of course by the padded seats
(none of that in the Shed !).
Well the away fans were certainly in great voice. Real
supporters prepared to travel down to London in the middle of the week and a
late return home.
An early goal certainly calms the nerves so when we were 2-0
up in less than 10 minutes I was looking forward to see our young team relax
and play their game. Then out of nowhere Grimsby scored an absolute screamer
and we struggled to break them down for the next 25 minutes. Perhaps not so easy
after all.
Then a Chelsea penalty and Pedro, captain for the night,
ensures that Barkley won’t be taking another and calmly slots home.
Well my half time musings were mixed. First sighting of
young Gilmour was that the lad could really pick a pass. Zouma had also stepped
up after a slow start to the season and was regularly stepping out from defence
with the ball. Hudson-Odoi seemed to have a very cautious first half and hour.
On the Grimsby side the goalkeeper seemed highly animated.
Racing out of the box at every break in play to berate one defender or another
!
A second half goal from Zouma (set up by James) continued to
show Chelsea remaining on the front foot and it was enough to make the manager
feel secure enough to bring on 2 more young substitutes - Maatsen and Anjorin
(for Pedro and Alonso). They added further energy for the last 25 minutes.
Hudson-Odoi seemed desperate to score but the ball just
wouldn’t go in. Then a final flurry of 3 goals in the last 10 minutes –
including a first goal for James and eventually a goal for Hudson-Odoi gave the
final result a very nice look.
So, a first home win and some impressive young players. I
reckon Gilmour was my man of the match.
And Brighton to come on Saturday. Good times.
Comments
Post a Comment