West Ham 0 Chelsea 1: FRANK LAMPARD and John Terry know what to expect at the Boleyn Ground.
Every touch fuels the vitriol raining down from the stands, the chants of the home support ripping with gusto into subjects as varied as the pair’s weight to family issues. The poisonous atmosphere pursues them from kick-off to when they leave the arena with a police escort, yet, if the locals seek to unnerve, they merely succeed in bringing the best out of the two players.
Chelsea, their thoughts understandably straying to tomorrow’s Champions League quarter-final in Barcelona, might have been distracted and vulnerable here on Saturday but there is too much pride smouldering in Lampard and Terry to allow West Ham any advantage. Terry witnessed the abuse poured upon his team-mate through the first half and shook the visitors out of their lethargy. “Lampsy and I were so fired up before the game and, at half-time, we told the lads we needed to push on,” said the England captain.
“You know you will get stick here but each year we go to West Ham we are more determined to shut them up.”
A fourth successive win across the capital, and a first in a league derby this term, choked the chants and stoked the frustration. Lampard had felt moved to call into a radio station last Friday having been described as “weak” and “scum” by a phone-in presenter addressing the midfielder’s private life, with the home support echoing that theme here. His retort this time was to glide on to Florent Malouda’s reverse pass and chip beyond Rob Green for Salomon Kalou to volley in the game’s only goal. There was a two-fisted salute in front of the Bobby Moore stand, Terry sprinting upfield to join the baiting, and a quiet warning from Mike Dean. Whether the referee includes mention of the objects hurled at the visiting duo in his report will become clear today when it reaches Soho Square.
The victory, far more than the inflammatory celebrations, will have enraged the locals. “Personally I think they cross the line with the level of abuse,” said Terry. “But we are big enough to take it. All my family are West Ham and some of them have not come to the game because there were things posted on a website about what they were going to sing about me.
“But there are things in life you enjoy. We got three points and their fans walked away with nothing. You can’t buy that. When we scored I ran over to Lampsy and gave them a bit back. The referee had a quiet word and told me not to wind them up. They have to respect it but, when they got a bit back today, they all got the arse.”
The irony was, having stood in front of the seething home support at the final whistle and then pointedly turned his back to jog the length of the pitch to celebrate with the visiting partisans, Lampard flung his shirt into the spectators by the dug-out and prompted a squabble between two West Ham fans apparently desperate to have a memento of their home-grown nemesis. A police officer ended up flipping a coin to decide who claimed the kit.
Chelsea needed their spine to drive them through this fixture, their initial sloppiness allowing the hosts the game’s clearer chances even if West Ham were too gummy in front of goal to capitalise. Kieron Dyer, on his first start since August 2007, was denied by Petr Cech, Mikel John Obi later scrambling Diego Tristan’s prodded attempt from the goalline. Their best chance came once the visitors appeared to have gleaned a measure of control. Kalou tugged on Herita Ilunga but Mark Noble’s penalty was superbly turned aside by Cech.
The slip from seventh place was no way to celebrate the new four-year contract signed by Gianfranco Zola after the game – his assistant, Steve Clarke, is due to follow suit. If Zola can add to his firepower, his team’s progress can be maintained. “Don’t be surprised if there are a few signings,” said the Italian.
Guardian Service
