By Oliver Yew at Stamford Bridge
24 Apr 2011 08:13:00
EPL, Fernando Torres,Frank Lampard,Chelsea vs West Ham United
Related Links
Teams
Players
Hearing his name ring out around Stamford Bridge is not something Fernando Torres has been accustomed to since his £50 million move from Liverpool to Chelsea.
Now though, it is something he could have to start getting used to after finally getting his first goal for the club in the 3-0 win over West Ham United.
While glorious sunshine shone on most football grounds on Saturday afternoon, huge storm clouds gathered over Stamford Bridge just before kick-off.
The rain eventually poured in west London with booming thunder and the cracks of lightning adding to the drama, but nothing – not even torrential rain – could dampen the spirits of the Chelsea fans who witnessed what was to follow.
To say this moment was a long time in coming is an understatement. It was 903 minutes since the Spanish international last found the back of the net and it had been 13 games – 734 minutes – in a Blue shirt without a goal.
The pressure was building on the club’s marquee signing to start paying back some of his British record transfer fee and despite all the positive spin coming out of the club, the goal drought was taking its toll on the player, his team-mates, his manager and the fans.
Before kick-off he warmed up with the other substitutes and showed the body language of someone still not settled in his new surroundings.
Sitting on the bench he looked a shadow of the man that terrorised defences for fun as he watched Didier Drogba perform in the lead role.
But after coming on, Torres finally got his opportunity and this time he took it with 15 minutes of the match remaining.
Within minutes of being on the field he set up fellow substitute Nicolas Anelka, but the Frenchman’s shot was cleared off the line by Danny Gabbidon.
Then the former Liverpool duo reversed their roles as the Spain World Cup winner was sent through on goal by Anelka and he defied the waterlogged pitch to turn sharply and curl home a left-foot finish past Robert Green to cue wild celebrations all over the ground.
The 26-year-old wheeled away in celebration in front of the Matthew Harding stand and slid to his knees by the corner flag as he was swiftly joined and bundled to the floor by every player in a blue shirt.
The joy was there everyone to see and even Carlo Ancelotti raised a wry smile as his forward opened his goal account.
It was not just on the pitch where the wild celebrations were taking place. All around Stamford Bridge there were arms in the air, fans jumping up and down on one another and pure relief at what had just taken place.
| TORRES SCORES AT LAST |
|
|
|
|
|
|
