Post Match: LFC v Chelsea and MyRAWK's new home

Round two and we were preparing for our first home game of the season. And what a big one it as well, against our new ‘bitter’ rivals from London, Chelsea. Unfortunately, we at MY RAWK were forced to find a new ‘home’ after Phileo Bay became unavailable due to unforeseen circumstances.

Anyways, we soon found a willing host in the form of Mbar, just a few feet away from Phileo Bay, and we managed to wrangle a decent beer price as well (RM60 for two jugs or a tower). This was just as well as many of the early birds had started celebrating Man City’s triumph against the mighty Devils. Great start to the evening. By kick off, crowd had swelled to over 60 Kopites (good turnout considering it was a late Sunday game) who were getting right into the mood with an out-of-tune but boisterous You’ll Never Walk Alone.

In the 16th minute, the moment
we all has been waiting for.
El Nino announces his arrival with some aplomb. Collecting a
beautifully weighted pass from Stevie G, Torres’s first touch was exquisite and with a quick dip of the shoulder, left Tal Ben Haim for dead. With still an advancing Petr Cech to beat and a narrow angle, Torres showed the composure of a veteran Rushie to calmly find his spot in the far corner of the Chelsea net. Cue mighty eruption at Mbar, more beer being guzzled and lots of singing especially at half time (“Steven Gerrard, Gerrard to the tune of Que Sera Sera was a particular crowd favourite). Guest DJ also added to the atmosphere with his wicked mixing of Liverpool anthems with contemporary RnB tunes – certainly got the more imbibed fans going!

Time for Jose to once again show his tactical acumen (as he did against Reading in midweek); this time he brought on the highly rated Claudio Pizzarro for a somewhat ineffective Salomon Kalou. Almost paid instant dividends when Pizzaro set up John Terry whose header luckily sailed over the bar and minutes later Pizzaro failed to convert an almost perfect Shaun Wright-Phillips cross. Game was tight with both sides having a go and we were beginning to feel that it was going to be decided by Torres’s strike.

Unfortunately for us, the over zealous ref Rob Effing Styles decided he wanted to hog the headlines. In the 61st minute, he awards an incongruous penalty for Florent Malouda body checking Steve Finnan. What should have been a free kick for us tuned out to be Chelsea’s salvation as Frank Lamped coolly despatched the spot kick. Rest of the game degenerated into a “who can collect more bookings” competition with sub Ryan Babel coming closest to breaking the deadlock with a volley that flew inches wide.

Everyone at Mbar was kind of deflated by that stupid decision which ultimately robbed us of two points. Still the night ended with a rousing rendition of YNWA and much applause for our boys who showed the Moneybags from London we mean business this season. We trudged home at nearly 2am with the general consensus being it was a great match with a good turnout at our new ‘home’. Ultimately, evening was ruined by a wanker called Rob Styles . . .

You'll Never Walk Alone
MyRawk Team