The perfect Day! Well my misgivings about this match were well documented, however they evaporated at lunch time on Saturday when my best friend and fellow season ticket holder announced he was about to be a father for the first time. Why did this make a difference?... well the last time we won the cup, his mother was pregnant with him and he was born just after we won in the final, his father was at both games (with his Grandfather) and the coincidence was too much to ignore -once a generation we win something!.

I was still nervous though and as a result my day started at about 6.00am. Picked up by said expectant father and expectant grandfather at 9.15 we got on the tube at Hammersmith and we could see immediately that the police attempts to keep us all sober had failed miserably. There were already dozens of totally plastered people on the tube recounting their favorite Chelsea stories. It was 9.30 am! I must confess the the News Of the World article depressed me until I realized it was sensationalized drivel, sometimes the search for a headline makes the need for accurate reporting secondary.

We got to Arsenal at 10.00am, Absolutely wonderful day, as we were walking round to the East Stand, the team coach passed us by, and I was there, staring at Denis Wise, mouthing WIN WIN! and he was mouthing back YES YES! (and no, neither Wisey or me are gay!). There were loads of other positive omens; seeing the guy I met for the first time before the Liverpool game (in Drakes); Our seats were in the identical position to those we have at SB only in the lower tier; all sorts of rubbish. I think I was more nervous than I was when I took my driving test! We were worried that Mulder wasn't playing, and were surprised that Minto was left out in favour of packing the midfield and playing a back four. However the atmosphere and noise in the stadium were immense (apparently it didn't come across on the tv.) so we didn't really have time to worry.

For the first twenty minutes we weren't in it. We seemed to be trying to beat them at their own game by knocking it long and looking to Hughes to win possession. More often than not it didn't work. There really weren't that many chances and we spent the majority of the half giving the totally incompetent linesman in front of us as much abuse as our lungs would allow. He was unable to keep up with the play, would not give a decision and seemed never to have learnt the laws concerning offside. To be fair he was ably assisted by Ashby who thought it perfectly fair for Hughes, Clarke and Le boeuf to be wrestled by the Wimbledon bruisers yet penalising apparently well timed tackles by our defenders.
It was all fairly emotional stuff.

To be fair the chance from which we took the lead was probably the only significant action of the first half. Le Bouef played the ball out wide. Someone behind me said "**** there's no one on the left!" I pointed out that Zola was in fact fairly well placed (picked out perfectly by Beefys superb pass) and then in slow motion the ball was slipped to Wise. He crossed perfectly and at first it looked like it had already been turned in by Burley, but then we saw the Back of the net bulge and all hell break loose.

In the ensuing celebrations I injured my ankle! Half time saw a chance to relax and watch what highlights there had been on the big screens. What a difference it makes to have screens that you can actually play back action on. Bates really screwed up with ours. I'd like to know why he didn't talk to either Tottenham or Arsenal before he went out and bought our offering! The second Half opened with a sustained spell of Wombles pressure, then suddenly, as though someone turned on a switch, we totally took control.

Hughes was winning everything and keeping possession and Zola was finding more and more space. It was blisteringly hot and I reckon that the Dons simply ran out of steam. Our fitness coach proving his worth!

At the point that Zola wrapped things up, we had a large number of Stewards trying to remove people from our section of the crowd. As a result I missed the build up to the goal. I'm sure you've seen it for yourselves but the most memorable part were the celebrations, both by the players and the crowd. A magical moment.

At this point, if we had been Arsenal or Utd, we might have relaxed and put our feet up and enjoyed the rest of the match, but this is Chelsea. The Wombles proceeded to throw everything at us, leaving huge holes at the back. On a number of occasions we broke away and probably should have scored. Zola hit a post (again obscured by Stewards) and Di Matteo might have put the issue beyond doubt. I pointed out that either Wimbledon were going to Score and make a game of it or we would get another couple.

In the End we had to wait for the last kick of the game for the icing on the cake and the place went wild. It was all very emotional at the end. Wise took his shirt off to reveal his "Luca we love you" T-shirt and all the players came over to our corner.

Who was the boy that Wise took out onto the pitch? And Eddie looked like he was going to join our celebration in the crowd. The sort of moments you want to last forever!

Ratings: After a team performance like this it is unfair to single out players but for me it was significant that two players I don't normally have any time for had their best games this season in a Chelsea shirt: Grodas and Sinclair. Grodas looked assured under the aerial assault and, after a nervy opening period, Sinclair never looked like making a mistake (told you! Priesty), got forward well and passed accurately. That summed up the performance for me.

Comments: We now have to go on and win the Cup. The hard work isn't over because its all for nothing if we don't finish what we've started. I believe we can do it and I'll be there to see it. I hope its 'Boro because this is yet another positive omen as it was them who we beat in the ZDS Cup in the '80s.

Whoever gets through we will need to be as together as we were yesterday if we are to end the generation of frustration. Who knows how many years it may be before we are this close again:

Funnies: The guy who shouted BIG BREASTED BIRDS BEWARE! At holdsworth and the guy who threw the banger at Peter Fear. ON TO WEMBERLY!!!!!!