In December 1970 Chelsea welcomed West Ham to Stamford Bridge. The Blues won the game 2-1 thanks to a brace from Peter Osgood. The first goal came when a hefty challenge by Ron Harris, deep in his own half, was launched high up the field and Ossie calmly rounded Bobby Ferguson after 18 minutes. Four minutes later he double his tally and Chelsea’s lead with a scruffy goal after the Hammers failed to clear a corner. Five minutes before half time West Ham pulled a goal back with a 30-yard shot from a certain Frank Lampard Sr, before he was substituted at half time. Former Blue Jimmy Greaves was also in the Hammers team that day.
Fast forward to 2001 and Super Frankie Lampard signed for Chelsea from West Ham for £11m. A lot was made of the transfer at the time. Many fans and journalists thought Lampard’s price tag was too much. West Ham fans quickly turned against him and felt betrayed by his departure but the money could have easily bought Scott Canham back from Leyton Orient!
In October 2001 Chelsea travelled to Upton Park to play West Ham. It was the first time Lamps had been back at the ground. He received a hostile reception from the fans and was substituted with 10 minutes to go for Mikael Forssell as the Blues went searching for an equaliser after being 2-1 down.
Five years later and Chelsea returned Upton Park, the day after New Year’s Day. The Blues were top of the league and had been crowned Premier League champions the season before with Lampard playing a key roie in their success. It was a comfortable 3-1 for Chelsea with Lampard opening the scoring, despite being booed every time he touched the ball.
In 2009, Chelsea again visited Upton Park. The date was 39 years and a day since Frank Lampard Sr had scored in the derby between the two clubs. Chelsea were sitting top of the table in Carlo Ancelotti’s first season as manager while West Ham were in the relegation zone. They were managed by Blues legend Gianfranco Zola at the time.
Just before half time West Ham took the lead from the penalty spot through Alessandro Diamanti. During the break the Blues made a double substitution with Daniel Sturridge and John Mikel Obi replacing Florent Malouda and Salomon Kalou.
After an hour Lampard received the ball on the edge of the West Ham penalty area. He played the ball through to Sturridge who was brought down by Matthew Upson. Referee, Mike Dean, made no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Frank Lampard stepped up to take it. He had scored 32 of his 36 penalties for the Blues, including one just four days earlier which gave his side a 2-1 win over Portsmouth.
Lampard confidently slotted his penalty to the right-hand side of Rob Green in the West Ham net and made the score 1-1. That was until Mike Dean blew his whistle and ordered that the kick was retaken due to an infringement by players of both teams. The pressure was on Lampard but he coolly finished in the opposite bottom corner. The Chelsea fans celebrated, but only for a short time as the referee blew his whistle again and ordered it be retaken AGAIN! For the third and final time it was Lampard vs Green. Super Frank put the ball in the bottom right-hand corner again with the West Ham keeper diving the other way. The game ended 1-1.
Chelsea finished the season as Champions, this time doing the double with an FA Cup win vs
Portsmouth at Wembley.
Words by Chelsea Chadder
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