Chelsea and Perth Play Friendly

Chelsea visited the west coast of Australia on a very chilly and cold Optus Stadium in Perth, the capital of Western Australia to play a friendly game with Perth Glory. The game was the first football game to be played at the new stadium, with cricket, Australian Rules and rugby league already being played at the stadium since its opening earlier this year.

The game was launched with much fanfare with the lighting display at the stadium once again proving to be a smash hit with its dazzling choreographed display while the Chelsea club song was playing as well as other songs. It felt like I was in an incredibly large night club with bolts of blue, shades of blue and white shooting all over the place.

 The game kicked off and it really didn't take long for the west Londoners to open the account with a rather simple tap in goal within the first 10 minutes. It really did look like that Chelsea were going to rip open the game and put on a cricket score. Thankfully, Perth showed a great level of resilience and tenacity and at times did cause the Englishmen a few moments of panic when they pressed.

However, it was rather obvious that there must have been a form of agreement between the two sides as tackles from both sides were rather soft, challenges at times were also rather weak and there were moments where Chelsea should have slammed the Perth Glory defence with at least 5 goals. So there must have been an agreement. I was impressed with the new signings of the Perth Glory under the new manager Tony Popovic. I hope that these promising displays from the new recruits can transpose into the up-coming A-League season.

The seats at the new stadium are fantastic. The seats are great viewing, especially if you wish to duck out for a beverage, Alcoholic or not. Choc milks are 5 dollars, Cokes are also 5 dollars, and beer was 8 dollars. The beers on choice were the usual, Alby and the mid strength one. Was just great to watch the game and enjoy a drink. The only problem of course is that it was incredibly cold and holding a cold drink doesn't help the hand!

It was a great night to watch the first game of football at the stadium, which was also a new record for a football game in Perth. This beat the 2000 National Soccer League grand final. That was around the 44,000 mark. The match tonight was 55,000, a very impressive figure.