12/01/2000  Chelsea 1 Tottenham 0

For all of his talent, former world player of the year 
George Weah may not exactly be a prolific goalscorer but he is 
renowned for hitting the target just when it matters most.

And so it proved for the centre-forward on his first 
appearance for Chelsea just hours after flying into London 
following his loan signing from AC Milan as he scored a 
dramatic 87th-minute winner against Tottenham.

Chelsea were struggling to create chances up to that stage 
as they were indebted to the reactions of keeper Ed De Goey to 
maintain their record of not having lost to Spurs in almost 10 
years.

But then up stepped Weah to make a vital impact just 30 
minutes after his introduction as a substitute as he forced 
his way ahead of Stephen Carr inside the box to head home 
Dennis Wise's cross.

Spurs may have had the best of a largely dour battle and 
were infuriated in the dying seconds when they claimed an 
equaliser which referee Neale Barry ruled had not crossed the 
line before an unseemly fracas broke out with Tim Sherwood 
apparently at the fore.

But there was no doubting the Chelsea hero - the Liberian 
international signed by Gianluca Vialli in a bid to pep up his 
largely misfiring strikeforce.

Some may raise doubts over his age - officially given as 33 
- while others may point to the fact that he is hardly 
match-fit after failing to win a regular place in the Milan 
side.

But while he had few other opportunities to shine on his 
debut due to a lack of service, he was there when it mattered 
most to lift the Blues above their North London rivals into 
sixth place.

Then again, one can only wonder what on earth Weah, the 
only player wearing gloves on a cold but hardly freezing 
night, must have made of it all in an uninspiring 
first-half.

The centre-forward, who along with Chris Sutton had taken 
Gianfranco Zola's substitute's spot, witnessed all of the grit 
and determination of the Premiership without any of the 
creativity.

Having seen Zola initially walk away from the ground - only 
to be later reported to be happily sitting in the directors' 
box - his ears were then subjected to vitriolic abuse being 
constantly heaped upon coach Graham Rix by the Spurs fans.

And there was patently little to distract his attention 
onto the pitch, where Chelsea's rare move to a 5-3-2 formation 
was paying few dividends as they lacked any real attacking 
threat in the opening 45 minutes.

Right wing-back Bernard Lambourde was assigned to keep a 
close eye on David Ginola in the absence of the suspended 
Albert Ferrer but it was something of an uneven battle.

Ginola, who responded by roaming all over the pitch at will 
but was also guilty of one apparently clear dive, carved out 
an opening for Chris Armstrong but the striker drove 
wastefully over the bar when he should have squared the ball 
to the unmarked Steffen Iversen.

Spurs keeper Ian Walker did have to block Lambourde's 
long-range effort, with Gustavo Poyet's follow-up hitting the 
side netting, while Frank Leboeuf's claims for handball in the 
penalty area against Campbell fell on deaf ears.

But that was about it for Chelsea's attacking threat in the 
first-half and they were otherwise indebted to keeper De Goey 
as the first-half mercifully drew to a close.

The Dutchman first recovered brilliantly to save from 
Iversen from close range after initially parrying Darren 
Anderton's drive on his return to the Tottenham side for the 
first time since August.

Then he did even better to rush out as Iversen bore down on 
goal from Sherwood's incisive through-ball and block the 
Norwegian's path.

His opposite number, Walker, meanwhile twice had to claw 
the ball off the line after the interval - once from 
Campbell's deflection and then from his own fumbled attempt at 
catching Jon Harley's cross.

However, with Poyet increasingly drawn into a midfield 
battle rather than supporting lone striker Tore Andre Flo, 
both of them were substituted shortly afterwards - a decision 
met with two pairs of raised eyebrows.

That meant the introduction of Weah, who was given a 
standing ovation, and Sutton.

But still Chelsea were under pressure - de Goey having to 
display split-second reactions to twist himself on the ground 
to react to a wicked deflection from Anderton's shot.

While Weah headed a cross by Harley wide of the target, 
Leboeuf did revive the home side's spirits as he cut inside 
through the challenges of Chris Armstrong and Chris Perry 
before curling a right-foot shot just inches past the far 
post.

Then came the moment that Weah had waited just half-an-hour 
for - his first goal in English football - and finally Chelsea 
were ahead.

They still had to survive a nervous moment just before the 
final whistle when Ginola's corner was headed powerfully 
goalwards by Campbell and de Goey saved with his legs on the 
line.

A host of Spurs players converged on keeper and ball at 
once, with de Goey desperately scrambling to gather it in his 
arms, but the appeals for a goal fell on deaf ears and a melee 
ensued, with Sherwood appearing the chief guilty party but 
Iversen being booked.

An equaliser would have been justified on the run of play - 
but it would have taken the gloss from a perfect debut by 
Weah.