Its for nothing that we sing 'Are you Tottenham in disguise?' ....
Back to the game. It was going to be tough match at Goodison but going into the game with a 2-1 lead from the home leg I was pretty confident that we would do a professional job and get to the finals. Before the match a lot was being made of us not able to sell the ticket allocation but anybody who has been at the match or seen the match on television wouldn't disagree that we outsang the 35000 odd Evertonians. The people who went to see the match deserve special applause. There was an announcement midway in the first half requesting Chelsea supporters to sit down for their own safety. The reply from Chelsea fans : 'Stand Up if you love Chelsea' .... Classic. Away support that is what we have been known for and the supporters showed that in the match.
It was a game in which we were pretty much in control barring a few patches and it was overall a very professional performance as expected. Before the game there was a big surprise to see Ballack's name missing from the starting lineup due to calf strain. Sidwell was more than prepared to grab the opportunity. Makelele was captaining the side and Bridge was at left back and it was good to see him there as Bridge and Malouda had linked up so well in the earlier fixture at home.
Anelka had a good chance in the first half when Malouda played him but he was ruled offside. Everton had a good chance in the opening ten minutes when Lescott headed the ball in the six yard box but Cech was able to clear that ball with no Everton player able to capitalize. There were one or two good chances before the break with Malouda shooting high and Johnson shooting just wide of goal(Cech had the near post covered though).
After the break Chelsea had some good chances with Anelka and SWP but none of them could capitalize. On the other hand Cech was having his first day at work as a dad and was making sure that he gets a clean sheet come the end of the match. Twice he made excellent saves to keep Everton at bay. As the match went on it looked like we would hold on to our one goal advantage and progress. However that one goal lead became a two goal lead with clock nearing 70 minutes. Malouda played a great ball from half line towards Joe Cole which he brilliantly touched down shrugging pressure from two defenders and scored a fantastic goal. 'We are going to Wembley' and 'Que Sera Sera' started from the Chelsea faithful who pretty much knew it was game over and a final was inevitable. Moyes the Everton manager tried to bring two strikers in Anichebe and Vaughan but it was all too late. Chelsea was never going to surrender a two goal advantage. Pizarro came on later and had an excellent shot saved. Not that it was going to matter as the boys in electric yellow had done it again. A second Carling Cup Final in two years beckoned.
Team News
Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech; Belletti, Alex, Carvalho, Bridge; Wright-Phillips, Makelele (c), Sidwell; J Cole (Pizarro 82), Anelka (Ben-Haim 90+2), Malouda (A Cole 89).
Scorer J Cole 68
Booked Makelele 65, Belletti 75.
Everton (4-4-1-1): Howard; Neville (c), Jagielka, Lescott, Valente; Arteta, Fernandes (Vaughan 78), Carsley (Anichebe 69), Osman; Cahill; Johnson.
Booked Carsley 25, Fernandes 73, Valente 80, Neville 82.
Cech: First game as a dad and he kept a clean sheet for his new born daughter. Made some important saves.
Belletti: He is looking good with each passing game. Offensively his game was never doubted and he is also now coming up with good defensive displays.
Alex: Won everything in air and an all round solid defensive display.
Carvalho: We haven't lost since November '06 whenever he has played and he showed yet again why. Good defending from him kept us in the game.
Bridge: Solid Display.
Makelele: The maestro came up again with a MOTM performance. There wasn't a better player on the pitch than him.
SWP: Looked a little bit of steam after picking up that ankle injury but still gave as assured performance.
Sidwell: People were on his backs even before his name was on the team sheet but I though he did well and tackled hard though there wasn't much creativity from him.
Joe Cole: Looked good and did well to track back and help the defence. Great finish.
Malouda: He plays more inside rather than on the wing but his pass was superb leading to the goal.Other than that he wasn't much inspiring though.
Anelka: His movement has been particularly well and it is just a matter of time before he gets his first goal.
Pizarro: Came on late. Had a good shot saved.
Ashley Cole: No time for impact.
Ben Haim: No time for impact
No comments:
Post a Comment