Thank F**K for That: Southend Utd 1-4 Chelsea
On Off On
By Since66
January 15 2009
At 6.30pm last night the game was in doubt due to fog, at 6.55pm referee Chris Foy called the game off due to fog. Within minutes the fog had lifted and Chris Foy at 7.10pm declared the game back on again. Sixteen minutes into the game, Chelsea's new defensive zonal marking system failed to pick up Shrimpers' Adam Barrett, who crashed a header into the Chelsea net.
Typically the goal came against the run of play. Chelsea were dominant, as they were at Stamford Bridge, but failed to convert any of the clear cut chances they created. Ballack and Lampard the main culprits blasting over a succession of chances, wildly. It could have got a lot worse for Chelsea, Shrimpers' Alex Revell had a first half header saved point blanked by the giant Petr Cech. At one stage during the first half Chelsea's possession stats were at 71%. Right on half-time, Chelsea's dominance was rewarded when Ballack volleyed in a shot after Shrimper's 'keeper Steve Mildenhall dropped a cross, which Ballack pounced upon to send the ball high into the net. Mildenhall, the hero from the first game, started off last night in the same vein as he finished off at Stamford Bridge, making a succession of stops, but to me after his blunder to allow Ballack his equaliser and like the rest of his team-mates, the equaliser knocked the stuffing out of him. The second-half started the same as the first. Chances aplomb came Chelsea's way and it was no surprise that Chelsea took the lead on the hour mark. Joey found Kalou on the right with a high cross field ball, Kalou cut inside and sent a low shot into the net at the far post. Anelka made it 3-1 after a fine move and right on full-time, Super Frank added insult to Southend's injury by scoring the fourth. Praise must be given to Steve Tilson and his men. The Shrimpers gave us two hard games and they deserve full credit for their efforts and there was a time when I thought 'here we go again.' Ex-reserver Anthony Grant, proved a point to his former employers. He was absolutely outstanding for Southend and if he continues playing in the same vein, it won't be too long before he joins a bigger club. This result isn't going to cause footballing earthquakes around the world, Chelsea still have their defensive problems and with Stoke coming up at The Bridge, 'the creaking Chelsea wall,' will undergo further examination. Chelsea's 5th round FA Cup tie is against Ipswich Town at Stamford Bridge on Saturday 24th January. Southend: Mildenhall, Sankofa, Clarke, Barrett (c), Herd, Christophe, Grant (Francis 79), Moussa, Stanislas, Revell (Betsy 85), Barnard (Freedman 72) Scorer: Barrett 16 Chelsea: Cech, Bosingwa, Alex, Terry (c), A Cole, Ballack, Mikel (Belletti h/t), Lampard, J Cole (Di Santo 75), Anelka, Kalou Scorers: Ballack 44, Kalou 60, Anelka 77, Lampard 90 Booked: Mikel 37 
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I was joking last night about using it as a title! You obviously weren´t!
Anyway...
Reasonably good performance which improved constantly as the game went on. The goals will have helped the teams confidence a lot.
Fair enough, it was only Southend but these teams DO raise their games a lot in Cup matches.
The goal conceded by a set-piece is a concern - against Stoke it´s the ideal team to see if we´re going to improve in this area really or not.
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"It is born out of hypocrisy and fundamental insecurity. There have been two kids on the block for the past 12 years. Suddenly, there is a third and that one is threatening to be more successful than the others and they don’t like it." P Kenyon.
You see, we are making history...
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"It is born out of hypocrisy and fundamental insecurity. There have been two kids on the block for the past 12 years. Suddenly, there is a third and that one is threatening to be more successful than the others and they don’t like it." P Kenyon.
LINK
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"It is born out of hypocrisy and fundamental insecurity. There have been two kids on the block for the past 12 years. Suddenly, there is a third and that one is threatening to be more successful than the others and they don’t like it." P Kenyon.
