Premier League: Pompey 0 Chelsea 2 + Highlights


By dixon9
March 5 2007

Well, no favours from the scousers at Anfield although, it has to be said they were very unlucky and lost in a cruel way. Still, the Mancs kept going until the end and took their chance when it came – the stuff that champions are made of?

I must say, I feel very very pleased at our resilience and ability to keep on a dogged pursuit of the Old Trafford side.  When the side ran out at Fratton Park It was quite a drizzly late afternoon and they knew they had to get the 3 points – instead of feeling deflated at the Anfield result they remained focused, resolute and got the job done – also the stuff Champions are made of.

 

Harry Redknapp´s side put up a good fight and when they threatened we had an ace up our sleeve in Peter Cech – one of his saves was sensational – absolutely world class.  And if Cech is the ace then surely Drogba is the king of diamonds?  His rasping volley was his 29th goal of the season – if he reaches 30 it will be the first time a Chelsea player has notched that figure since Kerry Dixon.

 

Thankfully no Terry – he needs to rest and Essien did a reasonable job again as makeshift centre-half although, it did show at times that he is not a centre-half with his tendency to get caught out of position.  Robben started for a change and threatened as usual – unfortunately, in his anxiety to impress he is re-acquiring that selfish streak.  Ashley Cole did a good job although a little rusty and chalked up 2 assists on his return.

 

The Fratton Park faithful were very vocal – our lot didn’t do a bad job either and had the disadvantage of roofless end.  .

Pompey started brightly and made it clear they had no intention to be just one of those teams brushed aside by the stronger team with a mission to complete.  O’Neil soon got into space on the right and crossed for LuaLua who brought a smart save from Cech. 

 

Cole got in the action quickly, although after making space by side-stepping Primus in the penalty area his shot went over James’s crossbar.

 

LuaLua and our old foe, Kanu made nuisances of themselves and Maka, Essien & co had to keep a watchful eye.  Indeed, there was one break where Makelele showed that despite being 34, he could still match LuaLua for pace and knocked the ball out for safety.

 

Chelsea seemed to accept soaking up the pressure and to be fair, seemed to be able to threaten as and when it suited us, no doubt conserving energy for Tuesday night.  Drogba and Shevchenko had shots and Robben, as usual, sent alarm bells off on the Portsmouth bench every time he scampered forward.   Shevchenko had one break where a swift interchange with the Dutchman left the Ukrainian out wide almost on goal the resulting shot/cross never happened as the ball skewed wide leaving Sheva to blame a divot on the Fratton Park turf.

 

Then, as has often been the case this season, the Drog stamped his name on another match.  Cole played a deep, looping cross to the far right and Drogba had lost his marker, Sol Campbell.  9 out 10 forwards would have surely chosen to control the ball from such a speculative cross before making the decisive move on goal but this wasn’t what the new African Player of the Year had in mind.  As the ball reached him he shaped and rasped a downward volley into the far corner from a tight angle leaving James to watch the side netting balloon. 0-1!

 

To their credit, Pompey continued to try and make inroads but were met with a coming into form Ballack and a quietly industrious Lampard.  Taylor made his way down the right and crossed but his cross also surprised the Pompey forward who made a hash of affairs leaving Cech to scoop up the leftovers.

 

The 2nd half was much better from Chelsea with Robben, Shev and Drogba all working hard with Robben notably bursting through but striking the frame of the goal rather than the net when Shevchenko was far better placed to score.

 

Maka was playing a match belying his age (when doesn’t he though?) and when Portsmouth mustered an attack Cech made the difference.  With 13 minutes left on the clock Cech, already moving to his right managed to divert a smart Andrew Cole header when the ball had been going in the opposite direction.  It was a remarkable save and bought applause from both sets of supporters. 

 

Kalou came on for Shevchenko although Drogba should have been exchanged as he was experiencing back pains from an earlier fall (although his wish was granted when Bridge came on in the 84th min). 

 

Then came our second with Lampard´s long pass being headed on by an Ashley Cole in an advanced position.  The knock on was accepted by Kalou who promptly ran forward and dispatched his shot in the far right of the goal.

 

So, Job done.  Whilst a 3rd consecutive Premier League title seems to be an extremely difficult achievement, we certainly haven’t given up yet.

 



Portsmouth: James , Pamarot , Primus , Campbell , Traoré  (Krancjar 68min), O’Neil , Davis , Hughes , Taylor , LuaLua  (Cole 73min), Kanu.

Chelsea: Cech , Diarra , Essien , Carvalho , Cole , Makelele , Ballack , Robben  (Wright-Phillips 76min), Lampard , Drogba  (Bridge 84min), Shevchenko  (Kalou 76min)

Scorers: Chelsea: Drogba 33, Kalou 82

 

 

FULL MATCH HIGHLIGHTS:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3t5jaERJ8Rw