Sunday, December 04, 2005
Chelsea 1 Boro 0
With chelsea's 100% record at Stamford Bridge this season many would have been forgiven for chalking this one down as a definite away defeat, but with Boro having lost only twice in the last twelve, and with a great record against the top teams, there was a good case for a fighting draw. The blues displayed a lot of respect for us in the first half and it was Jimmy who came closest to breaking the possession based deadlock when his 15 yard shot came back off the inside of Cech's post and into his arms. In fact it took over an hour before Chelsea pinched one through a John Terry header from a Damian Duff corner - previously we had managed to clear a couple of their half chances off the line but this one trickled over agonisingly and proved the only goal of the game.With another injury forced reshuffle at the back (Riggott for Ehiogu, Bates for Parnaby, Pogatetz for Queudrue) we coped admirably with their attacking forces for the majority of the time, with Drogba looking match rusty and Lampard uncharacteristically wayward. Going forward was more difficult - George Boateng did well at times, holding up the ball and winning some crucial midfield battles, but the service up front was average at best and against this defense that isn't quite good enough. Funny though that most fans, including me, are willing to accept this as a reasonable result - it shows that we are a long way off from a "no one is unbeatable" attitude, the kind of attitude we may need against Liverpool at Anfield next week!
On other news: I got my cup wish with a home draw against Blackburn Rovers in the Carling Cup quarter final. Doncaster managed to draw Arsenal, setting us up nicely for a semi-final rematch with the gunners...
My MOTM: George Boateng - against a non-vintage Chelski looked most likely to get something for us throughout
