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CHELSEA 1 MIDDLESBROUGH 0 - MATCH REPORT
Barclays Premier League, Sunday 30th March 2008, Stamford Bridge
Andy Morgan
Manager Gareth Southgate went with the same starting line-up as the one that laboured to a 1-0 win against Derby County last week.
This meant that David Wheater and Emmauel Pogatetz formed the central defensive partnership, with Luke Young and Andrew Taylor flanking them.
Gary O'Neil, Lee Cattermole, George Boateng and Stewart Downing were the midfield quartet whilst Tuncay Sanli and Jeremie Aliadiere formed the strikeforce. Unlike during the week, at least Afonso Alves turned up but he had to make do with a place on the bench.
Schwarzer, Young, Wheater, Pogatetz, Taylor, O'Neil (Johnson 79), Cattermole (Shawky 90), Boateng, Downing, Tuncay (Alves 65), Aliadiere, Turnbull, McMahon
THE FIRST HALF
The first meaningful action of the game came in the third minute after Didier Drogba launched a long-range powerful effort at goal. Schwarzer could not hold on to it but fortunately it cannoned off him to a Boro player who cleared.
The Boro were under the cosh and thirty seconds later, Chelsea were awarded their first corner. The Boro comfortably cleared.
And then the game was effectively over. A Wayne Bridge curling free kick found Ricardo Cavalho, who climbed above three Boro players. He powered a strong header from twelve yards beyond the flailing Schwarzer and Chelsea were in the lead.
CHELSEA 1 (Carvalho, 5) MIDDLESBROUGH 0
Boro looked for a quick response and an O'Neil cross was met by Downing who was unmarked in the box. He cushioned a header back to Boateng who blasted an effort from the edge of the box. Chelsea got bodies in the way of it and it ricocheted to safety.
Normal service soon resumed however, as Chelsea came at the Boro once again. Taylor conceded another corner when he should have cleared it. Nothing resulted from the set play.
Thirty seconds later, Chelsea launched another dangerous cross into the box that the Boro scrambled to clear. Chelsea's intent was clear however, and the Boro offered little in the way of counter-reaction.
Ballack was causing problems down the left and Cattermole had to deflect his cross out for another Chelsea corner. Kalou's corner was met by an unmarked Drogba on the front post but he could not convert, much to the Boro's relief.
On thirteen Carvalho backed off a mauraudering Stewart Downing, who tried a tame shot on the edge of the area. Carlo Cudicini comfortably saved.
The Boro were starting to come into the game on the quarter hour mark and some good skill from Tuncay provided Downing with an opportunity to cross the ball in. Chelsea cleared and the fans started singing "CHELSEA" in a gutteral yet moronic manner. Clap clap clap.
The Boro were starting to move well and Chelsea were having problems trying to contain them. They breathed a sigh of relief therefore when Tuncay was flagged offside when he was in a promising position.
I caught myself wondering whether Belletti was a type of biscuit and this distracted me from another Chelsea attack. But the Boro rode the bucking bull and on eighteen Downing tried to thread a route through the Chelsea defence. This flummoxed them but Cudicini was alert enough to deal with it.
Young got away from Kalou and from the by-line, he chipped a killer cross into the box. With Aliadiere sniffing, Belletti wasn't stiffing and he headed a clearance for a corner. Nothing came from the set play after Wheater blazed his effort into Doris' face. The NHS were now getting sick of paying for her corrective surgery.
Gary O'Neil punted a free kick into the box on twenty-three but he couldn't beat the first man. The ball came back at Chelsea though and Aliadiere was only a whisker away of connecting with the ball in the box.
On twenty-eight Joe Cole had a snatch shot from the edge of the box that went over. Belletti had initially knocked the ball in from a free-kick and the ball pinged around the box like a computer programmer checks IP addresses.
On thirty, Aliadiere shoved John Terry to the ground, much to the delight of me really. Terry did enough to put the Frenchman off his stride though and Cudicini collected.
A handful of seconds later, Downing cut inside Belletti and launched a shot towards goal that only managed to bounce off Aliadiere.
The Chelsea fans were getting restless, hoping that their side would up the tempo. The crowd groaned when Kalou darted clear into the box but his skimmed cross only found an eager David Wheater.
The Boro were misunderstanding the concept of a break, often hanging back to let the Chelsea defence reassemble itself. This meant that Boro's possession was often going to waste and Chelsea inevitably came back at us.
Things started to look ominous for Boro after a fizzing cross from the right found Kalou. He tried to turn and bury the ball in the box but he was crowded out by the Boro defence. The ball eventually deflected to Michael Ballack whose long range shot cannoned off a Boro player to safety.
On thirty-nine Tuncay did his best Terry Butcher impression as he was bandaged up with a knock to the head. Thankfully he did not have to leave the pitch as he would be integral if the Boro were to get back into the game.
Drogba surged into the box and the ball deflected to Cole. His shot was weak and Schwarzer gathered.
On forty-three Drogba powered a free-kick from thirty yards but the Boro wall deflected his effort narrowly wide. Kalou's corner flashed off a Boro head but it only fell to Cole wide right. Drogba peeled off the back of Taylor but he got too much on his header, which sailed over the bar.
This was the final action of a half where Chelsea failed to assert their dominance and where Boro looked as likely to score as Derby County away from home.
THE SECOND HALF
There were no changes in personell for both sides as Chelsea looked to increase their advantage. In the opening seconds Joe Cole almost found his way in but Schwarzer was alert and smothered the ball before Cole could get a foot in.
The Boro formed a Drogba sandwich and from a tasty ball in, a corner was won by the home side. The biscuit crossed in and Terry found himself with a free header twelve yards out. His attempt was more a knock-down rather than an attempt at goal and Schwarzer saved.
The game was end-to-end but both sides lacked the cutting edge in attack. On fifty-three, Wheater - the fifth face of Mount Rushmore - clumsily challenged Kalou on the edge of the box, conceding a free kick.
Drogba and Ballack were guilty of emulating The Tippy Tappy Twins and John Mikel Obi had a long range shot that flashed narrowly wide. Why Drogba was on the edge of the area and not in the box was one for discussion. If you were into that sort of thing.
Cattermole had a shot on fifty-five but Tuncay was reticent to get involved, possibly because his bandage could be flagged for being offside.
At the other end, Wheater showed all the strength of Mount Rushmore as he challenged Cole in the box. Belletti launched the corner in, Carvalho and Terry both went for the same ball and Michael Essien tried a shot from thirty yards that almost found its way into Schwarzer's goal.
Chelsea quite clearly hadn't taken their Actimel as they looked very sluggish. In fact they were having problems digesting Middlesbrough although the Boro were about as weak as Milk of Magnesia.
Downing launched the ball into the box on fifty-nine but Cudicini calmly and comfortably collected. This report was brought to you by the letter C and the numbers one and nil...
On the hour, Kalou was egged on to meet with a Drogba cross but two Boro defenders scrambled the ball clear.
Boro's first substitution of the game was Terry Butcher, sorry, Tuncay, for Afonso Alves. This came on sixty-fifth minute. Sean Wright-Philips came on in place of Michael Ballack for Chelsea.
On sixty-six a delicious ball from Cole found Sean Wright-Philips, who almost scored. His shot went too far across the keeper however.
No one was tracking Kalou twenty seconds later and his square ball found an unmarked Wright-Philips. He managed to score - in the back of the Fulham net as his effort sailed high and wide over the bar. It will be one of the few goals seen at Craven Cottage this season...
On seventy Boro should have been level after Downing pulled off Carvalho and found Alves alone and in space eight yards out. His glancing header went narrowly wide when it was easier to score.
Drogba threw his toys out of the pram on seventy-one when the Boro defence thwarted his attempts to latch on to a Cole long ball. In fact, Boro's defence had been quite firm all game.
At the other end, Alves spurned a fantastic opportunity to equalise. For some reason Cudicini raced out of his goal and Alves dinked it past him. Thirty yards out and with an open goal, the Brazilian contrived to hit the post when it was easier to score.
Essien darted into the box on seventy-four and pased to Drogba. He mis-cued his shot but it fell to Wright-Philips twenty yards out. His effort was strong and powerful and it deflected off Wheateer and over the bar.
From the corner, Terry had a header and Downing cleared. Chelsea dinked the ball back into the area though and Kalou, from close range, forced Schwarzer into producing a point blank save.
Downing was torturing Belletti on the left and on seventy-six he dinked it past him again. He forced a corner to be conceded but Chelsea cleared O'Neil's ball.
Shortly after this, Nicolas Anelka replaced Kalou for the Blues whilst Southgate got his Johnson out, bringing him on for O'Neil.
From a free-kick the Boro hit the bar twice, first from an Alves header, second from a Wheater one. The ball finally broke to Aliadiere who flashed his effort wide from six yards. The Boro really should have scored and Alves should arguably have had his hat-trick.
Middlesbrough were becoming dominant towards the end of the game and in the eighty-fifth minute, Young forced Chelsea into conceding another corner. Downing's ball eluded everyone but Johnson managed to retrieve the situation on the other wing. The ball fizzed back into the box and Belletti cleared, although he was very close to conceding a penalty for handball.
On eighty-eight Downing punted another ball into the box and Alves challenged Cudicini in the middle. The goalkeeper stood firm, much to the Chelsea fans' relief.
In the ninetieth minute, Shawky came on for Cattermole whilst Alex came on for Drogba. Chelsea manager Avram Grant was clearly trying to close up shop and hold on to the 1-0 victory.
Downing had a free kick in the final seconds and Schwarzer came up for it. Nothing came from this though and the final whistle blew, to the sighs of the home fans
It's difficult to assess performances like this. Alves could have had a hat-trick and although lively, you have to wonder about his profligacy.
Chelsea rarely troubled the Boro today as the visiting defence often stood firm. Yet you also know that Chelsea could easily have stepped up a few gears should they needed it.
Still, the performance was generally a solid one and the Boro can feel unlucky that they didn't win a point.
Man of the Match: Stewart Downing. As usual, he was Boro's major attacking threat and most of Boro's attacks came through him. He tortured Belletti down the left-wing.
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