Wednesday December 20 2006
Carling Cup quarter-final
NEWCASTLE UTD 0 CHELSEA 1
NEWCASTLE: Given, Solano, Taylor, Ramage, Huntington,Milner (Sibierski 86), Butt, Parker, Emre, Dyer, Martins.
Subs Not Used: Srnicek, Luque, Rossi, Edgar.
CHELSEA: Hilario, Ferreira, Carvalho, Boulahrouz, Bridge,Kalou, Makelele (Lampard 46), Essien, Robben,Shevchenko (Drogba 73), Mikel (Ballack 66).
Subs Not Used: Hedman, Ashley Cole.
Att: 37,406
Didier Drogba left the Chelsea bench with 17 minutes left of this thrilling Carling Cup tie and proved to be the difference between the two teams, as United's cup dreams were left in tatters.
But it was controversial as the free-kick that Drogba took seemed to be nowhere near where the foul took place. There was no doubting Nicky Butt put a "foot in" for the foul, but Glenn Roeder was furious at how the referee was conned by the way the Chelsea players gained a few yards.
But it was nothing new, they had been conning the referee all evening. A new money-making ploy would be for Chelsea to remove the sponsors on the shirts and put them on the soles of the player's boots - because most of them spend more time on their arse than on their feet!
But it could have been so different, as Obafemi Martins was within half an inch of scoring, when his 27th-minute shot came back off the crossbar and almost all the ball crossed the line with keeper Henrique Hilario beaten. I was in the Gallowgate End at the far side of the pitch and was convinced it was a goal, but TV footage later showed it was not a goal.
Andriy Shevchenko struck Shay Given's right post just before halftime, and both sides left the field at the interval feeling they could have edged it.
Nobby Solano was nothing short of superb in the first-half, as he played right-back; right-midfield; outside-right; and once as striker. A fabulous performance, and Roeder would be an idiot to bring back Stephen Carr when he recovers from injury. Arjen Robben was so frustrated heading down a one-way street when coming face to face with the Peruvian that he switched wings and tried his luck with Paul Huntington.
Steven Taylor was also tremendous. At long last a central defender who is prepared to take responsibility and marshal the back-line. The kid is a certainty to play for England in the future at the highest level.
On the negative side, Scott Parker has had a run-in with a group of fans in the East Stand for pulling out of tackles, and once again he put in an "extra step" when going for a couple of 50-50 balls. I'm all for players staying clear of injuries, but Parker does a little bit too much skippying and jumping for my thinking.
Then we come to Kieron Dyer, who was either suffering from hypothermia or had something on his mind. Because he hardly seemed interested.
Why did we lose the game? In my mind because Jose Mourinho switched things around when things weren't working, as in the case of Robben in the first-half, and he knew the areas Chelsea were starting to lose their grip.
Glenn Roeder, on the other hand, had one plan and when Chelsea started to suss it, he was too indecisive as to what to do next. Dyer was obviously struggling, and when the Blues started the second-half with four shots at target to Newcastle's none ... the time for change was then! Sibierski was introduced after the horse had bolted. And even though the crowd were shouting for him, Roeder wore blinkers.
Lampard appeared after the break as a replacement for Claude Makelele, and Ballack arrived as a 66th-minute replacement for Mikel as Drogba warmed up on the sidelines, and the striker duly arrived as a replacement for Shevchenko seven minutes later.
But in the meantime, Roeder hoped and prayed his original plan would work. And sadly, it didn't. Drogba hit the back of the net, Sibierski was introduced and the Chelsea back-line started to look vulnerable, and it was a frantic end. But it should have happened far earlier.