charles
Graham Fisher
Andrew Aigner-Muehler
LukeS
HardyChelsea wins the FA cup
May 21st 2007 04:53
SUMMARY:
English FA Cup: Final
RESULT:
Chelsea 1 - 0 Manchester United
*Courtesy of BBC Sport
In a dull affair, Chelsea ended the Double dream of Manchester United when Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba pounced in the second-half of injury time to score the only goal of the match.
The first FA cup final at the new Wembley failed to live up to expectations with both teams failing to make any significant breakthroughs throughout the match.
The first-half drew comparisons with a boxing match - both Chelsea and Manchester United sparring with one another with neither team willing to press forward in search of a killer punch.
Both teams upped the ante in the second-half with Chelsea's introduction of Dutch winger Arjen Robben sparking considerable life into the Blues' attacking play with a series of mazy runs and crosses into the United penalty box.
However, nothing could mask the level of fatigue both sides were experiencing.
Triple award-winner Cristiano Ronaldo was in stealth-mode for much of the game - his lack of involvement was one of the main reasons why United lacked the creativity they needed so much from midfield.
Inevitably, the game ended nil-all in normal time and the crowd braced themselves for the third consecutive FA cup final to head into extra-time.
Manchester United had the upper-hand and Welsh winger Ryan Giggs thought he had scored the winner when he slid in to meet a far-post cross from Rooney. TV replays showed Giggs was correct, although if it had not been for him maintaining his slide to bundle into Cech, he would not have been.
From what I saw, however, was that Cech made the save but then pulled the ball into his chest protectively and that was what made the ball cross the line.
With the match seemingly headed to penalties, Drogba exchanged a neat one-two with Frank Lampard to score the winner with just five minutes left on the clock.
| 60 |
| Vote |
Add Comments
Comments (2)
Read More
