COLUMNIST KEN BUCKLEY

From my seat: Chelsea (a)

By Ken Buckley :  12/11/2007 :  Comments (14) :

The point was gained through a stubborn well-organised obdurate performance that was highlighted by a superb back five in which both Lescott and Howard excelled. The manager played his part by constantly tinkering and changing personel to not only combat a good Chelsea side but also to keep us as fresh as possible after our games in quick succession.

We also owed a lot to a large chunk of luck as Chelsea dominated possession which at times saw us produce some desperate defending and at other times some very classy defending indeed. Yet by half time it could and should have been 1-1 as both Pienaar and Drogba contrived to miss the ball when in front of unattended gaping goals.

The second half saw us revert to 4-4-2 with Big Vic and Faddy trying to occupy the ball further up field in an attempt to stiffle the flow toward an overworked defence and this worked well until with twenty minutes to go, Drogbha, showing the instinct that makes him much sought after, reacted quickest to a corner and glanced a header home which left me feeling down after such heroic defending.

The manager tinkered again by introducing Tommy Gravesen for the out-of-gas Carsley who had tracked Lampard all over the pitch and still found time to help out in our few forays forward. Cahill was now our main man in centre-mid and he looked like he was running on empty, yet, with ten minutes to go, renewed energy appeared from somewhere and Chelsea not performing their usual shut-up shop routine I thought maybe just maybe, only a goal down and we were coming forward more.

Then it happened, time almost up, Faddy cuts in from the right, works an opening and swings the left foot that means top corner screamer for Scotland but this one was miscued and turned into a far-post cross. Cahill was jumping with Belletti, where the hell he came from I don't know but he put enough pressure on to deny the fullback and as the ball dropped he reacted in world class striker mode and sent a perfectly executed bicycle kick into the net.

Oh the joy and celebration that took place, was there time for a winner us optimistic Blues wondered? Sadly not on this occasion but at the whistle it somehow felt like a win. Who was MotM? Was it Cahill for his non-stop work and goal-of-the-season contender? Was it Lescott for an imperious centreback display against a player regarded as the best? Or Tim Howard for a superb display of the goalkeeping art culminating in a world-class save that denied Lampard? I think I will give it to all three. I also thought Hibbert and Valente put in very good shifts.

Overall I thought that this game like others before it has me believing that, with the addition of a dominant central midfielder who can dictate play with some authority and a strong forceful wideman, we may well be on the way to creating a 'Big Five'.

I say this in light of the Euro games I have watched, yes we have won, but I feel that when we do eventually come up against a seasoned Euro savvy team the midfield could be our undoing. Any good ones going in the Winter window I wonder? Hope so.... UP THE BLUES

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