Drogba scores!

Sun, 20th May 2007

Didier Drogba scored the goal which won the FA Cup five minutes from the end of extra-time.

Chelsea have now won the FA Cup four times. Two evenly matched teams ran themselves into the ground covering and defending, and so it was almost two hours of cautious deadlock.

The game started at a snail's pace. Drogba's header from Bridge's cross after two minutes was the first effort but was way too high.

United's tactics were slightly surprising. The midfield was a diamond with Fletcher on the right and Scholes on the left ahead of Carrick, and Giggs at the front behind striker Rooney. Ronaldo camped on the left-wing to battle with Ferreira.

Joe Cole soon swapped with Wright-Phillips as both teams worked cautiously, and he got in a cross which Ferdinand and Vidic failed to clear. It came on to Wright-Phillips but his shot was snatched and went back into the centre of the area.

Cole was lucky to escape a booking when he went in late on Brown. He apologised and underwent a lecture from referee Bennett. Ten minutes had gone. Passions were well under control.

It was all very European, studied football, and then after a spell of Chelsea possession just back from the centre-line Scholes went flying into a tackle, Cole followed and Lampard too and we had 10 seconds of English tearaway drive.

After that it was back to playing with care, although United played a few longer balls in Ronaldo's direction.

Behind the goals there was passion in the crowd, but all round the centre tier of Wembley it was silent, motionless viewing. Wembley may have to stimulate more involvement than simply turning up in this area to help the atmosphere.

Chelsea's problem was that the team seemed to be very spaced out, and the player in possession was always having to look hard for the easiest pass. United were more compact and looked more comfortable in possession.

But a break through the middle from Cole to Drogba with several people running in support finished with a Drogba shot from over 30 yards which had van der Sar flying across his goal and showing clear relief that it went wide. A quarter of the match had gone.

The first half-hour was the kind of game the neutrals had feared: slow tempo and no cutting edge. But for the fan it was tense and absorbing, even if you longed for people to move the ball quicker, and Chelsea began to find some rhythm now.

Ferreira overlapped from Mikel's pass, cut into the area and fed galloping Lampard whose shot was held sharply by van der Sar. The first effort on target! Then Drogba dribbled across the area and squared the ball, an opportunity in the end opening for Wright-Phillips who turned and fired over.

Old man Giggs' position put him in direct competition with old man Makelele for much of the time, and Makelele was looking by far the sharper even if his passing game was not at its best.

Scholes was the next to escape a booking for a standard Scholes foul on Wright-Phillips.

Both sides had created slight chinks of openings in the final quarter-hour of the first period, but when referee Bennett blew for half-time Chelsea had managed six shots, one on target, and United two, both off target. United had won two corners to Chelsea's none. Nil-nil was the right score. But Chelsea were the team looking to score. What would the pundits make of that?

Arjen Robben spent the interval warming up and replaced Cole for the second-half.

Within two minutes United had their best moment so far. Lampard's poor touch on a pass to Makelele allowed Rooney to race away and fire for the corner of the goal. Cech launched himself and parried. Giggs, following up, volleyed back. Cech relaunched and made an amazing double save, but the second one didn't count because Giggs had been offside.

In the 10th minute of the second-half Drogba won a throw and urged the Chelsea fans to sing up, Robben won the team's first corner, and everyone ploughed in for it but Rooney countered and got through on goal as Makelele and Ferreira stumbled. However, Bridge kept chase and Ferreira got back to dispossess with an excellent interception.

Scholes then fed Giggs volleyed just over with a superb eye. The game was quickening.

But Scholes finally became the first booking just before the hour for tripping Lampard fractionally outside the area. The foul was slightly wide of the diagonal to the right, yet Drogba lined up a shot outside the wall at the near post, surprised van der Sar and hit the outside of it.
United were always looking to get in behind Chelsea's defence and by the hour had been caught offside five times to Chelsea's none. But at the other end now Robben was finding pace with which Brown couldn't cope, and twice he supplied crosses that Chelsea didn't get on the end of.

The game was opening up. Rooney powered goal-side of Essien and raced for goal, but Cech claimed it from his feet when he overhit it.

Giggs was spending more time on the left in the second-half as United played nearly a 4-5-1, and a 4-3-3 when possible. It was United's one bright area of the pitch.

Robben required treatment after a challenge from Brown which was a clear foul but went unwhistled. With thee-quarters of the game now gone the first goal was becoming increasingly important.

Makelele picked up the first Chelsea booking with seven minutes left when he tried to let the ball run from Giggs' burst inside and finished up going in high on Scholes.

Vidic immediately followed for blocking Lampard on a burst. Lampard wasted the free-kick, and then Chelsea failed to support Drogba in the area and Wright-Phillips' dangerous cross was cleared. Lampard won the ball back but couldn't find the shot inside the area.

In the final minute Rooney powered round Ferreira and Essien had to dash back to concede United's fourth corner. Chelsea cleared, but then United won a free-kick.

It was headed over and at the end of normal time 0-0 was still about the right score.

Amazingly, for the first period of extra-time there were no fresh substitutions, so still only one had been used. But two minutes later Smith replaced Fletcher. Smith played behind Rooney but more advanced than Fletcher.

In another minute Kalou was a straight swap for Wright-Phillips.

United won two early corners and Chelsea unusually kept 10 men back for them, leaving just Robben upfiield. Defensively, things were getting deeper.

Chelsea were looking seriously tired, and when Robben gave te ball away to Carrick, Rooney got wide and crossed and Giggs got the touch five yards out. But Cech was perfectly placed to hold, diving across his line.

Giggs' action took him into Cech and forced the ball over the line. It should have been a free-kick but wasn't given, in which case it should have been a goal, but that wasn't given either. Right outcome, wrong decisions!

Smith picked up his traditional booking a minute before the interval for bringing down Ferreira in full flow, and following the free-kick Drogba was only just wide.

Ashley Cole replaced the exhausted Robben two minutes into the final period and played on the left-wing.

Which team would stand up the longest? The outstanding Essien failed to respond to a long ball over the top, Rooney raced in and Cech wonderfully and bravely grabbed the ball from his feet. Rooney immediately showed genuine concern in case there had been contact with the goalkeeper's head.

Brown needed treatment for cramp following Cech's clearance.

Sir Alex Ferguson made his move for victory with a double substitution eight minutes from time, but lively Kalou was the next aggressive runner, beating a couple of challenges before placing his shot wide.

And then it happened. Drogba played a one-two with Lampard from Mikel's pass and got behind Ferdinand to chip past advancing van der Sar and score his 33rd goal of the season.

Kalou, time wasting, and Ferreira, tripping Ronaldo, picked up late bookings, Bridge made a crucial interception in stoppage time from Solskjaer, and the after three minutes of stoppage time the whistle went on Chelsea's longest season.

We are the domestic Cup kings.

Chelsea (4-3-3) Cech; Ferreira, Essien, Terry (c), Bridge; Mikel, Makelele, Lampard; Wright-Phillips (Kalou 93), Drogba, J Cole (Robben h-t, A Cole 107).
Scorers Xxx.
Booked Scholes (58), Vidic (84), Smith (104).

Manchester United (4-1-2-1-2) Van der Sar; Brown,