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I'm not sure I ever gone into a game before feeling so defeatist. I really couldn't see how we were going to beat Chelsea, and I guess I was right to think that in the end, but boy we ran them close. If they have a harder 90 minutes than that between now and the end of the season I'll be surprised.
We lined up in a 4-1-4-1 formation - Nelsen and Todd at centre-half, Neill & Matteo at full-back, Mokoena sat in front of the defence, MGP and Emerton out wide, Thompson and Savage in the middle, with Dickov up front on his own. The idea was obviously to pack midfield and stop Chelsea having the time to create. It worked well apart from one moment just after the start of the game.
We'd looked quite good before they scored. However, Robben was then fed on the left and he ran at Neill, turned him inside out, and hit a low, hard shot across Friedel into the net. Friedel should have saved it.
And that was as good as it got for Chelsea from an attacking point of view. For the rest of the first half we murdered them. Savage had a curling shot from 20 yards that just shaved the outside of the post with Cech beaten, Todd had a free header from a corner that he put wide when he really should have hit the target, Savage again had a snap shot from about 8 yards out that he skied into the stand with his left foot, and Savage (that man again) won a penalty that Dickov missed. Or rather Cech saved it but it wasn't the greatest penalty ever.
These were all clear-cut chances and we should have scored at least one or two of them, just a lack of composure at the vital second let us down. In addition to the above, we created a number of half chances, got behind Chelsea on a couple of occasions, and won a number of free-kicks and corners that were mainly squandered.
This was all achieved thanks to a level of commitment and work-rate I don't think I've seen in a Rovers side since the Championship team. Roared on by one of the best Ewood atmospheres I've heard for a while, we snapped into our tackles, closed Chelsea down all over the park, and geniunely got them rattled. They lost their composure and started to give the ball away at regular intervals.
Unfortunately, we kept giving it them back. We effectively played Chelsea with 9 men in the first half as both Neill and Thompson put in possibly the most inept halves of football I've ever seen from them (a bold claim I know in Neill's case). Both were guilty of constantly misplacing passes and putting our team under pressure when it seemed there was no danger.
Still, we were far and away the better team in the first half and were unlucky not to be at least level at half-time.
You thought Chelsea would have to improve in the second half and, sure enough, they did. They worked harder to close us down and started to compete better. They also used the ball well and often kept possession for large periods of time, something that managed to kill the atmosphere and some of the Rovers' spirit. Without ever looking too dangerous they took control of the game and we never really got it back.
After saying that though we still looked the more likely to score. MGP had a half chance that he blazed over and Nelsen met another corner with a free header but placed it well wide. In the main though Chelsea were happy to cling on to what they had and they looked comfortable. A late flurry at the death produced a couple of scrambles and handbags erupted in the Chelsea area but nothing came of it.
I defended Friedel a month or two ago when people were giving him stick and I genuinely believe that the criticism was unwarrented back then. I can't defend him anymore though. He's been poor in the last few games and today he made two or three mistakes that could have led to more Chelsea goals. Hughes has to start thinking about dropping him.
Our defence was solid again, with Todd and Nelsen looking outstanding. Nelsen in particular really caught the eye with his commitment and the way he commanded his areas - my man of the match. Matteo defended well in the main and wasn't too bad going forward either. But what about Lucas Neill? I'm getting bored of saying it now but what more does he have to do to get dropped? He lost Robben for the goal and then failed to pass to a fellow teammate for almost the entire match. He played like a clown.
Mokoena looked really useful sat in front of the back four. He can pass well, he gets stuck in (a tad illegally at times!), and he wins more in the air than you'd think for someone of his height.
Savage was fantastic. He worked his arse off as always and was involved in most of our more threatening moves. His run for the penalty in particular was superb. Quite how he wasn't booked I'm not sure, but frankly I don't care either. Thompson was awful. He gave the ball away constantly and always failed to play the simple pass. He was just a liability today and should have been subbed long before he was. MGP played well in the first half. He hugged the touchline and offered the team real width. He also outjumped his full-back throughout to set up some dangerous moves. He still doesn't get the ball into the box often enough, and he faded in the second half, but he continues to improve. Emerton had good moments but probably had more bad ones. Not one of his best games.
Dickov was a constant pest in the first half and he really rattled Terry. However, I thought he was poor in the second 45 and didn't hold the ball up well enough, something that a lone striker must do.
Overall I thought it was a terrific performance and I find it hard to understand some of the negativity on this thread. The only chance we had of beating Chelsea was to get in their faces, knock them out of their stride, and put pressure on them all over the pitch. We did it superbly in the first half and we were very unlucky not to be at least level at half time. Chelsea showed a touch of class in the second half to kill the game but their celebrations at the end showed how hard they had to fight for the three points.
Their performance reminded me of the Rovers at Everton during our Championship run-in. We scored (twice) early on and then got battered, but held out through sheer determination and spirit to get the 3 points. Chelsea did the same tonight and I'm certain they'll go on now to win the league.
As for us, anything we got tonight would have been a huge bonus, but we take real encouragement from the performance and the commitment we showed. The next two games are very winnable and, if we perform like we did tonight, then we should get at least 4 points. If.
Match report written by Scotty
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