[ 2012-05-06 ]

Chelsea hold on to win FA Cup
Didier Drogba scored a record-breaking fourth FA
Cup final goal to seal glory for Chelsea who won
2-1 despite an Andy Carroll-inspired Liverpool
coming within millimetres of a comeback.

A quality-starved first half was punctured only
after 11 minutes when Ramires capitalised on a
series of Liverpool errors to burst down the right
and slot into the net.

Drogba's historic finish soon after half-time
looked to have Chelsea comfortable, but Carroll
came off the bench to slam home an emphatic finish
shortly past the hour.

He thought he had pulled off an astonishing
comeback in the 82nd minute when he powered a
header at the far post, but somehow Petr Cech was
able to claw it back before crossing the whole of
the line, those few millimetres securing the
Blues' triumph as they held off a furious final
assault.

Kenny Dalglish opted to leave Carroll on the
bench, Luis Suarez playing alone up front with the
likes of Steven Gerrard and Craig Bellamy forward
in support, while there was no place for stalwart
defender Jamie Carragher.

Former Reds star Fernando Torres was named as a
substitute for Chelsea, with Drogba chosen to lead
the line, while Branislav Ivanovic parterned John
Terry at the back and veteran Frank Lampard
started.

After both sides spent the first 10 minutes
acclimatising, an array of Liverpool errors
allowed Chelsea through. Jay Spearing lost the
ball in the centre, allowing Juan Mata into
possession, who fed Ramires on the right. The
Brazilian easily powered outside Jose Enrique
before finishing calmly past Pepe Reina, who had
committed to his dive far too early.

The Reds sought a quick response, some flowing
football resulting in the ball falling for Bellamy
just inside the Chelsea box. The Welshman hammered
a fearsome snapshot but Ivanovic was on hand with
a crucial block.

Both sides looked to attack as the halfway point
of the first period passed, Salomon Kalou
embarking on a mazy, unchallenged run into the
Liverpool area before being caught out by Daniel
Agger at the last minute.

The Dane himself then buckled swashes with his own
powerful drive forward, but as he pushed on into
the box, Enrique's pass was hit slightly too hard,
and the spark was snuffed out.

There was little more joy for either side, Suarez
only able to stretch enough to tamely make headed
contact with an inviting cross from Jordan
Henderson five minutes before the break.

Chelsea opened the second period with a testing
corner from Lampard, Glen Johnson displaying
plenty of muscle to hold off Terry, though the
Blues captain still got a desperate touch that
flopped onto the top of the net.

They were on target five minutes later, though.
Lampard had space to pick his pass with the
Liverpool back line ahead of him, electing not to
shoot but to play it in for Drogba on the edge of
the area. The Ivorian took a touch and aimed
through the legs of Martin Skrtel to roll his
record fourth FA Cup final goal into the corner.

Dalglish threw caution to the wind by replacing
the struggling Spearing with Carroll and the
target man made an immediate difference.

Found by Enrique in the box, Carroll juggled and
stepped over and seemed to have missed his moment
to strike but instead whipped around the beaten
Terry and slammed home left-footed to put
Liverpool back in it.

The breakthrough woke the Reds up and they
streamed forward, the substitute striker at the
heart of it. His header down teed up Henderson to
shoot wide from 20 yards as the crowd came alive.

Gerrard tried his luck next, attempting to meet a
knock-down from over 30 yards out with a trademark
howitzer, but he miscontrolled and fired wildly
over the top. Carroll then came back into play as
he met Enrique's left-sided cross with a header
not far off-target.

Liverpool thought the £35 million man had struck
again in the 82nd minute, arriving superbly to
blast a thumping header at the far post. Reds
players and fans alike celebrated a goal but the
referee's assistant made a superb call to point
out that Cech had in fact jumped quickly enough
with incredible reflex to keep the whole of the
ball from crossing the whole of the line.

Dalglish's men hammered away in the final minutes
with Chelsea clinging on desperately - although
Skrtel had to cover for an exposed Reina at the
death - but the final breakthrough just would not
come and the Blues celebrated their fourth FA Cup
triumph in six years.

Source - Goal.com

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