Southend vs Chelsea minute by minute!

Live minute by minute coverage of the FA Cup 3rd round replay between Southend and Chelsea.

Pre-amble:

The game had been called off due to fog but it has cleared and the match now goes ahead.

Drogba and Deco are dropped from the squad completely. 

A night in for him

 

Teams:

Southend: Mildenhall, Sankofa, Clarke, Barrett, Herd, Grant, Christophe, Moussa, Stanislas, Barnard, Revell

Subs: Francis, Walker, Freedman, Betsy, Joyce, O’Keefe.

 

Chelsea: Cech, Bosingwa, Alex, Terry, A Cole, J Cole, Lampard, Mikel, Ballack, Kalou, Anelka.

Subs: Cudicini, Ivanovic, Carvalho, Di Santo, Belletti, Mancienne, Stoch.

 

ITV go with the angle of Chelsea crisis. Lots of that echo-ey commentary over the top of images of newspaper headlines. It was a bad defeat but they’re hardly out of the title race. We only get Andy Townsend in the studio, obviously they couldn’t persuade any ex-Chelsea players to make the trek to deepest Essex…

Anthony Grant is an ex Chelsea youngster which could be a mildly interesting angle if he does anything.

 

1 min: Southend kick off and win a free kick within about seven seconds. It’s only in the centre circle though and the long pump forward comes to nothing.

2 mins: Chelsea settle into possession. Their yellow away kit is almost as bright as the grass at Roots Hall.

3 mins: Kalou runs through everyone down the left but his pass in the area evades everyone. Ballack gets on to it late but his side foot shot is off balance and lacks any real power.

4 mins: The Southend crowd is well up for this. They ask Michael Ballack “Who are ya?” It is a shame he can’t reply. If he could perhaps he talk about how twice in his career he has finished a season being runner up in four competitions.

5 mins: The first instance of the celery chant by the Chelsea fans.

If she don't...

6 mins: Joe Cole fires in a shot from the angle but the keeper saves with his leg.

9 mins: Chelsea well on top, the Southend players aren’t really closing them down that much. When they do get the ball it is given away after a few passes.

11 mins: Fat Frank slices a shot well wide. Meanwhile Man Utd are already 1-0 up at Wigan, Rooney having scored in the first minute.

13 mins: Chelsea win a corner. Alex gets his head to it but there are defenders to block. Southend kind of break but then lose the ball.

15 mins: Alex and his club foot tries a back pass and whacks it so hard he gives away a corner as Cech can’t reach it. Cech punches the first corner away for another one. 

16 mins: GOAL! Southend 1-0 Chelsea. I was bout to say Chelsea had men on the post but they didn’t really. The second corner came in and the Southend captain Barrett has a free header, which he plants in the corner where a man should be. Chelsea were marking the zone not the man.

18 mins: Chelsea are stunned by that but immediately set about trying to equalise. A Ballack header from a corner is blocked and there are half hearted appeals for handball in the resulting melee but nothing given.

19 mins: Mikel shoots wide. 

22 mins: Bosingwa crosses to Anelka who heads wide. It was decent chance to be fair. Chelsea have had 79% possession. This reminds me of those Football Manager games where you dominate and have about thirty shots but the opposition score with their only attack. 

25 mins: Chelsea almost equalise. About three shots are pinged in in quick succession – Lampard’s initial effort is a pure reaction save from the keeper who didn’t know much about it. Cole tries the second but it’s blocked and the third shot is high and wide and Southend are let off. Chelsea are 1/6 to score next. Understandably so.  

28 mins: Southend are defending so deep and inviting pressure. In an odd way this is perhaps the best policy as they completely nullify Anelka.

29 mins: Just as I say that he runs form deep and takes a shot. Straight at Mildenhall though.

30 mins: Lampard played through and tackled in the box just as he’s about to shoot. Fair tackle and no penalty.

32 mins: Lampard dinks a nice ball into the box and Anelka shoots. They win a corner but it comes to nothing.

34 mins: Ballack chests and dips a volley at goal. It goes over. 

35 mins: Southend have never beaten a Premier League team in the FA Cup. They did beat Man Utd in the Carling Cup a couple of years back though.

37 mins: Big Phil looks in disgust as Mikel needlessly fouls from behind. If looks could kill…

Angry Big Phil

38 mins: Southend again waste possession, Stanislas giving it away. They gain it back though and this time Grant sends in a great cross from the right. Revell gets his head to it but Cech makes a good low save. Stanislas shoots over from the follow up.

39 mins: Mikel booked for a foul in the break above. 

40 mins: Confusion in the Southend box as Lampard nearly gets his shot away. Keeper was there.

42 mins: Lampard flicks on a Chelsea corner but it goes wide instead of to a teammate.

44 mins: Club foot hoofs another back pass to Cech but luckily it reaches him this time.

45 mins: GOAL! Southend 1-1 Chelsea. Bosingwa send in a cross and Mildenhall comes and punches. It’s a rubbish punch which falls straight to Ballack on the edge of the box and he finishes superbly with the outside of his boot on the half volley. Poor mistake by the keeper as his centre back could have headed it away but it really was a great finish. Ballack had a lot to do and just guided over the covering defender and into the top corner. 

Half time: Chelsea fight back after that shock goal and deservedly go in level. I sense that if Southend were to have a proper go they could knock Chelsea out here. More likely is that Chelsea get a earful from Big Phil and score two or three in the second. 

Time for tea.

Half time cuppa

Andy Townsend says he’d like to see Kaka at Man City. I’d like to see Messi at Arsenal but you can’t always get what you want.

 

46 mins: Belletti on for Mikel. Chelsea kick off the second half. Ballack has an early shot but it goes over.

47 mins: Stanislas sends a testing cross into the box but Revell can’t get to it.

48 mins: Cashley Cole gives away a free kick on the touchline. Grant sends it in but whoever connected with it headed wide. 

50 mins: Ashley Cole shoots from 25 yard plus, it’s low and hard and forces the keeper into a tricky save.

53 mins: Chelsea win about four consecutive corners and there is all sorts of confusion before Kalou shoots and the ball deflects off an arm and goes wide. It’s ball to hand though and only (another) corner is given.

55 mins: Southend corner. Chelsea clearance.

56 mins: Bosingwa has some space down the right and decides to shoot. Slice. Goal kick.

58 mins: Alex gives away a corner. Close up of his face. I don’t know what’s going on in his prviate life but he looks like he some real personal demons. Christophe gets a head to the corner but it goes wide. Could have done better.

59 mins: Lampard shoots, get his deflection but it’s straight at the keeper.

60 mins: GOAL! Southend 1-2 Chelsea. Lovely goal by Salamon Kalou. Joe Cole gives him a cross field pass, Kalou runs into the box, sidefoots past a defender and places a shot in the far corner beyond the keeper. Good finish.

62 mins: Joe Cole shoots from the angle but it goes high. Frank Lampard is not impressed.

65 mins: Chelsea are hungry for more. They are probing around the Southend box but are yet to find the key pass.

69 mins: Corner to Chelsea. Lampard takes, Terry lurks. Joe Cole tries to flick it and it goes out for another attempt. The second corner is cleared but Southend’s break fizzles out.

71 mins: Joe Cole is caught by Grant and goes down in agony. There was minimal contact judging by the replay but this is Joe Cole we’re talking about.

Is he faking it?

72 mins: Oh look he’s fine and running about. Meanwhile Lampard crosses in the free kick and it falls to Anelka who shoots over. Some changes coming up.

73 mins: Dougie Freedman on for Barnard.

74 mins: My bad, Joe Cole pulls up and holds the back of his knee. He’s seems to have twisted or locked something. Yet another game he doesn’t finish. 

76 mins: Di Santo replaces him.

78 mins: GOAL! Southend 1-3 Chelsea. Anelka slots in the third. Lampard runs from deep, lays it wide to Kalou. He waits for Anelka to arrive in the box and without breaking stride the Frenchman puts it in the corner. This one is over.

80 mins: Southend change. Francis on for Grant.

81 mins: A Southend corner fails to beat the first man. Anelka and Kalou break two on one and manage to get called up offside due to inability to pass to each other at the correct time.

85 mins: Chelsea are toying with The Shrimpers. Di Santo can’t quite get to a Bosingwa cross. 

86 mins: Betsy on for Revell.

88 mins: The remaining Cole (Cashley) is Jim Beglin’s man of the match. No one has stood out really but I guess it’s always nice when they don’t just go with Lampard. Kalou has done quite well too.

89 mins: Man Utd have beaten Wigan and climb above Chelsea into second place in the league.

90 mins: Three minutes of Joe Cole stoppage time.

91 mins: GOAL! Southend 1-4 Chelsea. Fat Frank gets his goal. Chelsea wait and wait and eventually Kalou lays it off to Lampard who hits it effortlessly high into the roof of the net from about 15 yards. Simple stuff. The whole team celebrate together. Ahh, look how united they are.

93 mins: Full time. Southend 1-4 Chelsea. Di Santo shoves over a defender as the full time whistle blows. Class told in the end and Chelsea’s fitness and superior skill did for Southend but not without a scare. Big Phil still has a lot to work on, especially as set piece specialists Stoke are the next opponents.

 

T.

Tags: Big Phil, Chelsea, Drogba, FA Cup, Joe Cole, Lampard, Man Utd, Southend