Chelsea 3-2 Leeds United (Kewell, Gudjohnsen, Lucic, Lampard, Matteo[o.g.])

Our second game in 3 days, albeit with the luxury of a newly turfed pitch. Leeds never give us an easy game and this was no exception.

We started brightly with a sustained onslaught on their goal right from the start. A Zola volley was well blocked from close range and the follow-up was well saved by Robinson. The Leeds goalie had a stormer in the first half, pushing away a long range shot then leaping back to save the rebound effort from Gudjohnsen. Before that, he also pulled off a good save from Le Saux's effort after Zola's volley was blocked by his defenders.

Possession in the first half read 63% Chelsea and 37% Leeds, but the scoreline indicated otherwise. Leeds scored with their only attempt on goal. A free-kick from their own half, well-taken by Robinson, found Viduka, who headed it on for Kewell. The irritating little git got in front of the inalert Terry, chested the ball beautifully and coolly slotted it past Cudicini. Probably a bit hard on Chelsea, but things evened out in the second half.

Play was less one-sided in the early part of the second half. Leeds threatened quite a few times, with Cudicini having to bail us out now and then. The crowd was sent into fits with a goal reeking of showmanship. Lampard, who was having a storming game, did well to work his was into a crossing position on the right flank. Gudjohnsen's overhead kick connected perfectly with the cross to slam the ball past the stunned Robinson.

After that both sides were galvanised into increasing the intensity of their attacks. Leeds first met success. A Kewell flick-on from a corner evaded the entire defence, and Lucic took advantage of the absence of defenders at the far post to slam the ball in under Cudicini.

We retaliated. Zenden, who had come on for a largely ineffective Zola, took the ball to the goalline and crossed just before it went out of play. Lampard found lots of space just inside the box to fire a beautiful shot just inside Robinson's left hand post.

The final cruel blow was dealt when Gudjohnsen threaded an astute pass into Lampard's path. Lampard's weak shot evaded the onrushing Robinson, but looked to be cleared off the line by Matteo. That is, until it bounced off both his shins in turn and past the line. His anguished expression, flashed repeatedly on the big screens as they replayed the winner, said it all.

The final minutes were spent with Chelsea successfully wasting time. A heartening result after an indifferent streak of results in the league, but the defensive performance of the back four of Babayaro, Terry, Desailly and Gallas left much to be desired, especially on the parts of Babayaro and Terry. Gallas was excellent going forward but he is definitely more suited to play centre-back than full-back. Gronkjaer skinned Lucic several times but his crosses were abysmal as usual. If he had Zenden's passing and crossing ability he would certainly be one of the best wingers in the world. Lampard was unequivocally the MotM, though Le Saux and Gudjohnsen also played well, with Morris getting a special mention for playing well above his usual standard.

Shrewsbury Town 0-4 Chelsea (Zola[2], Cole, Morris)

A nervy first 40 minutes where we failed to bury several golden chances. But Zola finally opened the scoring, and with a header by Cole early in the second half, it was all smooth sailing for the rest of the match. An exquisite lob over the goalkeeper by Zola and a deflected long-range shot by Morris put the icing on the cake.

Manchester United 2-1 Chelsea (Gudjohnsen, Scholes, Forlan)

Heartbreaking loss with Forlan scoring in the last minute. Great game for the neutral though, with superb performances from both sides, bar Cudicini's error which led to Manure's first goal. His kicking has never been particularly good and this time he passed straight to a Manure player, and they promptly capitalised with our defence quite helpless.

Chelsea 4-1 Charlton (JFH[p], Gallas, Gudjohnsen, Euell[p], Le Saux)

Charlton had not lost for two months, the pitch was practically a beach and we weren't exactly enjoying the best of form. Added to the jinx against Charlton in recent years, I thought Charlton would in all likelihood edge us out in this fixture. But it was a smooth-sailing match. We went 3-0 up breezily in the first half before Charlton pulled one back just before half-time. A Le Saux strike after the break put the game beyond Charlton. Unfortunately Manure won again, and remain 3 points ahead, though we can make good the 3-point gap come this Saturday. Pool continued their amusing spiral downwards with a pathetic draw at home to Villa. Newky were not much better, drawing at Upton Park against the team that has still not won at home this season.

Incidentally, Mark Halsey is the same referee who sent Hasselbaink off for an offence that Melchiot committed in a fixture against Spurs last season. And this was after vehement confessions by Melchiot on the spot to the referee, and even interjections from other players. Blind cunt.
He was also the one who let Sheringham off after that horrendous "tackle" on Zenden that left him with a 20 cm scar down his thigh. Against Boro both he and the 4th official delayed the substitution of Zenden for the injured Stanic even though a goal-kick provided the opportunity to do so. Instead Eidur had to cover for Stanic on the left. What a complete twat.

Oh, and Spurs got utterly thrashed, 4-0 at Southampton. Lovely. Almost as good as Chelsea winning.

Chelsea 1-0 Middlesbrough (Stanic)

Amazingly (or not so amazingly) Supersports chose to televise the "clash" between third division side Scunthorpe and Leeds United instead of this battle between two of the best top-division sides. It turned out to be quite an eventful match, generously helped by the utter incompetence of the referee. The following report by Soccernet just about sums it up.

Ref ruins pitched battle

The Insider

What looked like being a tranquil FA Cup stroll for Chelsea nearly turned into a riot after a remarkable decision from referee Mark Halsey and his assistant turned this third round tie on its head.

You may have seen grainy pictures of the great Nat Lofthouse virtually picking up a goalkeeper and throwing him into the Wembley net in the 1958 FA Cup Final. Well, Windass decided to repeat that famous incident in the match at Stamford Bridge as this game sparked into life for all the wrong reasons on the hour mark. Ah, the magic of the FA Cup.

On a pitch that resembled a beach rather than the green surface you expect at a Premiership ground, Chelsea looked to be cruising into the fourth round as Mario Stanic's first half goal looked set to finish off a Boro side who lacked any invention in a quiet first half.

But that was shattered as the incompetent Mr Halsey made his mark after Dean Windass piled into Cudicini, throwing him into the goal after he claimed a 61st minute cross. It was a woeful tackle, but amazingly he escaped with a yellow card and the referee then compounded his incompetence by sending off Cudicini, after consultation with his linesman.

It sparked a scuffle among the players, a few problems with some surrounding fans and the tackles started flying in after a decision few inside Stamford Bridge could comprehend. From that point on, it was a battle to the death and gave Boro a lifeline they hardly deserved.

Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri is not a man to lose his rag, but he felt for his keeper after this injustice. Last year's runners-up survived, much to the relief of their manager. 'The referee made a mistake to send off Carlo,' stated the Italian in his jovial post match press conference.

'We will appeal because Carlo tells me he did nothing wrong and all I could see was a bad tackle by the Boro player. The TV replay shows that as well. After that, it was tough for us, so I was very happy with the attitude of the team afterwards.'

Middlesbrough were woeful in the first half as they did their best to become the first team to win the FA Cup without crossing the half-way line. The fact that boss McClaren opted to drop striker Massimo Maccarone showed just how distant those optimistic days of August and September are long gone. Alen Boksic was also dropped for this game.

Boss Steve McClaren dodged questions about the Cudicini incident, preferring to praise his players for their second half display. 'Dean Windass showed spirit and desire in his performance,' stated McClaren.

'It was a great second half performance, but we just can't buy goals at the moment. I though Windass' challenge was fair and it is hard to see what happened after that. There were so many bodies around. The ball was there and Dean went for it, that's all there is to it.

'It is disappointing and frustrating to be out of the FA Cup after a performance like that. We have had a tough spell with away games and we came out with a bit of pride today. It's vital we take that forward to the league programme now.'

The surface at Stamford Bridge is a disgrace and it is not helping Claudio Ranieri's men play the sort of football they want to. As the ball bobbled around and players slipped throughout, the punters putting their hard-earned cash into the Bates Motel debt recovery fund were denied the chance to see a classic cup tie.

Mario Stanic and Manu Petit went close with headers in the first 15 minutes, while Jesper Gronkjaer should have scored when he created a chance for himself in the box in the 18th minute. The Danish winger nearly opened the scoring a couple of minutes after a fine ball into the box from Eidur Gudjohnsen, but again the chance was wasted.

When the breakthrough came it was hardly a surprise. Chelsea had dominated the first 40 minutes of the game and after good work from Petit, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink squared the ball to an onrushing Stanic who fired a stunning shot past Boro keeper Mark Schawarzer.

Boro haven't scored a Premiership goal away from home since the end of September and they didn't look like ending that woeful run against a Chelsea side who did not need to get out of second gear to brush them aside.

Noel Whelan was sent on for the second half and Boro did show a little more threat, but all was ambling along until that Windass v Cudicini battle. With Ed de Goey replacing the Chelsea No.1, the visitors threw all they could at the home side and some of the tackles that came in would have looked at home on an X-rated video.

Colin Cooper and Gareth Southgate had a late chances to salvage a replay for Boro, but that would have been hard on a Chelsea side who battled well after the referee did his best to undermine their latest FA Cup bid.

'I said to my players at half time, this animal is not dead, Middlesbrough can fight back,' added Ranieri. 'They did in the second half and we did well to hang on. We have suffered a lot recently and to play so well on that pitch was very pleasing. I can laugh now, but it was very difficult for us after the red card.'

The fates seemed to have turned against Chelsea on this frozen third round afternoon, so the fact they are in the draw for the fourth round may be a good omen for them.

QUOTE OF THE DAY - 'The referee made a mistake and this is a shame.' Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri sums up the mood of the day.

PRESS BOX VIEW - Our vantage point gave us a perfect view of the pitch that is not fit to host the World Beach Football Championships.

CHANT OF THE MATCH - 'You don't know what you're doing' was an apt description of Mark Halsey's performance. Chelsea's fans knew more about controlling a game than the Premiership's worst official.

MAN OF THE MATCH - Mark Halsey - The referee wins the award for being the star of yet another game, but the award could easily be renamed Prat of the Match as that is what he is every week.

MOAN OF THE MATCH - Chelsea are about to relay their pitch, but they should not have allowed it to get into this state before doing something about it.

INSIDER QUESTION - When will the Premier League look at the performances of this referee and strike him off the list? He nearly sparked crowd trouble in this game.

Arsenal 3-2 Chelsea (Desailly o.g., Van Bronckhorst, Henry, Stanic, Petit)

Another failed outing at Highbury. Arsenal took an early lead through a hugely deflected shot from Bergkamp. It remained 1-0 all the way till the 81st minute, when a fierce and well-placed Van Bronckhorst shot appeared to have sealed the match for Arse. It turned out to be a double whammy as 2 minutes later Henry savable shot somehow squirmed under Cudicini and Chelsea were left deflated and seemingly utterly thrashed. Stanic scored what most thought would only be a consolation goal with a close-range header, but Chelsea surprised everyone by following that up with another goal with a few minutes to go. A gross mistake by Seaman led to Petit scoring into an empty net. Arsenal dissolved into panic and ketp giving the ball away so that we could apply relentless pressure for the remaining time. Gronk's cross was agonisingly missed from close range by JFH. However our revival had just come too late and Arsenal emerged as relieved winners.

Pool continued to show their true colours by losing to Newky at St. James' Park. However this means Newky move level on points with us with a game in hand, and Manure are now 3 points above us after their win at Sunderland. Oh well. I still maintain that a CL place will be more than satisfactory, and so far we still seem to be pretty much on track.