Tässä Wembleyn juttuja...

Reissusta tulee kuvinensa oma juttu, mutta tässä englanninkielinen juttu ikimuistoisesta FA CUP - välierästä. (Thanks to HowdoYouDo Webb)

VILLA 0 CHELSEA 3 ( 2 AWFUL UNFAIR DECISIONS )

Chelsea beat Aston Villa to reach another FA Cup Final.
A second-half goal apiece for Didier Drogba and Florent Malouda and an added time strike from Frank Lampard sent Chelsea into their third FA Cup Final in just four years, after the Blues defeated Aston Villa 3-0 in the Semi-Final.


In the 67th minute, Malouda sent an out-swinging corner into the Villa box which Richard Dunne could only head into the path of John Terry. The Chelsea skipper shot goalwards and with the ball going wide Drogba, unmarked, prodded it beyond Brad Friedel and into the opposite corner of the net.

With just one minute remaining, Lampard played the ball out wide to substitute Michael Ballack and the German sent in a delicious cross to the back post which Malouda met at full pelt and directed it over the line. However, there was still time for the Blues to grab a third and seal the victory in style.


With the clock ticking towards 94 minutes, Malouda embarked on a counter attack and made his way into the box, where Nicolas Anelka and Lampard offered their support. Malouda found Anelka, Anelka played in Lampard and the midfielder produced a lovely finish, side-footing the ball into Friedel’s bottom left-hand corner.

Villa began the game well, but as Drogba’s participation in the game increased, so too, did Chelsea’s chances of victory. If Villa shaded the first half, the Blues were certainly the better side in the second half and in the end the Premier League leaders were deserved victors and are still on course for an historic first League and Cup double.

After a relatively uneventful start to the game the first real chance of the afternoon came the way of Joe Cole, who cut inside from the left and flashed a right-footed shot just wide. After a quick change of boots, James Milner followed suit, collecting Stiliyan Petrov’s pass on the edge of the box and sending the ball just inches past the post.

Moments later Villa felt they should have had a penalty when Gabriel Agbonlahor went down in the box under a challenge from John Obi Mikel but Howard Webb waved away the appeals. (Mikel olisi pitänyt ajaa ulos ja Villalle rankkari, but..)

No doubt mindful of their recent 7-1 defeat to Chelsea in the League, Martin O’Neill’s side appeared determined not to be breached by the Blues and proved resolute in defence, while the pace of Ashley Young and Agbonlahor and the endeavour of Milner reminded The Cup holders of the threat Villa possess. In contrast, Drogba was very quiet early on, but Stephen Warnock had to be alert to deny the Ivorian a clean strike at goal on 35 minutes.

On the whole there was not an awful lot of action in the first half with Friedel only being called into action on one occasion after Cole had worked his way into the six-yard box, but his stab goalwards didn’t trouble the American ‘keeper. Petr Cech was also only brought into the game once in the opening 45, but his contribution wasn’t quite as solid as Friedel’s as he failed to claim a Stewart Downing cross from the left.

The second half had a much better tempo to it, albeit with a lack of consistent goalmouth action. John Carew served notice of his aerial prowess, connecting with Downing’s in-swinging free-kick shortly after the restart but the big Norwegian couldn’t quite get his header on target.

Deco might also have done better when, in the 50th minute, a Malouda corner found its way to the Portuguese, but his shot was high and wide.

The increased tempo seemed to energise the crowd and both sets of supporters were in very good voice, but it was the Chelsea fans who were celebrating on 67 minutes when Drogba, who had really grown into the game, put them ahead with his fifth goal at this famous stadium.

Yllättäen tästä jutusta puuttuu kokonaan Terryn rappaus, Milner kylmeni täysin Terryn sikamaisen taklauksen jälkeen, punainen ! Taas HowDoYouDo Webb antoi van keltaisen!

After cutting into the area and forcing Dunne into the concession of a necessary corner, which was taken by Malouda and only half cleared by the Ireland defender, Drogba was on-hand barely three yards out to turn home his skipper’s shot and send the Chelsea fans into raptures at the opposite end of the ground. It was to be his final contribution - and what a contribution - of the Semi-Final as he was replaced by Anelka after 81 minutes. Just a minute later Emile Heskey came on for Carew as the Midlanders sought a late path back into the tie.

However, the result was put beyond doubt after 89 minutes when Malouda capped off an impressive individual display by getting himself on the scoresheet, guiding home Ballack’s deep cross. He probably should have doubled his own tally before full-time, but sent the ball over the bar after Friedel parried Salomon Kalou’s effort.

Instead, it was left to Lampard to seal the victory with a calm finish in added time as Chelsea punished Villa on the counter attack. Anelka squared the ball to him and the midfielder opened his body and simply passed the ball into the bottom corner to set up an FA Cup Final against either Tottenham Hotspur or Portsmouth.

Aston Villa
1 Brad Friedel, 5 Richard Dunne, 6 Stewart Downing, 7 Ashley Young, 8 James Milner, 10 John Carew (18 Emile Heskey, 82), 11 Gabriel Agbonlahor, 19 Stiliyan Petrov (C), 24 Carlos Cuellar, 25 Stephen Warnock, 29 James Collins
Substitutes not used 2 Luke Young, 4 Steve Sidwell, 14 Nathan Delfouneso, 16 Fabian Delph, 22 Brad Guzan, 23 Habib Beye
Manager Martin O’Neill

Chelsea
1 Petr Cech, 8 Frank Lampard, 10 Joe Cole (21 Salomon Kalou, 65), 11 Didier Drogba (39 Nicolas Anelka, 81), 12 John Obi Mikel, 15 Florent Malouda, 18 Yury Zhirkov, 19 Paulo Ferreira, 20 Deco (13 Michael Ballack, 77), John Terry (C), 33 Alex
Substitutes not used 2 Branislav Ivanovic, 23 Daniel Sturridge, 35 Juliano Belletti, 40 Henrique Hilario
Manager Carlo Ancelotti

Match Officials
Referee Howard Webb, ex - ref!
Assistant Referees Mike Mullarkey and Darren Cann
Fourth Official Mark Clattenburg

Attendance 81, 869