Ross's Football Round Up - May

Published by Elaine Arthur on 10 May 2012

Blue is the colour once again in this year’s FA Cup as Chelsea get their mitts on the coveted cup for an astonishing fourth time in six years, beating Liverpool 2-1 at the Wembley showpiece on May 5th.

The the usual powder-keg atmosphere of an FA Cup final was further enhanced by the ill-feeling between the two clubs – created by Chelsea’s failure to observe a minutes silence prior to their semi final last month in honour of the Hillsborough disaster victims.

Liverpool went into the game chasing a domestic cup double having already secured the League Cup trophy with a penalty shoot-out victory over Cardiff City in February. Chelsea meanwhile were looking to get their first trophy in the cabinet since their historic double in 2009.

Two very notable omissions from the starting XI’s were Fernando Torres and Andy Carroll both of whom have recently discovered a shade of the form which led to them being subject of the two biggest transfers in British football history – a total of £85million quids worth sat on the bench (not bad work if you can get it).

Liverpool arguably missed Carroll’s aerial threat in a first half devoid of any meaningful openings and they deservedly went into the half time break facing a 1-0 deficit courtesy of a strike from Chelsea winger Ramieres.

The Liverpool changes were eventually rang on 55 minutes but only after Didier Drogba had increased The Blues’ lead to 2-0 with the Ivory Coast hitman smacking a low, left-footed drive past the helpless Pepe Reina.

Carroll’s impact to the hallowed Wembley turf was a shot in the arm for a lacklustre Liverpool and the Geordie hero dragged his side back into contention with half an hour to play with a left footed strike high into the roof of the net. The fairytale comeback was almost complete when in the 84th minute Carroll rose highest only to see his header clawed out of the goal by the outstretched hand of Petr Cech – another ‘ghost goal’ which has re-ignited the cries for the introduction of goal line technology.

That is another discussion for another time, this was Chelsea’s day and their deserved victory brought them the 7th FA Cup success in their history.

The Blues will now head to the Allianze Arena in Munich for a Champions League final date with hosts Bayern where a win would surely rubber stamp interim coach Roberto Di Matteo’s already glowing application for a full time position at Stamford Bridge. They face a stiff test against a disciplined German side who boast some of the finest young European talent amongst their ranks aswell as seasoned pros such as Frank Ribery and Arjen Robben who have gone course and distance in every major European and World competition. Furthermore Chelsea will have to accomplish the task without a host of their most established names – John Terry, Ivanovic, Raul Meireles and Ramieres who are all ineligible through suspension.

GB Posters are proud to offer our complete range of Chelsea FC Cup Winners posters and prints which make ideal souvenirs of the day for Blues fans everywhere.

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