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It’s handshakes all round as Boro suffer Chelsea loss
Chelsea 1 Middlesbrough 0
EMANUEL Pogatetz admitted
prior to yesterday's game at
Stamford Bridge that he would
have been quite happy if he did
not have to share the customary
post-match handshakes with his
Chelsea counterparts following
the final whistle, because it
would have meant Middlesbrough
had tasted victory.
The Austria international announced
the Blues refused to
shake hands with Boro players
after they crashed to a 2-1 defeat
at the Riverside last term, and labelled
the west Londoners unsportsmanlike
because of their
actions.
Unfortunately it was handshakes
all around when referee
Phil Dowd blew the final whistle
to end proceedings yesterday as
Avram Grant's side posted a narrow
1-0 victory to preserve an unbeaten
99-game home domestic
record which stretches back to
February 2004.
Middlesbrough have always
held their own when hosting the
top four at the Riverside, but it
has been a little more difficult on
the road when visiting the Premier
League's elite clubs, although
it has to be said the
Teessiders have gained well-deserved
draws at Arsenal and
Manchester United in recent
years.
But the last time the club won
a Premier League contest away
from home, against one of the top
four, came in a 1-0 triumph over
Man United some six years ago
courtesy of an Alen Boksic goal.
Middlesbrough never really
looked like breaking that spell
against a Chelsea side determined
to win back the Premier
League title they relinquished to
Sir Alex Ferguson's Red Devils
last term - until a late flourish
saw substitute Afonso Alves
strike a post and also hit the bar
like colleague David Wheater.
Optimistic Boro fans may not
have expected their side to win
against the west London aristocrats
but the travelling fans
would have expected a better
showing from their side.
Boro, unchanged from the 1-0
home victory over Derby, were a
pale shadow of the side which
earned credible and well deserved
away draws at Arsenal
and Aston Villa for large parts of
the game.
They were slow out of the
blocks and indeed struggled to
get out of their own half during
opening period of the game as
Chelsea dominated the proceedings.
Didier Drogba demonstrated
the home side's intentions when
he tried his luck with a shot from
22 yards, spilled by Mark
Schwarzer, after only four minutes.
But there was to be no mistake
when Ricardo Carvalho rose majestically
to head past the despairing
reach of Schwarzer to
put the hosts ahead a minute
later. The warning signs were all
there to see but Southgate's side
seemed unaware of the danger.
Drogba then flashed a header
wide from a Solomon Kalou corner
five minutes later before the
visitors finally showed some interest
in the contest.
Stewart Downing picked up a
short pass from George Boateng
but only contrived to shoot weakly
at Carlo Cudicini in the 13th
minute, when he cut inside Juliano
Belletti onto his right foot.
Wheater then attempted to
show his attacking prowess
when he popped up in the home
side's box but only succeeding in
slashing wide from a Gary O'Neil
corner in the 20th minute.
Joe Cole then blasted over on
the half hour, while Drogba
edged even closer to a goal soon
after when he had a free-kick
saved by Schwarzer before heading
just wide from a Cole cross.
After the break Chelsea continued
to threaten with Michael
Essien, Drogba, Kalou and
Shaun Wright-Phillips all missing
great chances to put the contest
to bed.
But their perpetual profligacy
meant Boro were always in the
match.
And had new £12m signing
Alves finally adjusted to his Premier
League surroundings then
the Teessiders could have indeed
levelled the contest.
Unfortunately he got his sums
all wrong. Shortly after coming
on he failed to connect with a
header when in the centre of the
18-yard box, before using his pace
to good effect to round a stranded
Carlo Cudicini only to see his
20 yard shot bounce agonisingly
back off the post and into the
goalkeeper's hands.
But when the Brazilian found
the crossbar with a thundering
header eight minutes from time
fortunes seemed to be dictating
it was never going to be Boro's
day.
The former Heerenveen striker
followed up Wheater's crashing
header off the same bar a moment
earlier from a Downing
free-kick.
If there were to be any positives
taken from the contest,
aside from Alves' late promise,
then Wheater continued to show
why he is one of the most highly
rated young centre backs in the
country.
He did his burgeoning reputation
no harm with a steady show
against the awkward and ungainly
Drogba.
Had some of his colleagues
shown the same belief in their
own abilities earlier on then they
may have actually taken something
from the game.
9:34am Monday 31st March 2008
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