By Match Report
February 11 2006

Boro were looking to take an unlikely three points from the Champions-elect this afternoon at the Riverside.in doing so they hoped to build on their FA Cup victory against Coventry in mid-week and banish the memory of last week’s 4-0 home capitulation to Aston Villa. Indeed the side had to convince the fans this afternoon of their commitment and determination to survive in the League in this third home match in the space of a week.

Hasselbaink took his place on the bench against his former club and Viduka was not even in the squad as McClaren opted for a defensive 4-5-1 formation, with Yakubu as the only striker. Boateng returned from injury but a lack of match fitness saw him on the bench. The two Boro youngsters Downing and Morrison started, on the left and the right respectively sheathing a very defensive midfield. Both of the youngsters returned from injury or mid-week ailments.

Schwarzer, Parnaby, Southgate, Riggott, Pogatetz, Mendieta (Davies, 90), Morrison (Boateng 38), Doriva, Rochemback, Downing, Yakubu (Hasselbaink, 89), Jones, Maccarone


THE FIRST HALF

This is a dream, right?! Rochemback scoring! From the kick-off Yakubu got the ball on the left wing and fed Rochemback inside the box. He managed to scoop the ball from his right foot to his left and, amazingly, drill it beyond Petr Cech who was found to be watching in his goal-line placement. It was the Brazilian’s first goal since joining the club in the summer and only the seventh goal away from home Chelsea have conceded all season.

MIDDLESBROUGH 1 CHELSEA 0 (Rochemback, 2)

After this Downing tried to force another attack but the Chelsea defence managed to repel him. Morrison also launched another ball into the box but it was defended and cleared by Essien.

Chelsea meanwhile were made to look ordinary for the following five minutes, often confined to passing the ball in their own territory but they did start to plug away at the Boro defence as the half wore on. The Boro however hassled the Champions and forced them into making mistakes, much to the delight of the noisy home crowd.

On eleven minutes Rochemback ran with the ball and played it across the box to Yakubu who dummied it on to Downing. At this point there were two Boro strikers against one Chelsea defender. Downing, unmarked, blasted the ball towards goal and forced a strong save from Cech who conceded a corner. Another corner was conceded from this one but nothing came of it and Chelsea cleared their lines.

For the next five minutes Chelsea were again made to look ordinary through Boro’s determined defending. A poor Lampard effort in the fifteenth minute summed up the Champions’ dismal opening to this game. Meanwhile left-back William Gallas was injured and had to be substituted for the midfielder Maniche.

In the sixteenth minute Yakubu ran down the left and tried to take Carvalho on, forcing a corner to be conceded. Rochemback took the corner short and the Boro almost scored once more through Petr Cech’s uncertain goalkeeping. Chelsea’s defending this afternoon seemed to be lacking in its usual calmness as the Boro continued to rattle them.

Another Boro attack was constructed two minutes later through great passing and movement from the home team. It was however snuffed out by Carvalho who tried to break for Chelsea. This too was absorbed by the Boro defence and Middlesbrough broke again. At this point Yakubu was worrying the Chelsea defence, often resulting in three players marking the Nigeria frontman.

On twenty-one Mendieta conceded a free-kick on Lampard after Southgate blocked an Eidur Gudjohnsen attempt. Lampard drove the ball towards goal but it took a wicked deflection and a corner was conceded. The corner was swung in to the box but everyone missed it and Yakubu whacked it away from danger. For the following few minutes Boro remained comfortable in their defending with Rochemback orchestrating nearly everything in the midfield.

On twenty-six Morrison tried to set up Downing but the ball hit Geremi on the arm. The foul was not given and Chelsea could break. Robben launched a ball to Lampard who crossed the ball in but it was defended expertly by Southgate, who conceded a corner. This corner was cleared by Rochemback although Robben guided the ball back into the box. There was too much pace on the ball however and Schwarzer let it go for a goal kick. This was just as well as two Chelsea players were poaching and unmarked at the back post had the ball found them.

Gudjohnson was tracked by Morrison two minutes later but Parnaby tackled the Chelsea striker and conceded a throw-in. Chelsea again tried to form an attack but again Southgate was called upon to defend with composure, once more conceding a corner. This corner was again useless and Yakubu started to break from defence but Carvalho read his pass-and-run technique to perfection, conceding a throw-in.

A swerving Lampard shot in the thirty-second minute was saved by Schwarzer after considerable pressure (and the Boro not being quick enough in defence). Schwarzer launched the ball long towards the Chelsea area allowing Downing and Morrison to construct an attack. Very little came of it.

On thirty-five minutes the limp that Morrison had picked up a few minutes previously started to get worse and a substitution was considered. Meanwhile Lampard scuffed another shot whilst under pressure from Chris Riggott.

Essien found space down the left due to Morrison’s injury and launched a shot which was parried by Schwarzer. Carvalho almost scored but a world-class save from Schwarzer resulted in the concession of a corner. Nothing resulted from this. Morrison meanwhile could not play through his injury and Boateng came on to replace him on thirty-eight. Mendieta went right as Boateng took his place in the centre of midfield, to play his first game for the club since December 21.

On forty, Downing launched a great ball into the box towards Riggott who headed it towards goal and the scrambling Cech. A goal kick ensued.

John Terry showed his frustration two minutes later by cynically lunging at Mendieta, injuring his right ankle. The Chelsea defender got a yellow card for this infraction but it should have been red. From the free-kick Boro tried to push forward but Riggott conceded a free-kick so this was to no avail.

On forty-four the Boro started to put some good passes together as they again tried to pressure Chelsea but a ridiculous refereeing decision prevented much becoming of this. However this didn’t deter Yakubu from running in the area and having a shot, a shot that deflected to Downing. He launched the ball into the box. Mendieta tried to flick the ball passed Cech but all he did was distract him. This however allowed Downing’s shot to go over the line and thus the Boro scored their second goal of the day.

MIDDLESBROUGH 2 CHELSEA 0 (Downing, 45)

Chelsea meanwhile got increasingly frustrated, demonstrated by Gudjohnson’s booking for pulling back the inspirational Rochemback.

FIRST HALF FAN REACTION

‘If Boro ever got into the Champions League, we’d win the thing. Big guns my arse’
James

‘The bigger the team, the better we play’
Smog Eat Smog


THE SECOND HALF

In an attempt to rectify the situation, Jose Moriniho rang in the changes replacing Geremi for Carlton Cole and Shaun Wright-Philips for Joe Cole. The Boro however start strongly once again with Parnaby playing a good run and setting Mendieta free but a poor ball from the Spaniard caused that move to break down.

On forty-seven Boro concede another corner but again it was cleared and Yakubu starts a charge forward, running from box to box with his push-and-run movement. Only a last ditch tackle from John Terry saved the day for the away side.

Two minutes later Boro conceded another free kick that Lampard again curled into the box but again nothing came of it, with the ball going beyond every player assembled there. Robben came forward a minute later and encroached into the Boro box but Doriva defended well and snuffed out the threat, not allowing the ball to be passed to the onrushing Lampard.

A minute later Chelsea started to demonstrate their threat more as the Boro backed off. The home side were lucky to have an offside decision to go against Chelsea as Crespo was being played onside by Riggott. On fifty-three Maniche launched a swerving shot with the inside of his right foot but was saved comfortably by Schwarzer.

Stuart Downing is found in yards of space after Yakubu had left it for the English winger but Downing’s cross was handled by Carvalho. The referee shook his head however and the ball fell to Chelsea’s advantage, who started to break. However little came of this and now it was the Boro’s turn to break.

The blue shirts started to pour forward but excellent defending by Riggott prevented them from breaking through. Schwarzer eventually got the ball and distributed to Yakubu, who forced Terry into conceding a throw-in deep into Chelsea territory.

Downing started to dart forward, releasing Rochemback who crossed it towards Yakubu, who then passed to Mendieta. The Spaniard shot towards goal but the ball was lost in a sea of blue players. A minute later Boro won a free-kick which Yakubu took, releasing Downing who crossed towards Mendieta. Chelsea broke from this however.

Yakubu danced past Terry on sixty and ran Carvalho ragged but Chelsea managed to win the ball and started an attack of their own. This was quelled by Downing. The game started to take the form of an attack and defence game as both teams launched attack and counter-attack. One of them resulted in the ball petering out in the box with Boateng in possession, another half-opportunity going spare for the dominant home side.

On sixty-three the ball fell to Robben after a Maniche cross but from the angle Robben was at, there was little threat to goal. Even less so after the Dutchman punted his shot over the bar. Parnaby conceded a corner a minute later after an attack on Lampard. Chelsea now started to worry, with all ten of their outfield players present in the box for this corner. Boro still cleared the ball however, at the expense of another corner kick. This move broke down with a free-kick being rewarded for a push on Southgate as Boro’s defence again held strong. And they needed to hold strong as Chelsea started to dominate the game.

On sixty-eight Yakubu turned his marker in the penalty area and cut on to his right foot around eighteen yards out. He rifled it past Petr Cech as the Boro fans were taken into dreamland…

MIDDLESBROUGH 3 CHELSEA 0 (Yakubu, 68)

Chelsea still threw everything at the Boro defence as the Boro fans started singing ‘Can we play you every week?’ and ‘Are you Sunderland in disguise?’ The Boro fans were still a little pensive though as they knew the danger that Chelsea could still pose to the Boro. However the Boro’s tactic of stopping Chelsea from playing seemed to be paying dividends at this stage in the match.

Another corner was conceded on seventy-four but again the Boro broke, with Rochemback. Yakubu got the ball, followed by Doriva and then Boateng, who lost possession. Pogatetz however won the ball again and set free Yakubu who was one-on-one with the keeper. However a late flag from the assistant referee prevented a possible fourth (yes, fourth) goal for the Boro, a flag that turned out to be incorrect.

Chelsea won another corner on seventy-seven from a ball that the Boro really should have cleared. Schwarzer fumbled at the ball allowing Carlton Cole to hit the crossbar. The ball was cleared but this was a worrying lapse in concentration from the Boro towards the end of the game.

Yakubu left Carvalho on the floor on eighty and tried to chip Cech but the goalkeeper was up to it and released Robben for another Chelsea attack. Chelsea’s day was summed up by a Gudjohnson shot a minute later that was punted hopelessly over the bar.

Downing found Rochemback from a throw-in and the Brazilian launched a perfect shot towards the top-left hand corner but it was clawed away majestically by Petr Cech for a corner. The corner was taken short as the Boro tried to run down the last five minutes of the game.

INTO THE RED ZONE

Chelsea again swept forward but once more the Boro repelled them, like they have done all afternoon. The Boro broke, Chelsea came back and once more we absorbed it. Riggott defended brilliantly, releasing Downing who won a time-sapping throw-in. For the same reason, Hasselbaink came on for Yakubu for the final minute of the game.

On eighty-nine Chelsea won a free-kick halfway into Boro territory after a foul committed by Southgate. Pogatetz headed the free-kick away and it was volleyed away by Downing. Another free-kick for Chelsea resulted in Lampard blasting over the bar, summing up their afternoon.

Mendieta came off for Andy Davies to kill some more time towards the end of the game. However the Boro were comfortable in the last few minutes of the game as Chelsea never really threatened. The final whistle blew to chants of ‘Easy, easy’ by the Boro faithful as an unlikely yet comprehensive victory was beckoned. Moriniho had the grace to shake the hands of every player and Southgate did his punches to great cheers from the Boro faithful.

The chant ‘Can’t we play you ever week?’ has never rung more true. We have beaten Man Utd, Arsenal and Chelsea at home this season, two of those three comprehensively. So if we can beat the top three then there is no reason why we can’t beat the lesser teams in the league and pull away from the bottom three. If we show the determination, motivation and commitment we showed today then we will finish comfortably in mid-table, if not higher. Today we proved that we had the quality but without the drive this is next to useless. We need to play like this week-in week-out. If we do, everything will be fine.

FULL TIME FAN REACTION
‘Large rum on the rocks in my glass!’
Fiddler on the Smog

‘I FEEL DIZZY’
Smoggy in Australia

COB Men of the Match: Fabio Rochemback and Yakubu. Everyone played well today but Rochemback and Yakubu slightly better than the others. Rochemback had his most inspired game for the Boro this afternoon and was a handful all day. His goal so early on was the best thing to happen to him and the confidence he gained from this was evident throughout the rest of the game. If he can build on this in the coming weeks we have one hell of a player on our books.

Meanwhile, it took three Chelsea players to mark Yakubu this afternoon and he ran rings around poor Carvalho. But in the end, all players deserve great praise for this afternoon’s display and hopefully we can, and indeed should, build on this and pull away from the bottom three.

Final whistle 1656, report online 1705

SEND THIS TO A FRIEND

CHELSEA FANS WELCOME IN THE NEW HOLGATE FORUM

BACK TO CHELSEA MATCH PROGRAMME INDEX

*********************

OPEN AN ACCOUNT AND STAKE A TENNER WITH TOTAL BET AND WE WILL SEND YOUR TENNER BACK TO YOU.

You must click on one of the Total Bet links on this page to qualify for this offer and you will also need to mail us with your Total Bet account user name.

You can stake more than £10 if you wish and still qualify for your tenner from us and you can stake it on any match you want.

You will also get a free £10 bet from Total Bet added to your account and another £15 worth of free bets once you have placed further bets, provided your bet was at evens or greater.

BOTTOM LINE WORST CASE SCENARIO

You place a ten pound bet and it loses. You get ten pounds cash from us and a free ten pound bet from Total Bet, with another fifteen to follow, leaving you a minimum of a tenner in profit whatever (provided you make a selection at odds of evens or greater).

Take your pick and have a tenner on it because even if you lose, you'll get your money back from us and have a tenner in your new Total Bet account with another fifteen to follow.

CLICK THE BANNER TO QUALIFY AND DON'T FORGET TO MAIL US WITH YOUR TOTAL BET USER NAME.



OFFER TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Offer does not apply to existing Total Bet account holders. You must open a new account to qualify and you must click on the Total Bet banners or links on this page to qualify. We will send your tenner by postal order.

Have a browse through the coupon and take your pick. Whatever you select, it can't lose if you take advantage of the offer above.

Betting odds quoted on this page are correct at the time of publishing but can change so please check before placing bets. Harry Haverton is a leading soccer bet tipster and was top of the UK Listings for around fifteen minutes in September.