Match Report: Chelsea 1-0 West Brom

Considering Rafa’s rant in mid-week it was always going to be a spicy affair and it was no wonder to see so many flags and banners present calling for his departure. Chelsea took the lead on the 28th minute thanks to a Demba Ba strike inside the penalty area. We continued to dominate for the majority of the game however it was a really nervy and pulse-racing finish to the game.

Chelsea threatened Foster on more than one occasion in the opening ten minutes and we possibly should have scored as Oscar missed a golden chance from six yards out.Yet again Oscar spurred a glorious chance as his free-header flew into the hands of Foster. Eventually we did manage to break West Brom’s defence as Demba Ba gave us the lead just before the half-hour mark. Oscar’s cross was nodded back across goal by David Luiz who set Demba Ba up to strike the ball into the back of the net. 1-0 Chelsea.

Chelsea continued to press and minutes after going one nil up it nearly was two. Mata’s fierce shot hit he side netting with some spectators thinking that the ball had sailed past Foster’s reach. Ten minutes later both Oscar and Azpilicueta had their shots blocked as the blues were piling on the pressure. But much to Steve Clark’s delight the half-time interval came with the score at 1-0.

In the early stages of the second half us blues fans thought we witnessed Super Frankie’s 200th Chelsea goal only to be ruled out by the linesman. Mata’s perfectly weighted chip fell into the path of Lampard who fired gold-bound, however much to Lampard and Chelsea fans around the world frustration replays showed Mata was in a offside position when he delivered the ball.

With the game drawing to a close it felt much like squeaky bum time as the baggies were making as many attacking changes as possible. Odemwingie struck his free-kick beautifully only to be denied by the trust worthy palm of Petr Cech. Seconds later Azpilicueta nearly put the ball into his own net but again the heroic Petr Cech was on hand to save us.

1-0 isn’t a very convincing scoreline and considering the amount of chances we squandered on other day it could have been 3 or 4 goals but hey 3 points is 3 points! I’m sure Rafa will be happy with the result as there was so much pressure on him . I still hope that he departs SW6 in the very near future.