Chelsea FC Make Hard Work of Valiant Shrewsbury Town FC

The only thing that could have made tonight’s match any more of a perfect example of English cup football would have been icicles hanging from the roof of the stands. Instead a valiant Shrewsbury Town FC fought long and hard against a dogged and somewhat ‘thrown together’ Chelsea FC, only to lose out on a windy and stormy night 1-2.

With Chelsea only having got back from Manchester to London at 11pm Sunday evening and having to get straight back on a coach for a four hour trip back up the M6 motorway to Shropshire on Monday afternoon, conditions were never going to be perfect for Chelsea to even dream about playing a full strength XI, even if they could, given injury concerns.

A mixture of young and not so young would have to face up to a Shrewsbury team that very much fancied the opportunity to grab another top division scalp, and to be fair, why not?

Neil Mellon has put together a tight, hardworking squad that know how to play football and are proving it week-in, week-out and currently lie second in League Two. Forget long ball, ‘route-one’ football. This was going to be football played as it should be, on the ground.

By contrast, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was going to have to play with a group of highly talented players, more than capable individually of doing a job, but a group that had never had the chance to train together, let alone play competitive football.

"“I didn’t change my feelings (that) the game was going to be difficult,” Mourinho told Sky Sports.“It was difficult from minute one to the last minute. I still had (Eden) Hazard to make a change but I was worried about the possibility of going to extra-time.“We needed to do that change so I delay that change, could be a change to break the game definitely but when you have the possibility of extra-time you have to control the situation which he did so I’m very pleased with the players, I was not expecting a different match.“It wasn’t desperation (to make the changes). It was showing respect for our club, our fans, Shrewsbury fans and the Capital One Cup."

With starts going to Mohamed Salah, Andreas Christensen and Andre Schurlle playing his first match back from injury, and Filipe Luis, Oscar and 36 year-old Didier Drogba all playing again straight after the Manchester United match on Sunday, chances of seeing the free-flowing, devastatingly effective football that we’ve become accustomed to from the Blues, would be limited.

Shrewsbury had much of the action at the start of the game and Petr Cech, standing in for Thibaut Courtois needed to be on his guard to push out a great chance for the hosts to go one-nil up. Chelsea’s defence was holding, but pretty is not a term you’d use to describe it.

But that said, Kurt Zouma was again asked to do a job and along with Gary Cahill, the youngster once again put in a shift, and a performance that will not have done any harm to his chances of getting more opportunities to start matches. In the air, or along the floor, nothing was getting past the French international.

Nathan Ake, filling in again for Cesc Faregas looked as though he was born to play a holding midfield role. If Chelsea are looking for a box-to-box midfielder that can tackle back, win balls and immediately put the team on the attack, then stop. We already have one and he’s called Nathan Ake.

Unfortunately, as superb as Ake was, Mikel was again, equally poor. Just watch either of them play and you’ll see Ake constantly looking around, checking out where defenders are and where he can find his own team mates – just like Lampard used to do. Then watch Mikel. He doesn’t look and constantly gets caught out, and when he does get away, nine times out of ten, the ball goes backwards or sideways.

With both teams huffing and puffing, probing and counter-probing, the first half was a scrappy, ugly affair for Chelsea fans, but 45 minutes full of promise and hope for the Shrews’ supporters.

Courtesy of Flickr user: Ronnie Macdonald

Time for round two then. Had Jose shaken his Chelsea players up? Would he ring the changes and bring on the ‘A Team’?

Salah and Schurrle had been woeful. Both desperately trying to get the goal, to do what everyone expected, no… demanded they do. The pressure to be as good as everyone knows they can be, but in a team of players who didn’t know how to play as a team.

If Jose did speak with the players, it must have been to calm them down and simply tell them to relax. To go and enjoy the game. It would come.

And come indeed it did, two minutes into the second half and from who else but the old man himself, Didier Drogba, from a lovely cushioned, volleyed assist by Mo Salah.

Ah…Now we can relax, get the ball down and finish the game off. Or not!

Mandatory Credit: Mitchell Gunn-USA TODAY Sports

Rather than deflate Shrewsbury, the goal only seemed to spur the Midlanders onward, pressing and harrying, never giving up. Backs against the wall stuff, but Chelsea managed to get the ball away and to put pressure back on the League Two team, almost getting the much desisred second goal as Drogba once again turned and flashed his right boot goal-ward, only for the keeper to push it away for a corner.

Ten years ago, this game would have been finished. Put to bed. All packed up and everyone on their way home. As wonderful as some of the football this team play can be to watch, it does mean that putting games to bed rarely happens until the referee finally blows his whistle.

So the equaliser with only 14 minutes of the game to play, had to be expected, but why-oh-why was Mikel left as the last man back at a corner? One-one and the home crowd sensing extra-time and the biggest scalp they’ve ever had.

Time to call the cavalry!

Willian on for Salah and Nemanja Matic for John Obi Mikel. At last!

Willian and Gary Cahill of Chelsea FC celebrate a goal

There’s no way that Chelsea wanted/needed another 30 minutes of this. If it was going to be won, it had to be done now. I guess that’s what makes great managers. Knowing just the right time and the perfect combination of players to make a final push, to do something that would make the difference.

With only 10 minutes left to play, Oscar fed the ball through to Willian on the left wing, he looked up and saw Drogba, alone in amongst a host of Shrewsbury defenders. He crosses. Drogba lunges for the ball along with Grandison, the Shrews’ centre-back. Both player slide toward the ball. Grandison heads it… Straight past his own keeper and into the back of the net.

Cruel…

Not much left from either team after that. A scrappy but effective performance from the Blues, but a dogged and well fought display from Shrewsbury that should see them promoted this season.

Excellent displays from Ake, Cech, Zouma, Cahill and a flagging Oscar and a completely knackered Didier Drogba, who has now played 188 minutes of hard football and scored twice.

Diego who..?