Chelsea 2 Hull City 1: match report

15 August 2009 15:12
Remodelled and rejuvenated, Didier Drogba delivered a stirring exhibition in what he does best. No, not in the practice of deceiving a referee at 10 paces with an anguished dive, or of mouthing obscenities within range of television microphones, but in the more beguiling art of winning a match through the trickery in his boots. It seems that signing a two-year contract extension can do this to a man. Drogba dispelled all doubts about his suspect loyalties with a mesmeric display against Hull City, full of uncomplicated commitment as he first equalised for Chelsea through a bending free-kick, before scoring the winner in injury time from an improbable angle. Both strikes crystallised his qualities of touch, grace and poise, while his demeanour during the match suggested a refreshing and hitherto unseen lack of artifice. Not once did Drogba fulminate in the direction of a referee or fall to the ground as if struck by an articulated lorry. Carlo Ancelotti, who grasped his first Premier League win by the most slender margin, maintained that he had not directly told the striker to stay on his feet but said: "Drogba is the same player as he was last season. He has worked very well, he is an important player for us. He has a lot of motivation now." Drogba's flourishes were all the more gratifying for Ancelotti in the context of a unconvincing first showcase for his diamond formation. Chelsea relied far too heavily on long balls and fussy build-up play and, indeed, at times betrayed a worrying symmetry with the over-ornate style cultivated by the Italian head coach's ill-fated predecessor, Luiz Felipe Scolari. With his side behind after Stephen Hunt's goal for 11 minutes that must have felt like hours, Ancelotti was only too mindful of the fact that Scolari's final game had been a goalless draw with the very same Hull. "I spoke very clearly to my players before the match," said Ancelotti, while refusing to be drawn on the content of his address. It is safe to surmise, with Roman Abramovich watching from his Stamford Bridge box all glowing and expectant, that it was along the lines of, "Please, boys, don't fail me now." Whatever words he uttered, they returned to haunt him as the Hull fans crowed, for a mercifully short time: "You're getting sacked in the morning." Scant chance of that, since all the signs are that Ancelotti will be allowed the one luxury that all before him have been denied - namely, the patience of Abramovich. But Chelsea's listlessness raised more questions than it answered, and the club's owner is certain to demand a more emphatic resolution to victories than the one Drogba provided here. "For sure we have to improve, because we did not always play well," Ancelotti acknowledged. "We made some mistakes but this is normal. We went behind, which made the match more difficult. We didn't lose the idea to play and in the end we deserved to win." There remained, however, the nagging uncertainity of those 11 minutes, when the scoreline read Chelsea 0 Hull 1. Ancelotti reflected that he was "very calm" but the Chelsea supporters appeared not to share his composure, their chagrin at Hull's goal made worse since it was their bete noire, Stephen Hunt, who scored it. Hunt has not been forgiven in SW6 for a challenge in Oct 2006, when still in Reading colours, which left goalkeeper Petr Cech with a fractured skill. Although Hunt was barracked incessantly, the midfielder was Hull's most tenacious player and his combative style merited a goal when Chelsea failed to deal with a free-kick. The award was controversial enough - Chelsea disputing Alan Riley's opinion that Jose Bosingwa had tugged the shirt of Hunt - and when Andy Dawson's strike sailed into the penalty area it was only half-cleared as far as George Boateng, whose shot cannoned off Ashley Cole and John Obi Mikel to allow Hunt to steer the ball into an unguarded net. But Chelsea gathered themselves, erasing the perceived injustice with a fine set piece of their own. Seyi Olofinjana was penalised for holding on to Mikel and Drogba, having lined up a 25-yard free-kick, unleashed a drive that dipped comfortably beyond Boaz Myhill and into the far right corner. There were chances, too many of them, for Chelsea to move out of sight in the second half, and until the death they were too toothless to convert. Drogba twiced forced fine saves from Myhill, as Bosingwa also threatened. As the Ivorian finally found the space, with seconds left, to clip a finish beyond the Hull goalkeeper - a goal remarkable for the acuteness of the angle - Ancelotti could be thankful that Chelsea have held on to Drogba. Here was a performance to counter all the comment that the club needed this summer to bring in more "marquee names." Save those for weddings.

Source: Telegraph