Coventry 0 Chelsea 2: Hiddink's men stay on the trophy trail

08 March 2009 00:31
A few moments after the final whistle, Guus Hiddink was asked for his reaction to reaching an FA Cup semi-final. He said he was pleased with the result and satisfied with the performance. He added: 'Coventry are not a difficult team to play.' The Chelsea coach realised his error immediately. He winced, apologised for his English and insisted that Coventry had, in fact, been extremely difficult opponents. And although Hiddink seems an honest man, nobody believed him. For Chelsea's progress to the last four was almost indecently simple. They went through their paces, ticked their boxes, completed their chores and accepted their reward without spilling a drop of surplus sweat. The anticipated gap in class was revealed as a chasm. They have surely experienced more arduous examinations on the training ground. Even those of us who still detect a dusting of magic in the oldest Cup competition in the world cannot begin to defend such palpable mismatches at the quarter-final stage. It is traditional to console the underdogs by claiming that they gave it a real go, never conceded an inch, did themselves proud. In reality, none of those cliches rings particularly true. Coventry were unduly cautious, indifferently organised and utterly devoid of guile. Take away the odd, vaguely neanderthal long throw from Aron Gunnarsson and they offered nothing to hurt Chelsea. Not until the game was dead and buried in the last 15 minutes did they even contemplate genuine enterprise as opposed to dour containment. Best-laid plans go awry: Alex tackles Coventry's Leon Best Coventry's manager Chris Coleman, while admitting that his men had been beaten out of sight by a vastly superior football team, erected a daft little smokescreen by suggesting that the referee Steve Bennett had been on overly friendly terms with the Chelsea stars, that he had spoken dismissively to the honest yeomen of Coventry. In short, that he had been a trifle 'smug'. It was a curious distraction, almost Warnockian in its paranoia, and the best we can say is that his heart was not really in it. He had been rather more frank in his programme notes, where he announced: 'We have always said that the League is the most important thing.' Which is rather sad, if undeniably true. The Coventry public were rather more enthusiastic. They maintained the noise from start to finish, bawling their support for a lost cause and cheerfully abusing their Chelsea player of choice. Back in the old routine: Ashley Cole in action at the Ricoh Arena despite being fined over his late-night brush with the law Frank Lampard was lightly burned and Didier Drogba energetically derided. But, inevitably, the heaviest flak was reserved for Ashley Cole. Throughout the 90 minutes, his every touch was greeted with a barrage of boos. He affected indifference, but on occasion he looked quite hurt. For Ashley knows, better than most, just what boos can do to a man. Yet these diverting sideshows could not divert the inevitable course of the game. Within two minutes of a dire first half, Drogba was whipping a self-made opportunity past the far post. After 15 soporific minutes, an innocuous ball came drifting towards the Coventry back line. Scott Dann had two chances to clear, and declined both. Drogba seized the subsequent chance with punitive efficiency. From there on, it became a lesson in pass and move, with Chelsea possession secure beyond challenge and the odd half-chance emerging from their total domination. The wonder was that half-time arrived with only a goal's difference between the sides, the more so since Coventry's central defenders were the football equivalent of 'walking wickets'. Chelsea brought on Ricardo Quaresma for Salomon Kalou at the interval, and later felt sufficiently at ease to involve the massively influential Michael Essien for the last 25 minutes. Six minutes later, the game was put to bed. It was a curiously assembled goal. Drogba and his central defender team-mate Alex clashed heads inside the Chelsea box. After treatment, they demanded to return as Gunnarsson wound himself up for yet another throw. Referee Bennett held them back, then waved them on as the ball was contested. It was knocked clear to Quaresma, who made urgent strides down the right, saw the pass early and played it perfectly. Alex, careering forward, met the cross with a striker's precision. Poor old Coleman worked hard to find something sinister in Bennett's conduct at that throw but, once again, his heart was not in it. So Chelsea came sauntering home, with a Wembley semi-final secure and Juventus appearing on their radar for a Champions League collision on Tuesday. Their season could yet be memorable, as they continue to fight on several fronts. But one thing is certain: the next few weeks will offer all manner of tests. And every one will be infinitely more demanding than yesterday's gentle stroll in the Warwickshire sunshine. COVENTRY (4-3-1-2): Westwood; Wright, Dann, Turner, Hall; Henderson, Doyle (Beuzelin 59min), Gunnarsson; Eastwood; Morrison, Best. Subs (not used): Marshall, Ward, Osbourne, McPake, Simpson, Thornton. Booked: Beuzelin. CHELSEA (4-3-3): Cech; Bosingwa, Alex, Terry, A Cole; Ballack, Mikel (Essien 65), Lampard; Kalou (Quaresma 46), Drogba (Di Santo 80), Malouda. Subs (not used): Hilario, Carvalho, Quaresma, Belletti, Mancienne. Referee: S Bennett (Kent).  

Source: Daily_Mail