Source: Telegraph
FA Cup final: Chelsea v Portsmouth live
CHELSEA WIN THE FA CUP![LNB]FULL-TIME: Chelsea 1 Portsmouth 0 [LNB] Related ArticlesChelsea v Portsmouth: match centreDouble joy for ChelseaChelsea v Portsmouth previewChelsea's final act of passion playAnelka slams Grant in new bookAncelotti's roots hide an aristocrat's charmPortsmouth's final hurrahFA Cup final suits and bootsAncelotti has respect for wounded PortsmouthRead a full match report here[LNB]Carlo Ancelotti's first season in charge ends with the double as Chelsea become the sixth club to retain the famous trophy. And Ashley Cole has set a new record by claiming his sixth FA Cup winner's medal. [LNB]But what of Portsmouth? Their players are disconsolate on the pitch and one wonders how many of their side will ever wear the shirt again. [LNB]From Henry Winter on Twitter - "All over...Chelsea do Double. Ancelotti very dignified...walked over to console devastated Grant. Carlo should be Manager of the Year"[LNB]John Terry has had a microphone thrust into his face already. "It's unbelievable," he said. "It (the double) has never been done in the club's history and to do it with this group of players feels so special. I thought our luck was out but what a great free-kick from Didier." [LNB]Terry was clearly unimpressed with the infamous Wembley surface, though, adding: "The pitch ruined the final. It's probably the worst pitch we've played on all year." [LNB]89th min: MISSED! Frank Lampard has dragged his penalty kick wide of David James' right-hand post. It's the first time ever that a penalty has been missed, where the goalkeeper hasn't even had to make a save, in a FA Cup final at Wembley. And two missed pens in a FA Cup final has never happened either... until now. [LNB]88th min: Penalty to Chelsea. Frank Lampard has been brought down by Michael Brown. No arguments from Pompey's players. [LNB]85th min: Nadir Belhadj has been a revelation for Portsmouth since coming on, delivering two delicious crosses that, on another day, could, and probably should, have been converted. He would have been a starter but for lack of fitness having been away with Algeria. [LNB]80th min: Great chance for Portsmouth and if Aruna Dindane has been a bit more aware it would be 1-1. Superb first-time ball from Nadir Belhadj is fired across the Chelsea goal, clipping the knee of John Terry, and if Dindane had just stuck his leg out he would have diverted the ball into the net. Certainly a wake-up call to Chelsea that Portsmouth are still very much in this game. [LNB]73rd min: Portsmouth ring the changes too, Kevin-Prince Boateng (whose dream has turned into a bit of a nightmare) off and John Utaka on. David James starts yelling at his team-mates as Pompey heads begin to drop. Chelsea's players still looks fresh, while their opponets are looking a tad heavy-legged. [LNB]69th min: Substitution for Chelsea. Salomon Kalou comes off and on goes Joe Cole. It's not really been Kalou's day. He's run his socks off but it's fair to say he forgot to put his shooting boots on this morning. [LNB]62nd min: Almost 2-0 to Chelsea. Salomon Kalou, desperate to atone for his shocking miss in the first half, clips the ball narrowly wide of David James' right-hand post. [LNB]58th min: GOAL! Chelsea 1 Portsmouth 0[LNB]Didier Drogba has just belted in a free-kick from 20 yards out, in off the post. The Portsmouth wall was a complete joke. [LNB]57th min: From Henry Winter on Twitter - "Boateng pen saved by Chelsea's Cech....at half-time Dave Beasant had been in that goal saving pens from fans, '88 echoes" [LNB]56th min: SAVED! Petr Cech's legs keep out Kevin-Prince Boateng's spot-kick. It was such a poor effort, scuffed straight down the middle. Pompey fans are going mental (in a bad way). [LNB]54th min: Penalty to Portsmouth. Aruna Dindane has been brought down in the box by substitute Juliano Belletti. Pompey fans are going mental (in a good way). [LNB]50th min: Spectacular attempt by Kevin-Prince Boateng that wasn't too far away from a tight angle. An inquest is currently going on amongst the Chelsea defenders. There must be a nagging doubt creeping into the Chelsea players' minds that maybe, after all their chances, lady luck is simply not smiling down on them. [LNB]47th min: We're under way again and if the second 45 minutes is anything like the first then we're in for a real treat. Can Portsmouth's goal really remain unpenetrated? Pompey have kept a clean sheet in their last four games at Wembley, but luck can only last for so long, surely. [LNB]45th min: From Mark Ogden on Twitter - "can we get over this 'biggest shock ever' if Pompey beat Chelsea? PL team beats PL team. Hardly Sunderland beating Leeds in '73 is it?" [LNB]45th min: Having seen a replay of the David James save where he palmed Didier Drogba's 38th-minute free-kick onto the bar, one thing is certain, what a save! It could even be one of the best saves ever made in a FA Cup final because that ball was certainly flying. [LNB]Debate still rages as to who England manager Fabio Capello should pick as his first-choice No 1, and James will have done his cause no harm after 45 minutes here at Wembley. [LNB]But who is your choice for England between the sticks? Pick your England side for the World Cup in South Africa[LNB]45th min: HALF-TIME: Chelsea 0 Portsmouth 0 [LNB]The pitch may be patchy but, as far as Portsmouth are concerned, the goal posts are in excellent shape as the match, somehow, finishes all square after 45 minutes. Chelsea have hit the woodwork five times, and have had 75 per cent of the ball over the line, but David James remains unbeaten. How? God only knows. [LNB]41st min: Didier Drogba has just hit the woodwork again. The Portsmouth goal certainly is living a very charmed life. Drogba is unimpressed, to say the least, and shows the post just what he thinks by giving it a slap. [LNB]Meanwhile, Michael Ballack has had to be substituted. [LNB]38th min: Chelsea have hit the cross bar AGAIN! Was it a goal? Yes it was... no it wasn't... yes it was... no it wasn't... even TV replays are inconclusive. The ensuing free-kick from the foul on Michael Ballack was struck so ferociously by Didier Drogba that David James could only palm the ball onto the bar and, at first glance, it looked like it had then dropped behind the goal line. [LNB]Was the whole of the ball behind the line, though? Maybe not, but it was certainly 75 per cent of it. [LNB]37th min: Michael Ballack is back on his feet, but he's walking off the pitch very gingerly. England fans hold their breath every time Wayne Rooney goes down and Germany supporters will be doing exactly the same now, what with their World Cup captain limping. [LNB]35th min: First yellow card of the game goes to Kevin-Prince Boateng for a nasty challenge on Michael Ballack. The German midfielder looks in trouble, he still hasn't got up yet. [LNB]33rd min: From Henry Winter on Twitter - "Unbelievable save by Chelsea's Cech from Piquionne. Unbelievable miss by Kalou. Six yards out... bar... spirit of Ronny Rosenthal lives on" [LNB]30th min: Portsmouth are really riding their luck at the moment as John Terry also hits the cross bar, this time with a header. Camera pans to Avram Grant, who is busy scribbling down notes. Could he be totting up all the chances Chelsea are having? If that's the case, he's going to need a bigger pad. [LNB]26th min: Salomon Kalou has just produced the worst miss in an FA Cup final. In front of goal, just feet from the goal line, an empty net gaping, with David James stranded, the Ivory Coast striker has shinned the ball on to the cross bar. To quote Harry Redknapp: "My granny would have scored that."[LNB]23rd min: What a chance!! Portsmouth should be leading 1-0 and only Freddy Piquionne will know how he hasn't given the underdogs the lead. A volley on the edge of the area from Kevin-Prince Boateng flew to Piquionne about a yard in front of goal and somehow he struck it within range of Petr Cech who was able to palm it away. A worse touch from the Frenchman and it would definitely have been a goal. [LNB]20th min: Sensational football from Chelsea has just ripped the Portsmouth defence apart and a better attempt from Didier Drogba would have led to the game's first goal. There certainly didn't look much wrong with the pitch then, with nay a bobble in sight. [LNB]16th min: Chelsea have won seven of their last eight matches in all competitions, averaging 4.5 goals per game, and if they keep pinning Pompey back like they are in the early stages of this match then David James could be in for a busy afternoon. [LNB]13th min: Frank Lampard has had three shots on goal already with the third striking the outside of the post. Chelsea are already beginning to take a measure of control. Portsmouth must be careful not to be hemmed into their own half. [LNB]10th min: It's been a fairly even start so far, with the scruffy Wembley pitch not really suiting Chelsea's passing game. It could, in fact, be a great leveller. O'Hara has just waved towards the touchline. No sure whether it's to signal to Avram Grant that he's struggling or he's simply having a moan at one of his team-mates. [LNB]6th min: From Henry Winter on Twitter - "key role for Portsmouth's O'Hara here, disrupting Chelsea supply-lines coming through quarterback Ballack" [LNB]4th min: Frank Lampard has just had the first chance of the game, firing inches wide of David James' left-hand post and I'm not sure if the England 'keeper would have got there had it been on target. Lampard is going to be a real threat, he has 27 goals this season and 11 in his last nine matches. [LNB]2nd min: We're off and the ball is bobbling about on the Wembley surface already. It really does look bad. John Terry has already had to deal with an awkward roll and it's hardly going to fill the goalkeeper's with confidence when the ball is played back to them. [LNB]15.00: First blood to Portsmouth, David James has won the toss and earns choice of end. Could this be a sign? [LNB]14.55: Massive day for Ashley Cole. The England left-back could become the first ever player to win the FA cup on six different occasions. [LNB]14.50: From Mark Ogden on Twitter - "red collar on Chelsea kit makes them look like Rangers" [LNB]14.45: Fabio Capello is in attendance as the noise level in the stadium rises to 11. Henry Lyte's 'Abide with Me' echoes throughout and the fans are even joining in. [LNB]14.40: It's not often that you can associate Charles Dickens with football but in this instance, when one of the world's richest clubs comes up against one of the game's poorest, a team in financial turmoil, it seems rather apt. This really is a Tale of Two Cities and Pompey have gone through 'the best of times and the worst of times'. [LNB]14.35: Chelsea will wear their first choice colours, of blue shirts, blue shorts and white socks, while Portsmouth will switch to white shirts, burgundy shorts and burgundy socks - the club's original 19th Century colours. David James is in pink. [LNB]14.30: David James: "Portsmouth Football Club is the classic example of what can go right and what can go very wrong."[LNB]14.25: The players are out on the pitch going through their warm-ups. It's been a very tough season for Pompey and a win today would be a fairytale finish. [LNB]And speaking of fantasies, the players have just been compared to fairytale characters by some desperate TV fillers ahead of kick-off. Kevin Prince-Boateng is (apparently) the Prince, Michael Brown (Dragon), Papa Bouba Diop (Giant), Freddy Piquionne (Hunter), Kanu (King), Tommy Smith (Tom Thumb), Aaron Mokoena (Ogre), Tal Ben-Haim (Donkey), David James (Peter Pan), Aruna Dindane (Wizard) and Avram Grant (Pied Piper). [LNB]14.20: Teams are in folks. Joe Cole starts on the bench for Chelsea, meaning Ancelotti has named an unchanged side. [LNB]Right-back Branislav Ivanovic has recovered from a slight knee injury to retain his place in the defence. [LNB]As mentioned earlier, O'Hara is fit enough to start, even though he is struggling with a back injury. [LNB]Portsmouth's attack is spearheaded by Frederic Piquionne and Aruna Dindane. [LNB]Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Alex, Terry, Ashley Cole, Lampard, Ballack, Malouda, Anelka, Drogba, Kalou.Subs: Hilario, Joe Cole, Zhirkov, Paulo Ferreira, Sturridge, Matic, Belletti. [LNB]Portsmouth: James, Finnan, Rocha, Mokoena, Mullins, Brown, Diop, Boateng, O'Hara, Piquionne, Dindane.Subs: Ashdown, Utaka, Vanden Borre, Hughes, Ben-Haim, Kanu, Belhadj. [LNB]Referee: Chris Foy (Merseyside) [LNB]14.15: ITV have just done an interview with Ashley Cole with the question posed, 'medals or popularity?'. No points for guessing which answer Ash gave. However, he was also asked 'Chelsea double or England win World Cup?'... his answer... Chelsea double. [LNB]14.10: Here's a great pub quiz question. Portsmouth have become the fifth side to participate in the FA Cup final and be relegated in the same season, but who are the others? [LNB]Answer: Manchester City in 1926, Leicester in 1969, Brighton in 1983 and Middlesbrough in 1997. [LNB]And for a bonus point... all four lost. [LNB]14.00: Quick news flash. Jamie O'Hara plays for Portsmouth, despite having a double stress fracture of the spine. The man is bionic! [LNB]13.50: Some sneaky team news from Henry Winter - "At Wembley. Looks like Yebda struggling so Diop steps into Portsmouth midfield. O'Hara behind Piquionne upfront. No Utaka. Ivanovic looks ok" [LNB]13.47: A few quick stats for you while we wait to find out what the teams will be. As we all know, the romance of the Cup can spring all sorts of surprises but, if you're a Pompey fan, you might want to look away now. [LNB]Portsmouth have failed to beat Chelsea in their last 27 meetings, in all competitions, and since Portsmouth beat Chelsea 1-0 in a League Cup tie, in Dec 1960, the teams have met 27 times, with the London club winning 21 games and the remaining six finishing in draws. [LNB]13.45: The Wembley pitch has come in for plenty of stick already, and the teams haven't even started playing on it yet. Words such as "uneven", "strange", "sandy", "brown" and "poor", to name but a few. [LNB]13.40: From Henry Winter on Twitter - Chelsea 'Handshake Watch' reopens. 'Grant used to look down on me,' says Anelka in book serialised in Sun. & 'I knew I'd miss' Moscow pen [LNB]13.35: The tension between the two teams has been ranked up a notch prior to kick-off thanks to Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka. The Frenchman has hit out at Portsmouth manager Avram Grant for supposedly belittling him. [LNB]The 31-year-old will come up against his old boss, who managed him at Chelsea for six months in 2008. [LNB]In his new book, published on Sunday, Anelka says: "Grant used to look down on me. It was as though he felt I should be grateful and not ask for anything. The pretext for this was I had been brought in from Bolton." [LNB]13.30: Good afternoon and welcome to Telegraph Sports live blog from the FA Cup final between Chelsea and Portsmouth at Wembley. [LNB]Fans from both teams have flocked to Wembley early, to soak up the atmosphere ahead of the 129th FA Cup final, on what is a gloriously sunny day in London. [LNB]TV cameras have been trained on team hotels and coaches all morning waiting for their first glimpe of the players. [LNB]The two teams have played three times previously in the FA Cup, with one win apiece and one game drawn. [LNB]For more pre-match analysis why not fill a few unforgiving minutes by reading John Ley's preview. [LNB]
