Deadly Drogba sees off Newcastle

In action: Mikel and Butt vie for the ball
14 April 2012
Newcastle 0 Chelsea 1

When in doubt, Jose Mourinho can always call upon Didier Drogba and last night the striker came off the bench for the second time in a week to break Newcastle hearts.

Drogba has become the Geordies' destroyer. In six games, he has scored five times against Newcastle and his winner at St James' Park kept Chelsea on track for four trophies, while closing another cup chapter for desperate Newcastle.

Like thousands of unhappy Newcastle supporters, former boss Sir Bobby Robson, who was finally back in the directors' box as chairman Freddy Shepherd's guest, will be familiar with that sinking feeling.

Drogba was a victorious Marseille player when he almost singlehandedly killed off Newcastle in the 2004 UEFA Cup semi-final and ruined yet another cup dream.

His superb free-kick came six minutes after replacing Andriy Shevchenko, although it was not without controversy. Newcastle supporters were unhappy with Arjen Robben's theatrical fall under Nicky Butt's sliding tackle, although it was a foul.

Drogba then discreetly moved the ball to the edge of the area before playing a short free-kick with Michael Ballack and shot goalwards.

Shay Given, perhaps anticipating a cross from the Ivory Coast captain, came off his line to meet the ball but could only parry the shot into his top corner.

Drogba said: "I always try to give everything I can for the team but it's very difficult to come in from the bench. Frank Lampard came on and made a difference and so did Michael Ballack — it's very important to have a strong bench for different competitions."

Newcastle boss Glenn Roeder was upset the free-kick was not taken from the correct place. He said: "I questioned one or two of my players for not recognising the ball had been moved slightly but Nobby Solano said he asked the referee several times to move the ball to where the incident happened and he refused to do that."

The delighted Drogba sprinted to the Chelsea bench to celebrate, embracing several team-mates and Mourinho in the process, but Shevchenko was nowhere to be seen after he stormed down the tunnel following his withdrawal.

The Ukraine international has done little to endear himself to his manager since his £31million move from AC Milan and although he hit the post with the visitors' only first-half chance, his night on a freezing but fog-free Tyneside, was another missed opportunity.

Mourinho's assistant Steve Clarke tried to play down the incident and said all three substitutions were pre-planned. But after taking high-fives from Drogba by the touchline, Shevchenko was involved in a heated exchange with the bench before storming off to the dressing room.

It was not the only moment of disharmony by the dug-out. Mourinho sprang from the bench brandishing an imaginary yellow card after Butt's challenge, which seemed a strange move in the light of his earlier contrition towards Everton striker Andrew Johnson.

Roeder was clearly perturbed by his actions, although it all ended in smiles and embraces. It was one of the few moments Roeder could smile.

The Newcastle manager flooded his midfield with bodies and, after early Chelsea pressure, the home side had the better opportunities. While Michael Essien embarrassed himself with wild and weary shots from all over, Butt and Kieron Dyer warmed Henrique Hilario's hands with long-range shots.

And Obafemi Martins appeared to have given Newcastle the opener with a wonderful shot in the 27th minute which beat Mourinho's emergency goalkeeper, smashed against his bar and bounced on the line.

Linesman David Babski had an instant to make a decision — ruling in favour of the champions — while television replays being played into the early hours were still not conclusive.

Roeder said: "I trust the people who have seen it and they say it is impossible to say exactly whether it crossed the line or not. The consensus is that it didn't."

Dyer was denied by Hilario late on, while Drogba was fortunate that the referee failed to spot his push on substitute Antoine Sibierski three minutes from time.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in