Match Report: Feyenoord 0 Chelsea 1
Tuesday, Aug 08, 2006
Chelsea battled and showed much improved sharpness to beat a strong Feyenoord side on their own ground thanks to a second-half Frank Lampard goal set up by good combination work from Andriy Shevchenko and Didier Drogba.
But the two didn’t start. It was Shevchenko up front with Kalou and Robben. And Chelsea escaped in the last minute when Feyenoord hit a post.
Before kick-off a warmly appreciative home crowd applauded Salomon Kalou whom Feyenoord have just sold to Chelsea. He was presented with a bouquet and reciprocated the applause. It was one of those genuinely touching moments between fans and a player.
Feyenoord fans then went on full attack. The ground was packed, the flares and confetti were here, the singing was fanatical. The ground had been half-full for the visit of Middlesbrough on Saturday. This was the big one.
Chelsea scout André Villas had been here Saturday as he watched our second Premier League opponents Middlesbrough. Tonight, Kevin Hitchcock and Eddie Niedzwiecki were here watching for Blackburn, our third opponents.
Chelsea’s front three was full of mobility. All three switched right to centre to left and vice-versa constantly.
But without Terry, Chelsea looked vulnerable early on in the centre of defence. Ferreira and Carvalho had already had to juggle themselves out of trouble once when Kuyt was judged to have beaten the offside trap, Cudicini couldn’t hold his deflected cross and had to block at his feet when the ball went back to him. Six minutes had gone.
But Lodewijks had to pull off the first save of the sunny evening when Shevchenko had been fouled and Robben’s driven free-kick was deflected by a Feyenoord defender leaving the keeper stretched to push over for Chelsea’s second corner.
Feyenoord looked good in attack where
left-winger Kolkka was sharp ![]()
and Kuyt led the line with touch, movement and purpose. He started out looking a very fine target man.
Chelsea still seemed well short of maximum sharpness, but when Robben’s wonderful pass set Kalou away, it looked Chelsea at our best. On this occasion Lodewijks saved bravely at his feet. Robben, as a former PSV Eindhoven man, was jeered as much as Kalou was cheered.
Increasingly, Chelsea looked more mobile, especially Shevchenko and Robben who had struggled in Chicago. Ballack was imperious as ever with his touch, although he fired over when his first chance came his way. He beat the air with disgust.
A great move between Ballack, Lampard, Shevchenko and Robben finished with the latter lobbing Lodewijks but putting the ball over the bar. He collided with the on-coming keeper who required treatment. More jeers for our Dutchman.
Robben set himself up for further jeers when his challenge on Drenthe led to the full-back being carried off. The collision was accidental and there was no foul. Hofs replaced him, going into midfield with Bosschaart dropping to left-back.
The game was certainly competitive. Spiky De Ceulaer was booked for kicking out at Ballack before outjumping the Chelsea defence and slicing a header not far wide.
At half-time it had been a good work out, but the only effort on target by either side had been Feyenoord’s deflection toward their own goal.
In the second-half Ferreira moved to left-back with Terry coming on for Bridge to play centre-half, and Drogba replaced Robben. But it remained 4-3-3.
The first effort on goal by a player form his own team was Drogba’s in the 51st minute when he headed Lampard’s free-kick slightly too tamely to cause Lodewijks problems. It was Drogba who had been fouled in the first place.
One minute later Lampard opened the scoring. Shevchenko and Drogba teamed up brilliantly before Shevchenko’s final ball was latched on to by charging Lampard who delicately flicked it over the spreading Lodewijks. How pleased everyone was. The first goal of pre-season, and an absolute gem!
Two minutes later Shevchenko lobbed over Lampard’s quickly taken free-kick having first chested it down. That was after a slightly spiteful foul on Ballack. Chelsea were finding rhythm and tempo. Shevchenko was frustrated beyond his own belief.
Terry’s presence in the centre of defence, meanwhile, made such a physical difference as he headed away the high balls and battered out Kuyt’s shot with his head.
An angry Lodewijks left the pitch after he had been clattered by Kalou, lightly in British terms, and gestured that he had dislocated or strained his finger. Kalou had athletically back-heeled the ball into the net when it fell, and it was a shame for him the goal wasn’t given. It was all another example of the competitiveness of the game. Timmer came on.
Mourinho then made a double substitution, Wright-Phillips and Diarra for Shevchenko and Essien.
Lampard had already been having a good game, but increasingly he took midfield by the scruff of its neck. He was back to running the show with devastating passes. Drogba was also sharp, attacking a corner won by Kalou as he chased another Lampard pass, and belting a shot which the fallen Timmer brilliantly turned round with an outstretched leg. Under 25 minutes of the second-half gone and three shots on target after none in the first. Chelsea’s superiority was beginning to manifest itself.
Feyenoord managed just their second shot in the 75th minute, a free-kick over the bar after a Carvalho foul. Before the free-kick had been taken Mourinho sent on Mikel for Lampard and Terry took back the captain’s armband.
Ballack missed another fine opportunity to open his Chelsea account when he headed over unchallenged from close range following Gérémi’s corner. Immediately Feyenoord went more attacking, sending a rather ancient looking van Hooijdonk for midfielder De Guzman. Kuyt now worked deeper and freer.
Drogba should have [put the match beyond Feyenoord when he exchanged passes with Kalou after good work by Diarra, but as he went past the goalkeeper in the throng of feet the chasing defender stuck one in and conceded a corner. Mikel took it, Terry volleyed it and the ball was cleared off the line for another corner. Chelsea had won five this half, eight in all.
With two minutes left 16 year old Michael Woods replaced the much appreciated Kalou. No shame about him being a Chelsea player!
In the last minute Chelsea faced another free-kick for another Carvalho edge-of-the-area foul. The Feyenoord fans clapped like they were at the Olympics supporting a long jumper, and Chelsea escaped when van Hooijdonk’s free-kick defeated the stationery Cudicini and rebounded off a post.
It would have been a pity to have thrown that result away, but it was a relief all the same.
Feyenoord (4-3-3) Lodewijks (Timmer 60); Collen, Greene, Vlaar, Drenthe (Hofs 34); Theo Lucius (Davids 86), De Guzman (van Hooijdonk 77), Bosschaart; De Ceulaer (Vincken 67), Kuyt (c), Kolkka.
Chelsea (4-3-3) Cudicini; Gérémi, Ferreira, Carvalho, Bridge (Terry h-t); Ballack, Essien (Diarra 62), Lampard (c) (Mikel 74); Kalou (Woods 88), Shevchenko (Wright-Phillips 62), Robben (Drogba h-t).
by Neil Barnett