Blues fail to capitalise

Drogba marks return but Hull go toe-to-toe with leaders

By Peter Fraser   Last updated: 3rd February 2010   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Blues fail to capitalise

Drogba: Back among the goals

Man of the match: Stephen Hunt. He gave a terrific all-action display.

Moment of the match: Boaz Myhill's late save from Daniel Sturridge was crucial.

Attempt of the match: Didier Drogba's goal was a peach of a finish

Save of the match: Myhill from Sturridge as the clock ticked down.

Talking point: Title race remains wide open as Chelsea only take a point.

Goal of the game: Drogba's exquisite free-kick.

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Chelsea failed to take full advantage of their game in hand at the top of the Premier League as Didier Drogba could only mark his return with an equaliser in a 1-1 draw at relegation-threatened Hull City.

The build-up to the match had centred on the furore surrounding John Terry, and Steven Mouyokolo had threatened to pile further misery on the under-fire Chelsea and England captain with a headed goal in the 30th minute.

However, Drogba, back from African Cup of Nations action, equalised three minutes before half-time as he expertly curled a free-kick around a shoddy Hull wall to embarrass Boaz Myhill.

The draw allowed Chelsea to extend their lead over second-placed Manchester United but only to two points which was far from the advantage boss Carlo Ancelotti would have wanted.

Terry himself had been named as Chelsea's captain for the second match, having nodded the Blues to three points at Burnley on Saturday, since allegations of his private life hit the headlines.

After a so-called 'super injunction' was overturned by the High Court, widespread reports have stated that the centre-back had an affair with the ex-girlfriend of England team-mate Wayne Bridge, and rumours suggest that further revelations are imminent.

Debate surrounding Terry's suitability as England skipper has therefore increased in magnitude since the outing at Turf Moor and a meeting with Fabio Capello regarding the subject is predicted to take place on Thursday evening or Friday morning.

The 29-year-old, though, was a relative passenger and seemed unaffected by constant booing when joined in club manager Ancelotti's starting XI by Drogba and the returning Ricardo Carvalho.

England left-back Ashley Cole was on the bench as a precaution due to injury, while Hull showed just one change from their 2-2 draw with Wolves as Craig Fagan replaced Bernard Mendy, with January loan signing Amr Zaki a substitute.

Terry was greeted by taunts from those already inside the KC Stadium when he emerged from the dressing room to lead his side out for their pre-match warm-up and Hull seemed intent on offering the defender a similarly difficult start to the match.

Infamous weakness

A couple of early Stephen Hunt set-plays, an infamous weakness of Ancelotti's side, had the Chelsea backline under the nose of the nervous Petr Cech, but the Blues soon found a bit of stability.

Frank Lampard unleashed a trademark, swerving long-range effort which Myhill did well to palm but the Hull goalkeeper was fortunate to see Nicolas Anelka surprisingly make a hash of the rebound as the Frenchman mishit.

Hull, however, continued to pressure their opponents while Chelsea were struggling for rhythm as Michael Ballack, usually a reliable figure in the air, headed a Branislav Ivanovic cross at Myhill.

Shortly after, Ivanovic's clumsiness at the other end of the field was exposed. The Serb has had a consistent season but he can at times look leaden footed and a trip on Jozy Altidore earned a booking.

The resulting free-kick was headed behind by Carvalho and from the corner Hunt demonstrated why Hull spent the winter transfer window rejecting Wolves' advances as his perfect delivery was headed home by Mouyokolo on the half-hour mark.

Cech had been unable to make an attempt to claim the set-piece due to a cunning shield from Fagan, which had doubtless been prepared to take advantage of the goalkeeper's recent anxieties.

Jitters appeared to be spreading to the rest of the Chelsea team as a final ball was lacking and chants of, 'Terry, Terry what's the score?' rang around the KC Stadium but the home fans' confidence proved misplaced.

Failure

On 42 minutes Drogba demonstrated why Ancelotti has been so keen to welcome back his star man as, after George Boateng brought down Anelka on the edge of the area, the striker curled a free-kick around Hull's wall to beat Myhill at his post.

Anthony Gardner, who scored a howler of an own goal against Wolves, wasted a glorious chance to regain the lead for his side on the stroke of full-time as the defender headed over the bar.

The second half began as the first had concluded, only with a different guilty party, as Altidore wasted a headed chance when flicking on a free-kick, which had been awarded after Terry had been booked for bringing down the Hull man.

Hull's failure to make the opportunity count became increasingly wasteful as the home side found themselves on the back foot when Ivanovic and Drogba tested Myhill before Paul McShane was booked for tugging at Ballack's shirt.

Tigers boss Phil Brown introduced Zaki in place of the ineffective Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink on 65 minutes, and Ancelotti responded shortly after as Joe Cole entered at the expense of Ballack.

Chelsea were pushing towards the closing stages but Hull were giving as good as they got, although both teams were guilty of a wastefulness in possession.

Ancelotti played his final gamble as he brought on Ashley Cole and Daniel Sturridge to bring Anelka and Yuri Zhirkov's evenings to an end but the changes made little difference.

Sturridge almost grabbed his side a dramatic win when he hit a left-footed volley towards the Hull goal in injury-time, however, Myhill dived low to palm away the danger and frustrate Chelsea.

Hull CityTeam StatisticsChelsea
1Goals1
11st Half Goals1
2Shots on Target8
4Shots off Target11
3Blocked Shots3
6Corners9
13Fouls14
0Offsides2
1Yellow Cards3
0Red Cards0
69Passing Success81.8
20Tackles34
75Tackles Success61.8
34Possession66
49.3Territorial Advantage50.7

Comments (10)

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Dave Elwood (Hull City fan) says...

Frank Wade, Using terms such as 'sorry excuse' and 'poor' for a team that just held you to 1 - 1 (but could have won had we taken our chances) is harsh. City gave a good account of themselves last night, and on that performance Chelsea look way off title winners. Have a bit or respect.

Posted 09:37 3rd February 2010

Dan Lamplough (Hull City fan) says...

I'm afraid chelsea were played off the park and in my opinion lucky to get away with a draw! Although the write up above tells the tales of the key points in the game, i don't believe it gives Hull the credit they deserve for one of their best performances this season! -and unfortunately Mr JT, you earn your money to be in the public eye. Naughty boys should take their flack if they are going to take their wage packet.

Posted 09:10 3rd February 2010

Marty Havern (Chelsea fan) says...

why does everyone keep giving jt stick what he does in his private life its his business no-one elses and why do the media have to bring his private life into in a match report its getting as bad as the daily papers please just concentrate about the football

Posted 23:07 2nd February 2010

Ben Cliff (Manchester United fan) says...

Is this the start of Chelskis demise? JT and his antics could open the door for Man United to now press on and surpass LIverpool as Englands most sucessfull club side ever?

Posted 22:09 2nd February 2010

Frank Wade says...

I'm sorry but this just isn't good enough. It's pathetic to drop points to these sorrry excuses for clubs. We might as well have gift wrapped the title for United as it's as good as theirs now. The players we have we should be blitzing teams like this 6 or 7. But YET AGAIN we falter against poor opposition. And in this case poor is the understatement of the year. Get back in league 2 Hull, you won't be missed. A livid Chelsea fan.

Posted 22:08 2nd February 2010

A G (Chelsea fan) says...

unlucky chelsea ......... but you still have a 2 point advantage keep up the good work . regardless of what happened off the field jt is a great player/leader what dont every 1 lay off him in match talk he is playing footballand doing well give him credit where its due .on the football pitch i dont condone what he has done but i bet he is not the first to have put there self in that position and i wouldnt say he will be the last . stay foucused jt whats done is done look forward and move on ....... chelsea for the league

Posted 22:07 2nd February 2010

Dan Harmer (Manchester United fan) says...

A big well done to Hull tonight looked threatening at times and did well to withstand late pressure from an under par Chelsea side, if u can play to this standard for rest of the season u should stay up. Two points dropped for the blues tonight yeah fergie will have a glass of red later could be a big weekend in the title race if arsenal can recover from the hiding we gave them. Although this season anything could happen lol lastly well done drogba someone has got to try and keep up with ROONEY for the golden boot

Posted 22:05 2nd February 2010

Craig Smith (Manchester United fan) says...

As a Manchester United fan this is an amazing result for us!!! At the moment Utd are playing some quality football and Nani/Rooney have been top notch of late... Hopefully this slip up by Chelsea will effect their momentum and help Utd pip to the title!!! Come on the DEVILS!!!!! Big up the TIGERS you've done us proud hopefully you can do the City over next... C'mon Browny

Posted 21:56 2nd February 2010

Jon Bindra (Manchester United fan) says...

GET IN THERE YOU HULL WELL PLAYED

Posted 21:50 2nd February 2010

Matthew Mcleod (Chelsea fan) says...

Champions win crucial matches. Until the Blues start doing this, any talk of them winning the title should be kept quiet.

Posted 21:49 2nd February 2010
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