Football story by Vinnie Mitchell, Wed, 30 Nov 2005 08:08:00 GMT


Portsmouth's dismal record against Chelsea continued as they were outplayed by their opponents on Saturday night to lose 0-2. Though it was not exactly spectacular football, José Mourinho's boys' clinical performance saw them ensure an effortless victory over Portsmouth in Fratton Park.

Chelsea, who were feeling gung-ho after wins over Newcastle and Anderlecht in their previous outings, started with a spring in their steps. Paulo Ferreira came in for Asier Del Horno and William Gallas switched over as the left back.

Portsmouth tried to turn on the heat with aggressive play. But, it hardly troubled their opponents who countered it more with strategy and skill than physical play. After the game, Mourinho said: “My team is a strong team, a tough team with tough boys, players with a lot of confidence and not typical 'big players' who are afraid of the physical game.” Ricardo Carvalho came up with a superb performance as he took his team into the lead.

A Paulo Ferreira shot was redirected by Hernan Crespo to Carvalho who did the rest. At the half-time, Portsmouth players' shoulders drooped as they knew that Chelsea had not conceded a goal in the second-half in the last 19 games. Their performance also gave them no hopes of changing this trend.

Joe Cole had been was challenged repeatedly throughout the game and Portsmouth paid the price for that when Dejan Stefanovic came up with a severe foul to give a penalty to Chelsea that sealed their fate.

However, Cole continued his play unperturbed. Each time he was in possession of the ball, he managed to veer the ball in the opposition net's direction. The home supporters, nevertheless, felt hard done by as they accused him of feigning the foul by booing and jeering him.

Jordan said: "I think stability is a great thing in bringing success to football clubs. It's important it's sorted out quickly because we don't want it dragging on. Having said that, they have to select the guy they think can do the job. If that takes an extra day or an extra week then so be it because the most important thing is they get the right man."

For Portsmouth Lomana LuaLua bent his back trying, but to no avail.

More Sporting Stuff