The Times
Chelsea embrace new work ethic to break the resistance of Hart’s men
Portsmouth 0 Chelsea 1
Matt Hughes, Deputy Football Correspondent
Like his fabled young compatriot who stuck his finger in the dyke, Guus Hiddink does not shirk from seemingly impossible tasks. On his first day at Chelsea, the interim manager boldly announced that his side could catch Manchester United at the top of the Barclays Premier League and three weeks later they are hovering on their shoulder after three successive wins.
Sir Alex Ferguson will not have been too perturbed as he watched this stuttering Chelsea performance at a hotel in Newcastle before this evening’s engagement at St James’ Park, but the United manager will have recognised their fighting spirit. Like the Scot, Hiddink has the ability to imbue his players with an indomitable will to win and they needed it in dreadful conditions on a sodden South Coast, Didier Drogba settling a match that appeared to be slipping away from them with a 79th-minute goal to close United’s lead to four points.
“They’re an experienced team, but it’s good for everyone in this championship to have the pressure on the side at the top,” Hiddink said. “Four points gives me more pressure to put on them.”
Hiddink has a reputation for being a tactical genius, a deep thinker on the game with more theories than Pythagoras, but his impressive start at Chelsea has been based on something far more straightforward. By challenging his players to take greater responsibility, they are working harder and producing more for themselves and their team-mates. The Brazilian samba school has been replaced by a Dutch labour camp.
Ironically, the previously workshy Drogba has been the biggest beneficiary, with the Ivory Coast striker relishing the new regime. Drogba celebrated only his second Premier League goal of the season as if it had secured the title, but he retained enough energy to head clear a free kick from Niko Kranjcar in added time. A transformation indeed.
“Didier is making the difference in the last few games,” Hiddink said. “As long as he is so committed then he will make those goals as well. He was very happy with his goal. That was an emotional explosion.”
Drogba is not the only player to have exploded into life, as several of his team-mates have raised their game. Michael Ballack flew into tackles, Salomon Kalou threatened down the right and Petr Cech showed signs of regaining his best form, making a superb save from Sean Davis in the first half and denying David Nugent from close range in the second.
Frank Lampard has been a hard worker since the days when he stayed out until dusk practising free kicks on his own as a trainee at West Ham United, and the England midfield player was a class apart last night. Since signing a new contract last summer, Lampard has matured into the ultimate team player, alive to every situation and passing where he would previously have shot. In the first half alone, the 30-year-old released Kalou down the right with a great through-pass, picked out Ballack with a pinpoint corner that he headed over the bar and brought a good save from David James with a powerful left-foot shot.
Portsmouth, too, had their moments, and they have improved dramatically under Paul Hart, the interim manager, who deserves the opportunity that he has been given to keep them up. Hart’s secret has been to speak to the players in a language that they understand and, after being befuddled by Tony Adams, they have responded. With better finishing from Nugent and Kranjcar, they would have claimed a point, although if they can reproduce this performance regularly, they should clamber to safety.
Chelsea should not get too carried away, because all four wins under Hiddink have come by a single goal, but they have an outside chance of achieving their mission impossible.
— Portsmouth confirmed the appointment of Paul Hart as their interim manager last night, with Brian Kidd as his assistant. The club held a board meeting yesterday afternoon, attended by Alexandre Gaydamak, the owner, at which Hart’s appointment until the end of the season was ratified. Portsmouth had hoped to recruit Sven-Göran Eriksson, but he has stayed with Mexico, so Hart has been rewarded for steadying the ship since replacing Tony Adams last month.
Portsmouth (4-3-3): D James — G Johnson, S Campbell, S Distin, H Hreidarsson — H Mullins, N Kranjcar, S Davis — J Pennant (sub: J Utaka, 70min), P Crouch, D Nugent. Substitutes not used: A Begovic, Y Kaboul, N Pamarot, Kanu, A Basinas, N Belhadj.
Chelsea (4-1-2-3): P Cech — J Bosingwa, Alex, J Terry, A Cole — J O Mikel (sub: J Belletti, 57) — M Ballack (sub: M Mancienne, 90), F Lampard — S Kalou (sub: R Quaresma, 60), D Drogba, F Malouda. Substitutes not used: Hilário, B Ivanovic, F Di Santo, P Ferreira.
Referee: P Dowd.
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Telegraph:
Didier Drogba keeps Chelsea hoping of miracle
Didier Drogba maintained Chelsea’s outside chances of upsetting Manchester United’s march to five trophies with a goal 11 minutes from the end of a game played in a storm, the victory taking Chelsea to within four points of the leaders. By John Ley at Fratton Park United may have two games in hand – one on Wednesday night at Newcastle – but the intentions from a battling performance in difficult conditions were apparent, that Chelsea are refusing to give up the title lightly, with Drogba claiming his first League goal of 2009 and only his second in the Premier League this season.
Torrential rain fell before and during the game, making the Fratton Park pitch heavy in some places. And with the wind blowing off the Solent, it made for difficult conditions. The gusts were so strong early on, that players had trouble in keeping the ball steady at set-piece kicks.
Before the game, FA Cup holders Portsmouth, with help from four soldiers from the Royal Artillery, paraded the trophy around the stadium, with the PA announcer admitting it was the home fans’ last chance to see the Cup.
Chelsea fans butted in with cries of “cheerio, cheerio”, knowing that their name could be next of the trophy, particularly if they beat Coventry on Saturday to progress to the semi-finals.
Guus Hiddink, their interim manager, made two changes from the side that plucked a late victory off Wigan on Saturday. Leading scorer Nicolas Anelka, who has scored 21 goals so far, was ruled out with a toe injury, so for the first time under the Dutchman, his partnership with Didier Drogba had to be broken up.
Hiddink brought in Florent Malouda for his first start for more than a month while, in defence, Jose Bosingwa returned from suspension to replace youngster Michael Mancienne.
Paul Hart, Portsmouth’s caretaker manager, made only one change from the side that drew 2-2 at Stoke 10 days previously, with Hayden Mullins in for Greek international Angelis Basinas.
Chelsea went into the game boasting a 100 per cent record since the shock departure of Luiz Felipe Scolari. Under Ray Wilkins they beat Watford in the FA Cup with Hiddink watching from the stands and, since taking over, Hiddink has presided over two Premier League wins and a 1-0 victory over Juventus in the Champions League.
The conditions made for an enterprising if not always controlled start from both sides, with Portsmouth adopting an attacking 4-3-3 formation when going forward and threatening to open the scoring. Hermann Hreidarsson won an early corner for Portsmouth but Sean Davis sent the resultant effort over before David Nugent, named the club’s player of the month before hand, setting up Mullins, but he completely miss-kicked in the South Coast wind.
Chelsea responded with a Salomon Kalou cross, held easily by David James, and a wayward drive from Frank Lampard. They went closer in the 16th minute when John Mikel Obi’s persistence allowed Ashley Cole to cross from the left but the ball was a foot to far for the incoming Drogba.
Hreidarsson made a timely interception as Chelsea threatened again, while Malouda sent another attempt wide as the visitors increased their hold on the game. And in the 22nd minute, with the blustery conditions clearly having an influence, Malouda’s cross was spilled by James but Chelsea could not take advantage.
Portsmouth fans called for a penalty midway through the first half when, with Nugent and Peter Crouch pushing forward the ball appeared to catch Alex’s arm and then followed the best chance so far when, in the 28th minute Davis’s strong shot was pushed aside by the athletic Petr Cech.
But, in keeping with the unpredictable nature of this game Chelsea responded when Lampard produced a marvellous half volley out of nothing and it took all of James’ goalkeeping skills to block the effort on the line.
And with three minutes of the half remaining Chelsea survived a goalmouth scramble with Hreidrasson and Nugent failing to nudge the ball home before Cech made a desperate save, hugging the ball on the line.
Chelsea made an early second half change with Mikel replaced by Juliano Belletti but soon afterwards Nugent chased a ball knocked-down by Crouch but Cech made another outstanding save, stretching to his right.
Chelsea immediately made another alteration, with Ricardo Quaresma on for Kalou, but with the gusts now reaching gale-force strength, the visitors looked as if they were struggling to weather the storm.
Both sides squandered chances mid-way though the second half: Quaresma’s right-wing cross was met by Drogba, the striker beating Sol Campbell to the ball but sending a headed chance dipping just over. And at the other end, Crouch was found in a surprising amount of space, drove down the right and then crossed for Niko Kranjcar, but the Croatian shot wide when he could have scored.
But Chelsea stole the winning goal in the 79th minute when Drogba, who scored the winner against Juventus, met a cross from Bosingwa’s cross and found the bottom right hand corner with a masterclass in finishing.
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Mail;
Portsmouth 0 Chelsea 1: Drogba fires late winner to keep Blues in title huntBy Neil Ashton
Didier Drogba's late strike settled the match at Fratton Park, a reminder for the new Portsmouth manager Paul Hart that the beautiful game can still bring the most brutal results.Portsmouth did not deserve this, rough justice on a team who fought for Hart and fought for every inch of the windswept, rain-sodden turf against high-calibre opposition.
They were beaten by a strike of the highest quality, curled beyond the unsighted Portsmouth keeper David James 11 minutes from time by a player with a point to prove.
Tough luck on a team fighting for their lives near the foot of the table. Hart will stay until the end of the season, attempting to plot the path to another season in the Premier League, with the help of his astute assistant Brian Kidd.They remain 16th in the table after Drogba’s strike, staring up at Chelsea this morning and wondering how they failed to finish off Stamford Bridge title ambitions.It was cup-tie stuff, with Pompey’s supporters crackling into life as they sensed an upset, a win that would be their first over Chelsea since 1957.Drogba’s strike illustrated the narrow margin between success and failure as Pompey fought to within touching distance of ending Chelsea’s ambitious plans to overhaulthe best team on the planet, Manchester United.
Chelsea fancy their chances, with Drogba scoring only his second League goal this season and taking off on a remarkable celebration before being stopped by swathesof yellow-shirted team-mates.Guus Hiddink, soaked on the sidelines, barely flinched, reminding his players that their fourth straight victory, three in the Premier League, was not yet secure.He sent on Michael Mancienne towards the end to replace Michael Ballack, closing the game out in a style reminiscent of a certain managerial predecessor.
One-nil to the Chelsea is enough to keep them in it, enough for the players to march towards the hordes of supporters stationed behind the goal and throw their muddied shirts into the baying mob.They want more of this and Hiddink’s team are promising to provide it as they chase the impossible dream of catching Manchester United at the top of the table and the more realistic targets, the Champions League and FA Cup.Anything is possible after this streaky victory. Somehow they are still in the hunt for the title, ensuring another agonising week for Chelsea’s supporters, but Portsmouth deserved more than this. Much more.They were beaten 4-0 at Stamford Bridge on the first day of the season, ripped apart by Deco, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole and Nicolas Anelka, but that was never likely to happen last night.Hart has this team organised, scrambling towards safety with a victory over Manchester City on Valentine’s Day.
They matched Chelsea man for man, warriors all, as they chased a momentous victory.They should have won this, denied by the brilliance of Petr Cech in Chelsea’s goal, turning Sean Davis’s long-range effort over the bar in the first half and then palming David Nugent’s effort around the post after the break.Pompey paraded the FA Cup for the last time ahead of kick-off before it was spirited back to Soho Square after the game in an armoured vehicle.It is safe to say it will not been seen at Fratton Park for a while so it was given a fitting send-off by 20,000 Portsmouth supporters setting their sights on another season in the Premier League.That is the target for Hart and Kidd, popular with the players after the confusing thoughts of Tony Adams, as they prepare the team to power their way from the foot of the table.But this was a visit from a team energised by the arrival of Hiddink with three wins on the spin under the new manager and intent on securing a fourth.
They were missing Nicolas Anelka, given the evening off after stubbing his toe in training on Monday and told to use the recovery time to prepare for Saturday’s trip to Coventry’s Ricoh Arena.Instead, Drogba shouldered responsibility, throwing himself into challenges and reminding owner Roman Abramovich of some of the reasons why he spent £24million to sign him from Marseille in the summer of 2004.Only the conditions at Fratton Park prevented him scoring in the first half when he mistimed his run when Ashley Cole prodded the ball across the penalty area.No-one could blame him, sliding across the face of James’ goalmouth as he attempted to connect with Cole’s cross, but his reward for this impressive, diligentand disciplined performance was the winning goal.He got it when Jose Bosingwa’s cross fell to him invitingly inside the area, taking a touch to set himself and then sweeping his effort beyond James.It was a goal of stunning quality, not enough to turn the title in their favour, but enough to suggest Chelsea will take this to the bitter end.
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Guardian:
Drogba the difference as Pompey put faith in HartPortsmouth 0 Chelsea 1 Drogba 79
Dominic Fifield at Fratton Park
Portsmouth are on the verge of confirming Paul Hart as their manager until the end of the season, though the caretaker-turned-firefighter will be grateful he will not be visited again before the end of the campaign by the likes of Chelsea. This contest had threatened to be a soggy stalemate, the hosts eking out the better opportunities and ready to celebrate their point, until one flash of genuine quality amid the downpour wrecked the locals' mood.
Hart has his first experience of cruel defeat at the helm of this club. Didier Drogba, so anaemic for much of this campaign but resurgent in recent weeks, provided the game's pivotal moment only 11 minutes from time, gathering Jose Bosingwa's cross and cushioning a curled finish low and beyond David James to squeeze out the advantage. Guus Hiddink has overseen narrow victories in each of his four games in charge, all by a single goal, yet he retains the magic touch. How Portsmouth, still only two points clear of the cut-off, crave such inspiration. The four points accrued by Hart and Brian Kidd in their two previous games in charge had constituted something of a revival at this club given the ignominy endured too often over Tony Adams' brief reign. Portsmouth had teetered on the brink, poor luck failing to disguise a lack of cohesion in their performances to undermine the former Arsenal centre-half. The club's owner, Sacha Gaydamak, and executive chairman Peter Storrie had been seeking "stability" in granting Hart, previously the director of youth development, some permanence in the role. Theirs had been a pursuit of "continuity" in turning to Adams, Harry Redknapp's No2, back in October.
There is certainly more belief in these parts at present that disaster can be staved off. Chelsea had not lost in the league to these opponents since 1957 but they were stretched at times as this arena was drenched in a deluge. Hermann Hreidarsson and David Nugent, both revived in recent times, should have tested Petr Cech in the opening jousts. Sean Davis did, skimming a shot from distance, only for the goalkeeper to save wonderfully. Cech was merely relieved to choke Hreidarsson's subsequent stabbed attempt from close range on his goal-line as Nugent and Niko Kranjcar threatened to convert.
Yet, while those opportunities unsettled Chelsea, they did rather puncture long periods of the visitors' possession. Hiddink, like Hart, has had an immediate effect since assuming the reins, hoisting a team that had been threatening to stall under Luiz Felipe Scolari back into second place with narrow wins in his first two league games. He had cited plenty of aspects to his team's play still in need of improvement ahead of the visit to the south coast. That work is still to be implemented, but there was promise to be had in Drogba's bustling energy and Frank Lampard's class through the centre.
With Nicolas Anelka absent nursing a toe injury, Drogba was a man possessed, tearing at the home side's back-line as if he was competing for a Jose Mourinho side once again. The Ivorian was agonisingly close to tapping in Ashley Cole's fizzed centre as it careered across the goal-line. Lampard, taking up the baton, forced James to save from distance. The veteran England goalkeeper broke a record here, with this his 538th Premier League appearance, and excelled in denying Alex's free-kick in first half stoppage time. His spill from Florent Malouda's slippery cross was less to the hosts' liking.
Chelsea had threatened reward but delivered none, their approach play running aground too often on Pompey's stubborn and hugely experienced back-line. Frustration welled up, Ricardo Quaresma replacing an ineffective Salomon Kalou, but the visitors' growing desperation to force an advantage occasionally leaving them vulnerable on the counter-attack. Jermaine Pennant was a nuisance down the right. When Nugent rolled away from John Terry and wriggled in on goal there was a collective in-take of breath around this arena, only for Cech once again to palm away the former Preston striker's attempt.
The Londoners had been warned, though they did not learn. Chelsea over-committed at a Lampard free-kick, with Sol Campbell eventually clearing for Peter Crouch, alone near the halfway line, to charge down the right flank. Kranjcar was the only Portsmouth player in support but, when the England forward's cross reached the Croatian, there was only a scuffed shot wide to show for the opportunity.
The miss felt wasteful at the time but critical once Drogba had forced Chelsea ahead. The frantic late pressure, with crosses flung towards Crouch and massed scrambles inside the visitors' penalty area, rarely threatened to yield an equaliser. Hart most hope this misfortune is not a sign of things to come.
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Independent:
Drogba fires to resurrect Chelsea title ambitions
Portsmouth 0 Chelsea 1
By Sam Wallace, Football correspondent
Another case of deadly Didier and golden Guus, a double-act that is turning into a beautiful friendship. The moodiest striker at Chelsea has now rescued his new manager twice in the space of a week and last night Drogba kept alive any fading hopes his club might have of the title.
Not only that, but he keeps intact Hiddink's impressive start at Chelsea, a record that is four games, four wins and a revival that has kept the club in touch with Manchester United at the top of the Premier League. In the mud and rain of a Tuesday night at Fratton Park there were times when you had to wonder whether this was where Chelsea's challenge was going to end, but they had just enough resolve to win a crucial game.
Or rather they had a match-winner in Drogba, whose goal meant that the gap to United at the top is four points, although the champions have two games in hand. You could not help thinking that Sir Alex Ferguson's team would not have left it until the 78th minute to beat Portsmouth last night. Neither do United look as pedestrian and predictable as Chelsea do at times, but with Drogba on this form it looks like they will always have a chance.
Hiddink (below) is just about hanging in there and he knows it. "I have to face the facts that we had two difficult games," he said. "I haven't shut my eyes to [problems] in the Wigan game as well, but we must improve. What is good in this team is that they react when there are difficulties. This team is not happy when things are not going well. Then you see they get rewards."
The Chelsea coach is not so daft that he is calling it on with United, but he is keen on reminding Ferguson that his side have not given up. "[A gap of] four points means there is more pressure on them, but they still have two games in hand," Hiddink said. "They're an experienced team. But it's good, for everyone in this championship to have the pressure on the side at the top."
Hiddink called it right when he brought on the Portuguese winger Ricardo Quaresma for the final stages, he was lively and contributed to the pressure that led to the goal. The problem for Hiddink is that there are just so few options available. Salomon Kalou and Florent Malouda's contribution was negligible but with Nicolas Anelka out with a bruised toe there was little else he could do. He praised his team's reaction to adversity, their imagination was less impressive.
Petr Cech kept them in the match when he saved from Sean Davis and David Nugent, but come the end of the game there was some desperate defending. Peter Crouch had broken free on 69 minutes and crossed for Niko Kranjcar who got his touch wrong and put the ball wide. Pompey had their chances, but Chelsea are at last running into a bit of luck.
Portsmouth announced after the match that Paul Hart will be coach until the end of the season and last night you could see why he has the board's confidence. They look much more disciplined under Hart and Brian Kidd and, despite being 16th, there are definitely signs of life. David James was excellent again, and Sol Campbell and Sylvain Distin solid, but for the one moment they let Drogba in.
Hart said: "I'm very pleased to be here until the end of the season. It's good for the club and players that there's been a decision made. You don't want to speak too soon – it's been three games, but in those matches the players have shown magnificent determination and a response to what we've asked. If we maintain that spirit, we'll be a difficult side to beat. We deserved to get a point, and we could have won."
This was James's 538th Premier League appearance and he clearly still lives for evenings like these in the rainwith, as Pompey have found of late, backs against the wall. James saved brilliantly from Alex's free-kick at the end of the first half. But when Drogba got the ball from Jose Bosingwa's cross, the ball was past James before he could react.
In the period at the start of the second half, when Nugent and Kranjcar should have scored, Pompey were on top. If they could have supported Crouch more they might have won. At the end Drogba even threw his shirt into the crowd. There was a time when it might have come straight back at him but things are different now.
Goals: Drogba (78) 0-1.
Portsmouth (4-4-1-1): James; Johnson, Campbell, Distin, Hreidarsson; Pennant (Utaka, 70), Mullins, Davis, Nugent; Kranjcar; Crouch. Substitutes not used: Begovic (gk), Kaboul, Pamarot, Kanu, Basinas, Belhadj.
Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cech; Bosingwa, Terry, Alex, A Cole; Mikel (Belletti, 56); Kalou (Quaresma, 60), Ballack (Mancienne, 90), Lampard, Malouda; Drogba. Substitutes not used: Hilario (gk), Ivanovic, Di Santo, Ferreira.
Referee: P Dowd (Staffordshire).
Man of the match: Drogba.
Attendance: 20, 326.
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Mirror:
Portsmouth 0-1 Chelsea: Blues still second thanks to late Didier Drogba winner
By Martin Lipton
Barclays Premier League
Grind them out, scratch them out, dig them out.
But keep on winning, keep on fighting, never give in - and who knows what might happen.
Last night, to the despair of Fratton Park, Didier Drogba struck unerringly into the bottom corner of David James' net to continue Guus Hiddink's winning start and Chelsea's pursuit of the unlikely.
And it wouldn't be a huge surprise if the absent Roman Abramovich was left wondering what the season could have brought if he had ditched Luiz Felipe Scolari a month earlier.
Hiddink has not wrought miracles at Stamford Bridge, not changed that much, even essentially picked Scolari's team, although getting Drogba back onside was perhaps the most significant move of all.
What he has done, though, is make them start believing in themselves again, make them want to play for the shirt and find a way to win games they would have lost few short weeks ago.
This, unquestionably, was one of those, Paul Hart's side justifying the club's decision to hand him the reins for the rest of the season with a display of commitment and conviction that deserved better.
They would have got it too, had it not been for Petr Cech, another of those who fell out with Scolari.
Cech's displays in the last days of the Brazilian's reign led to a whispering campaign suggesting the Czech had lost his aura of impregnability.
But the keeper, like Drogba and the rest, has been rejuvenated by Hiddink's gentle touch and harder training regime.
And if there was any doubt on that score, it must have been ended with two moments in which Cech saved his side to create the platform for Drogba's late heroics.
The first came just before the half hour, after Chelsea's dominance, orchestrated by Frank Lampard, had brought them precisely zero reward.
Loose play on the edge of their own box allowed Sean Davis room for a screaming strike which had the home fans already celebrating before Cech flung himself to his right to turn the ball up and over the bar.
Then just before the hour, the keeper was equally, and perhaps even more crucially agile as he thwarted David Nugent when the former England man turned John Terry from Peter Crouch's flick and let fly from 16 yards.
On such moments can matches, even seasons change, although Nico Krancjar, found by Crouch when Sol Campbell's defensive hoof caught all 10 Chelsea outfield players in the Portsmouth half, glided another opening wide.
At that stage Chelsea might have been happy with a point.
Yes, they had created the best openings in the first half, with Drogba inches away from converting Ashley Cole's driven cross, before being blocked by James after racing onto a Lampard through-ball.
James, too, struck lucky when he fumbled a cross by Florent Malouda and Lampard's shot, bailed out by a back-line led by Campbell and Sylvain Distin.
But while Michael Ballack and then Alex went close before the break and Drogba headed over from substitute Ricardo Quaresma after the interval, Portsmouth had looked the more likely to reap the benefits of their sunshine break in Dubai as Chelsea looked like a side playing their third game in eight days.
Enter Drogba. A week ago, his goal against Juventus had given Cheksea the precious advantage to take to Turin.
Last night, when Jose Bosingwa's cross flicked off Campbell's knee and into Drogba's path 12 yards out, the ball was only ever going to finish up in one place.
Drogba ran to celebrate in front of Hiddink and at the end, after withstanding a late siege which saw James take residence in the other box, the Chelsea players' clenched fists were a statement of intent.
The odds still, vastly, favour United. But it is not all over yet.
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Sun:
Portsm'th 0 Chelsea 1
By SHAUN CUSTIS
GUUS HIDDINK has become a Drog addict.
Chelsea’s Dutch boss has got moody striker Didier Drogba smoking again and his winner kept the Blues just about hanging on to Manchester United’s coat-tails in the title race.
The hitman scored the goal that beat Juventus in the Champions League last week.
And last night he fired home Ricardo Quaresma’s 78th-minute cross to take Chelsea to within four points of Alex Ferguson’s Premier League kings.
Hiddink’s record as Chelsea caretaker manager is now four wins out of four.
The Dutchman had done a Kevin Keegan in the pre-match build-up and spoken about how he would ‘love it’ if Chelsea could put a spanner in the United works
But the Blues machine ran far from smoothly and they had to dig in to emerge with three points from this one.
For most of an awful night in which the wind howled and the rain pelted down it seemed the best Chelsea could hope for was a draw, which was no good at all.
A point, however, would have been invaluable to Portsmouth in their relegation fight.
They will take heart from this performance, which showed bags of character. And after the game caretaker boss Paul Hart was named manager for the rest of the season, with Brian Kidd as his assistant.
Slipping all over
But Pompey paid for failing to take their chances and found Chelsea keeper Petr Cech back to his best.
It was an evening for battlers and the conditions made quality football tricky.
But Chelsea were lacklustre and seemed content to soak up pressure rather than take the game to Portsmouth.
Players were slipping all over the place and Drogba could not quite slide far enough to connect with Ashley Cole’s cross on 10 minutes with the goal gaping in front of him.
Had Drogba got any touch Chelsea would have been ahead and life might have been a lot easier.
The keepers performed exceptionally well in the circumstances and Pompey veteran David James, 38, came skidding out superbly to block from Drogba.
He acknowledged the England keeper’s excellence with a respectful thumbs-up.
Cech showed he was equally adept when he palmed a screaming low drive from Sean Davis, which was heading for the bottom corner, over the bar.
Holding on to the ball was difficult though and James could only bundle a Frank Lampard free-kick back into his own six-yard box where former Chelsea defender Glen Johnson cleared before Michael Ballack could finish it off.
Ballack headed just over from Lampard’s corner then, with the last kick of the first half, Alex’s rocket of a free-kick from 35 yards beat the wall but not James who got firm hands on it diving to his right.
Hiddink’s men needed to step it up and take the game to the opposition and the manager withdrew defensive midfielder Jon Obi Mikel and replaced him with the more attack-minded Juliano Belletti.
But the Blues were almost caught out on 58 minutes after an uncharacteristic mistake by Terry.
The skipper failed to deal with a routine through ball and David Nugent was clear on goal.
He got his shot in but it was a nice height for Cech who flew to his right to beat it away.
The man who changed the game was on-loan Quaresma who replaced Salomon Kalou on the hour and livened things up immediately.
He burst down the right and crossed for Drogba who headed over and another dangerous ball into the area from the Portuguese winger was scrambled behind by Sol Campbell.
It reminded us of what once made Quaresma one of the most sought-after creators in European football.
He lost his way having been bought then dumped by Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan but maybe he and Chelsea will be good for each other.
For all Chelsea’s pressure, Portsmouth suddenly broke as the ball rebounded to Crouch who was all alone on the halfway line.
His first touch was not a good one, taking him too far wide but he still had plenty of room to work in and crossed for Nico Kranjcar who controlled and shot wide.
The rain came down harder and the wind got stronger but Quaresma’s influence on Chelsea was growing and it was his cross which found its way through the Pompey defence for Drogba’s winner.
The strike from 12 yards was clean and true and it was job done.
Absolutely spliffing!
Chelsea embrace new work ethic to break the resistance of Hart’s men
Portsmouth 0 Chelsea 1
Matt Hughes, Deputy Football Correspondent
Like his fabled young compatriot who stuck his finger in the dyke, Guus Hiddink does not shirk from seemingly impossible tasks. On his first day at Chelsea, the interim manager boldly announced that his side could catch Manchester United at the top of the Barclays Premier League and three weeks later they are hovering on their shoulder after three successive wins.
Sir Alex Ferguson will not have been too perturbed as he watched this stuttering Chelsea performance at a hotel in Newcastle before this evening’s engagement at St James’ Park, but the United manager will have recognised their fighting spirit. Like the Scot, Hiddink has the ability to imbue his players with an indomitable will to win and they needed it in dreadful conditions on a sodden South Coast, Didier Drogba settling a match that appeared to be slipping away from them with a 79th-minute goal to close United’s lead to four points.
“They’re an experienced team, but it’s good for everyone in this championship to have the pressure on the side at the top,” Hiddink said. “Four points gives me more pressure to put on them.”
Hiddink has a reputation for being a tactical genius, a deep thinker on the game with more theories than Pythagoras, but his impressive start at Chelsea has been based on something far more straightforward. By challenging his players to take greater responsibility, they are working harder and producing more for themselves and their team-mates. The Brazilian samba school has been replaced by a Dutch labour camp.
Ironically, the previously workshy Drogba has been the biggest beneficiary, with the Ivory Coast striker relishing the new regime. Drogba celebrated only his second Premier League goal of the season as if it had secured the title, but he retained enough energy to head clear a free kick from Niko Kranjcar in added time. A transformation indeed.
“Didier is making the difference in the last few games,” Hiddink said. “As long as he is so committed then he will make those goals as well. He was very happy with his goal. That was an emotional explosion.”
Drogba is not the only player to have exploded into life, as several of his team-mates have raised their game. Michael Ballack flew into tackles, Salomon Kalou threatened down the right and Petr Cech showed signs of regaining his best form, making a superb save from Sean Davis in the first half and denying David Nugent from close range in the second.
Frank Lampard has been a hard worker since the days when he stayed out until dusk practising free kicks on his own as a trainee at West Ham United, and the England midfield player was a class apart last night. Since signing a new contract last summer, Lampard has matured into the ultimate team player, alive to every situation and passing where he would previously have shot. In the first half alone, the 30-year-old released Kalou down the right with a great through-pass, picked out Ballack with a pinpoint corner that he headed over the bar and brought a good save from David James with a powerful left-foot shot.
Portsmouth, too, had their moments, and they have improved dramatically under Paul Hart, the interim manager, who deserves the opportunity that he has been given to keep them up. Hart’s secret has been to speak to the players in a language that they understand and, after being befuddled by Tony Adams, they have responded. With better finishing from Nugent and Kranjcar, they would have claimed a point, although if they can reproduce this performance regularly, they should clamber to safety.
Chelsea should not get too carried away, because all four wins under Hiddink have come by a single goal, but they have an outside chance of achieving their mission impossible.
— Portsmouth confirmed the appointment of Paul Hart as their interim manager last night, with Brian Kidd as his assistant. The club held a board meeting yesterday afternoon, attended by Alexandre Gaydamak, the owner, at which Hart’s appointment until the end of the season was ratified. Portsmouth had hoped to recruit Sven-Göran Eriksson, but he has stayed with Mexico, so Hart has been rewarded for steadying the ship since replacing Tony Adams last month.
Portsmouth (4-3-3): D James — G Johnson, S Campbell, S Distin, H Hreidarsson — H Mullins, N Kranjcar, S Davis — J Pennant (sub: J Utaka, 70min), P Crouch, D Nugent. Substitutes not used: A Begovic, Y Kaboul, N Pamarot, Kanu, A Basinas, N Belhadj.
Chelsea (4-1-2-3): P Cech — J Bosingwa, Alex, J Terry, A Cole — J O Mikel (sub: J Belletti, 57) — M Ballack (sub: M Mancienne, 90), F Lampard — S Kalou (sub: R Quaresma, 60), D Drogba, F Malouda. Substitutes not used: Hilário, B Ivanovic, F Di Santo, P Ferreira.
Referee: P Dowd.
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Telegraph:
Didier Drogba keeps Chelsea hoping of miracle
Didier Drogba maintained Chelsea’s outside chances of upsetting Manchester United’s march to five trophies with a goal 11 minutes from the end of a game played in a storm, the victory taking Chelsea to within four points of the leaders. By John Ley at Fratton Park United may have two games in hand – one on Wednesday night at Newcastle – but the intentions from a battling performance in difficult conditions were apparent, that Chelsea are refusing to give up the title lightly, with Drogba claiming his first League goal of 2009 and only his second in the Premier League this season.
Torrential rain fell before and during the game, making the Fratton Park pitch heavy in some places. And with the wind blowing off the Solent, it made for difficult conditions. The gusts were so strong early on, that players had trouble in keeping the ball steady at set-piece kicks.
Before the game, FA Cup holders Portsmouth, with help from four soldiers from the Royal Artillery, paraded the trophy around the stadium, with the PA announcer admitting it was the home fans’ last chance to see the Cup.
Chelsea fans butted in with cries of “cheerio, cheerio”, knowing that their name could be next of the trophy, particularly if they beat Coventry on Saturday to progress to the semi-finals.
Guus Hiddink, their interim manager, made two changes from the side that plucked a late victory off Wigan on Saturday. Leading scorer Nicolas Anelka, who has scored 21 goals so far, was ruled out with a toe injury, so for the first time under the Dutchman, his partnership with Didier Drogba had to be broken up.
Hiddink brought in Florent Malouda for his first start for more than a month while, in defence, Jose Bosingwa returned from suspension to replace youngster Michael Mancienne.
Paul Hart, Portsmouth’s caretaker manager, made only one change from the side that drew 2-2 at Stoke 10 days previously, with Hayden Mullins in for Greek international Angelis Basinas.
Chelsea went into the game boasting a 100 per cent record since the shock departure of Luiz Felipe Scolari. Under Ray Wilkins they beat Watford in the FA Cup with Hiddink watching from the stands and, since taking over, Hiddink has presided over two Premier League wins and a 1-0 victory over Juventus in the Champions League.
The conditions made for an enterprising if not always controlled start from both sides, with Portsmouth adopting an attacking 4-3-3 formation when going forward and threatening to open the scoring. Hermann Hreidarsson won an early corner for Portsmouth but Sean Davis sent the resultant effort over before David Nugent, named the club’s player of the month before hand, setting up Mullins, but he completely miss-kicked in the South Coast wind.
Chelsea responded with a Salomon Kalou cross, held easily by David James, and a wayward drive from Frank Lampard. They went closer in the 16th minute when John Mikel Obi’s persistence allowed Ashley Cole to cross from the left but the ball was a foot to far for the incoming Drogba.
Hreidarsson made a timely interception as Chelsea threatened again, while Malouda sent another attempt wide as the visitors increased their hold on the game. And in the 22nd minute, with the blustery conditions clearly having an influence, Malouda’s cross was spilled by James but Chelsea could not take advantage.
Portsmouth fans called for a penalty midway through the first half when, with Nugent and Peter Crouch pushing forward the ball appeared to catch Alex’s arm and then followed the best chance so far when, in the 28th minute Davis’s strong shot was pushed aside by the athletic Petr Cech.
But, in keeping with the unpredictable nature of this game Chelsea responded when Lampard produced a marvellous half volley out of nothing and it took all of James’ goalkeeping skills to block the effort on the line.
And with three minutes of the half remaining Chelsea survived a goalmouth scramble with Hreidrasson and Nugent failing to nudge the ball home before Cech made a desperate save, hugging the ball on the line.
Chelsea made an early second half change with Mikel replaced by Juliano Belletti but soon afterwards Nugent chased a ball knocked-down by Crouch but Cech made another outstanding save, stretching to his right.
Chelsea immediately made another alteration, with Ricardo Quaresma on for Kalou, but with the gusts now reaching gale-force strength, the visitors looked as if they were struggling to weather the storm.
Both sides squandered chances mid-way though the second half: Quaresma’s right-wing cross was met by Drogba, the striker beating Sol Campbell to the ball but sending a headed chance dipping just over. And at the other end, Crouch was found in a surprising amount of space, drove down the right and then crossed for Niko Kranjcar, but the Croatian shot wide when he could have scored.
But Chelsea stole the winning goal in the 79th minute when Drogba, who scored the winner against Juventus, met a cross from Bosingwa’s cross and found the bottom right hand corner with a masterclass in finishing.
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Mail;
Portsmouth 0 Chelsea 1: Drogba fires late winner to keep Blues in title huntBy Neil Ashton
Didier Drogba's late strike settled the match at Fratton Park, a reminder for the new Portsmouth manager Paul Hart that the beautiful game can still bring the most brutal results.Portsmouth did not deserve this, rough justice on a team who fought for Hart and fought for every inch of the windswept, rain-sodden turf against high-calibre opposition.
They were beaten by a strike of the highest quality, curled beyond the unsighted Portsmouth keeper David James 11 minutes from time by a player with a point to prove.
Tough luck on a team fighting for their lives near the foot of the table. Hart will stay until the end of the season, attempting to plot the path to another season in the Premier League, with the help of his astute assistant Brian Kidd.They remain 16th in the table after Drogba’s strike, staring up at Chelsea this morning and wondering how they failed to finish off Stamford Bridge title ambitions.It was cup-tie stuff, with Pompey’s supporters crackling into life as they sensed an upset, a win that would be their first over Chelsea since 1957.Drogba’s strike illustrated the narrow margin between success and failure as Pompey fought to within touching distance of ending Chelsea’s ambitious plans to overhaulthe best team on the planet, Manchester United.
Chelsea fancy their chances, with Drogba scoring only his second League goal this season and taking off on a remarkable celebration before being stopped by swathesof yellow-shirted team-mates.Guus Hiddink, soaked on the sidelines, barely flinched, reminding his players that their fourth straight victory, three in the Premier League, was not yet secure.He sent on Michael Mancienne towards the end to replace Michael Ballack, closing the game out in a style reminiscent of a certain managerial predecessor.
One-nil to the Chelsea is enough to keep them in it, enough for the players to march towards the hordes of supporters stationed behind the goal and throw their muddied shirts into the baying mob.They want more of this and Hiddink’s team are promising to provide it as they chase the impossible dream of catching Manchester United at the top of the table and the more realistic targets, the Champions League and FA Cup.Anything is possible after this streaky victory. Somehow they are still in the hunt for the title, ensuring another agonising week for Chelsea’s supporters, but Portsmouth deserved more than this. Much more.They were beaten 4-0 at Stamford Bridge on the first day of the season, ripped apart by Deco, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole and Nicolas Anelka, but that was never likely to happen last night.Hart has this team organised, scrambling towards safety with a victory over Manchester City on Valentine’s Day.
They matched Chelsea man for man, warriors all, as they chased a momentous victory.They should have won this, denied by the brilliance of Petr Cech in Chelsea’s goal, turning Sean Davis’s long-range effort over the bar in the first half and then palming David Nugent’s effort around the post after the break.Pompey paraded the FA Cup for the last time ahead of kick-off before it was spirited back to Soho Square after the game in an armoured vehicle.It is safe to say it will not been seen at Fratton Park for a while so it was given a fitting send-off by 20,000 Portsmouth supporters setting their sights on another season in the Premier League.That is the target for Hart and Kidd, popular with the players after the confusing thoughts of Tony Adams, as they prepare the team to power their way from the foot of the table.But this was a visit from a team energised by the arrival of Hiddink with three wins on the spin under the new manager and intent on securing a fourth.
They were missing Nicolas Anelka, given the evening off after stubbing his toe in training on Monday and told to use the recovery time to prepare for Saturday’s trip to Coventry’s Ricoh Arena.Instead, Drogba shouldered responsibility, throwing himself into challenges and reminding owner Roman Abramovich of some of the reasons why he spent £24million to sign him from Marseille in the summer of 2004.Only the conditions at Fratton Park prevented him scoring in the first half when he mistimed his run when Ashley Cole prodded the ball across the penalty area.No-one could blame him, sliding across the face of James’ goalmouth as he attempted to connect with Cole’s cross, but his reward for this impressive, diligentand disciplined performance was the winning goal.He got it when Jose Bosingwa’s cross fell to him invitingly inside the area, taking a touch to set himself and then sweeping his effort beyond James.It was a goal of stunning quality, not enough to turn the title in their favour, but enough to suggest Chelsea will take this to the bitter end.
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Guardian:
Drogba the difference as Pompey put faith in HartPortsmouth 0 Chelsea 1 Drogba 79
Dominic Fifield at Fratton Park
Portsmouth are on the verge of confirming Paul Hart as their manager until the end of the season, though the caretaker-turned-firefighter will be grateful he will not be visited again before the end of the campaign by the likes of Chelsea. This contest had threatened to be a soggy stalemate, the hosts eking out the better opportunities and ready to celebrate their point, until one flash of genuine quality amid the downpour wrecked the locals' mood.
Hart has his first experience of cruel defeat at the helm of this club. Didier Drogba, so anaemic for much of this campaign but resurgent in recent weeks, provided the game's pivotal moment only 11 minutes from time, gathering Jose Bosingwa's cross and cushioning a curled finish low and beyond David James to squeeze out the advantage. Guus Hiddink has overseen narrow victories in each of his four games in charge, all by a single goal, yet he retains the magic touch. How Portsmouth, still only two points clear of the cut-off, crave such inspiration. The four points accrued by Hart and Brian Kidd in their two previous games in charge had constituted something of a revival at this club given the ignominy endured too often over Tony Adams' brief reign. Portsmouth had teetered on the brink, poor luck failing to disguise a lack of cohesion in their performances to undermine the former Arsenal centre-half. The club's owner, Sacha Gaydamak, and executive chairman Peter Storrie had been seeking "stability" in granting Hart, previously the director of youth development, some permanence in the role. Theirs had been a pursuit of "continuity" in turning to Adams, Harry Redknapp's No2, back in October.
There is certainly more belief in these parts at present that disaster can be staved off. Chelsea had not lost in the league to these opponents since 1957 but they were stretched at times as this arena was drenched in a deluge. Hermann Hreidarsson and David Nugent, both revived in recent times, should have tested Petr Cech in the opening jousts. Sean Davis did, skimming a shot from distance, only for the goalkeeper to save wonderfully. Cech was merely relieved to choke Hreidarsson's subsequent stabbed attempt from close range on his goal-line as Nugent and Niko Kranjcar threatened to convert.
Yet, while those opportunities unsettled Chelsea, they did rather puncture long periods of the visitors' possession. Hiddink, like Hart, has had an immediate effect since assuming the reins, hoisting a team that had been threatening to stall under Luiz Felipe Scolari back into second place with narrow wins in his first two league games. He had cited plenty of aspects to his team's play still in need of improvement ahead of the visit to the south coast. That work is still to be implemented, but there was promise to be had in Drogba's bustling energy and Frank Lampard's class through the centre.
With Nicolas Anelka absent nursing a toe injury, Drogba was a man possessed, tearing at the home side's back-line as if he was competing for a Jose Mourinho side once again. The Ivorian was agonisingly close to tapping in Ashley Cole's fizzed centre as it careered across the goal-line. Lampard, taking up the baton, forced James to save from distance. The veteran England goalkeeper broke a record here, with this his 538th Premier League appearance, and excelled in denying Alex's free-kick in first half stoppage time. His spill from Florent Malouda's slippery cross was less to the hosts' liking.
Chelsea had threatened reward but delivered none, their approach play running aground too often on Pompey's stubborn and hugely experienced back-line. Frustration welled up, Ricardo Quaresma replacing an ineffective Salomon Kalou, but the visitors' growing desperation to force an advantage occasionally leaving them vulnerable on the counter-attack. Jermaine Pennant was a nuisance down the right. When Nugent rolled away from John Terry and wriggled in on goal there was a collective in-take of breath around this arena, only for Cech once again to palm away the former Preston striker's attempt.
The Londoners had been warned, though they did not learn. Chelsea over-committed at a Lampard free-kick, with Sol Campbell eventually clearing for Peter Crouch, alone near the halfway line, to charge down the right flank. Kranjcar was the only Portsmouth player in support but, when the England forward's cross reached the Croatian, there was only a scuffed shot wide to show for the opportunity.
The miss felt wasteful at the time but critical once Drogba had forced Chelsea ahead. The frantic late pressure, with crosses flung towards Crouch and massed scrambles inside the visitors' penalty area, rarely threatened to yield an equaliser. Hart most hope this misfortune is not a sign of things to come.
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Independent:
Drogba fires to resurrect Chelsea title ambitions
Portsmouth 0 Chelsea 1
By Sam Wallace, Football correspondent
Another case of deadly Didier and golden Guus, a double-act that is turning into a beautiful friendship. The moodiest striker at Chelsea has now rescued his new manager twice in the space of a week and last night Drogba kept alive any fading hopes his club might have of the title.
Not only that, but he keeps intact Hiddink's impressive start at Chelsea, a record that is four games, four wins and a revival that has kept the club in touch with Manchester United at the top of the Premier League. In the mud and rain of a Tuesday night at Fratton Park there were times when you had to wonder whether this was where Chelsea's challenge was going to end, but they had just enough resolve to win a crucial game.
Or rather they had a match-winner in Drogba, whose goal meant that the gap to United at the top is four points, although the champions have two games in hand. You could not help thinking that Sir Alex Ferguson's team would not have left it until the 78th minute to beat Portsmouth last night. Neither do United look as pedestrian and predictable as Chelsea do at times, but with Drogba on this form it looks like they will always have a chance.
Hiddink (below) is just about hanging in there and he knows it. "I have to face the facts that we had two difficult games," he said. "I haven't shut my eyes to [problems] in the Wigan game as well, but we must improve. What is good in this team is that they react when there are difficulties. This team is not happy when things are not going well. Then you see they get rewards."
The Chelsea coach is not so daft that he is calling it on with United, but he is keen on reminding Ferguson that his side have not given up. "[A gap of] four points means there is more pressure on them, but they still have two games in hand," Hiddink said. "They're an experienced team. But it's good, for everyone in this championship to have the pressure on the side at the top."
Hiddink called it right when he brought on the Portuguese winger Ricardo Quaresma for the final stages, he was lively and contributed to the pressure that led to the goal. The problem for Hiddink is that there are just so few options available. Salomon Kalou and Florent Malouda's contribution was negligible but with Nicolas Anelka out with a bruised toe there was little else he could do. He praised his team's reaction to adversity, their imagination was less impressive.
Petr Cech kept them in the match when he saved from Sean Davis and David Nugent, but come the end of the game there was some desperate defending. Peter Crouch had broken free on 69 minutes and crossed for Niko Kranjcar who got his touch wrong and put the ball wide. Pompey had their chances, but Chelsea are at last running into a bit of luck.
Portsmouth announced after the match that Paul Hart will be coach until the end of the season and last night you could see why he has the board's confidence. They look much more disciplined under Hart and Brian Kidd and, despite being 16th, there are definitely signs of life. David James was excellent again, and Sol Campbell and Sylvain Distin solid, but for the one moment they let Drogba in.
Hart said: "I'm very pleased to be here until the end of the season. It's good for the club and players that there's been a decision made. You don't want to speak too soon – it's been three games, but in those matches the players have shown magnificent determination and a response to what we've asked. If we maintain that spirit, we'll be a difficult side to beat. We deserved to get a point, and we could have won."
This was James's 538th Premier League appearance and he clearly still lives for evenings like these in the rainwith, as Pompey have found of late, backs against the wall. James saved brilliantly from Alex's free-kick at the end of the first half. But when Drogba got the ball from Jose Bosingwa's cross, the ball was past James before he could react.
In the period at the start of the second half, when Nugent and Kranjcar should have scored, Pompey were on top. If they could have supported Crouch more they might have won. At the end Drogba even threw his shirt into the crowd. There was a time when it might have come straight back at him but things are different now.
Goals: Drogba (78) 0-1.
Portsmouth (4-4-1-1): James; Johnson, Campbell, Distin, Hreidarsson; Pennant (Utaka, 70), Mullins, Davis, Nugent; Kranjcar; Crouch. Substitutes not used: Begovic (gk), Kaboul, Pamarot, Kanu, Basinas, Belhadj.
Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cech; Bosingwa, Terry, Alex, A Cole; Mikel (Belletti, 56); Kalou (Quaresma, 60), Ballack (Mancienne, 90), Lampard, Malouda; Drogba. Substitutes not used: Hilario (gk), Ivanovic, Di Santo, Ferreira.
Referee: P Dowd (Staffordshire).
Man of the match: Drogba.
Attendance: 20, 326.
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Mirror:
Portsmouth 0-1 Chelsea: Blues still second thanks to late Didier Drogba winner
By Martin Lipton
Barclays Premier League
Grind them out, scratch them out, dig them out.
But keep on winning, keep on fighting, never give in - and who knows what might happen.
Last night, to the despair of Fratton Park, Didier Drogba struck unerringly into the bottom corner of David James' net to continue Guus Hiddink's winning start and Chelsea's pursuit of the unlikely.
And it wouldn't be a huge surprise if the absent Roman Abramovich was left wondering what the season could have brought if he had ditched Luiz Felipe Scolari a month earlier.
Hiddink has not wrought miracles at Stamford Bridge, not changed that much, even essentially picked Scolari's team, although getting Drogba back onside was perhaps the most significant move of all.
What he has done, though, is make them start believing in themselves again, make them want to play for the shirt and find a way to win games they would have lost few short weeks ago.
This, unquestionably, was one of those, Paul Hart's side justifying the club's decision to hand him the reins for the rest of the season with a display of commitment and conviction that deserved better.
They would have got it too, had it not been for Petr Cech, another of those who fell out with Scolari.
Cech's displays in the last days of the Brazilian's reign led to a whispering campaign suggesting the Czech had lost his aura of impregnability.
But the keeper, like Drogba and the rest, has been rejuvenated by Hiddink's gentle touch and harder training regime.
And if there was any doubt on that score, it must have been ended with two moments in which Cech saved his side to create the platform for Drogba's late heroics.
The first came just before the half hour, after Chelsea's dominance, orchestrated by Frank Lampard, had brought them precisely zero reward.
Loose play on the edge of their own box allowed Sean Davis room for a screaming strike which had the home fans already celebrating before Cech flung himself to his right to turn the ball up and over the bar.
Then just before the hour, the keeper was equally, and perhaps even more crucially agile as he thwarted David Nugent when the former England man turned John Terry from Peter Crouch's flick and let fly from 16 yards.
On such moments can matches, even seasons change, although Nico Krancjar, found by Crouch when Sol Campbell's defensive hoof caught all 10 Chelsea outfield players in the Portsmouth half, glided another opening wide.
At that stage Chelsea might have been happy with a point.
Yes, they had created the best openings in the first half, with Drogba inches away from converting Ashley Cole's driven cross, before being blocked by James after racing onto a Lampard through-ball.
James, too, struck lucky when he fumbled a cross by Florent Malouda and Lampard's shot, bailed out by a back-line led by Campbell and Sylvain Distin.
But while Michael Ballack and then Alex went close before the break and Drogba headed over from substitute Ricardo Quaresma after the interval, Portsmouth had looked the more likely to reap the benefits of their sunshine break in Dubai as Chelsea looked like a side playing their third game in eight days.
Enter Drogba. A week ago, his goal against Juventus had given Cheksea the precious advantage to take to Turin.
Last night, when Jose Bosingwa's cross flicked off Campbell's knee and into Drogba's path 12 yards out, the ball was only ever going to finish up in one place.
Drogba ran to celebrate in front of Hiddink and at the end, after withstanding a late siege which saw James take residence in the other box, the Chelsea players' clenched fists were a statement of intent.
The odds still, vastly, favour United. But it is not all over yet.
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Sun:
Portsm'th 0 Chelsea 1
By SHAUN CUSTIS
GUUS HIDDINK has become a Drog addict.
Chelsea’s Dutch boss has got moody striker Didier Drogba smoking again and his winner kept the Blues just about hanging on to Manchester United’s coat-tails in the title race.
The hitman scored the goal that beat Juventus in the Champions League last week.
And last night he fired home Ricardo Quaresma’s 78th-minute cross to take Chelsea to within four points of Alex Ferguson’s Premier League kings.
Hiddink’s record as Chelsea caretaker manager is now four wins out of four.
The Dutchman had done a Kevin Keegan in the pre-match build-up and spoken about how he would ‘love it’ if Chelsea could put a spanner in the United works
But the Blues machine ran far from smoothly and they had to dig in to emerge with three points from this one.
For most of an awful night in which the wind howled and the rain pelted down it seemed the best Chelsea could hope for was a draw, which was no good at all.
A point, however, would have been invaluable to Portsmouth in their relegation fight.
They will take heart from this performance, which showed bags of character. And after the game caretaker boss Paul Hart was named manager for the rest of the season, with Brian Kidd as his assistant.
Slipping all over
But Pompey paid for failing to take their chances and found Chelsea keeper Petr Cech back to his best.
It was an evening for battlers and the conditions made quality football tricky.
But Chelsea were lacklustre and seemed content to soak up pressure rather than take the game to Portsmouth.
Players were slipping all over the place and Drogba could not quite slide far enough to connect with Ashley Cole’s cross on 10 minutes with the goal gaping in front of him.
Had Drogba got any touch Chelsea would have been ahead and life might have been a lot easier.
The keepers performed exceptionally well in the circumstances and Pompey veteran David James, 38, came skidding out superbly to block from Drogba.
He acknowledged the England keeper’s excellence with a respectful thumbs-up.
Cech showed he was equally adept when he palmed a screaming low drive from Sean Davis, which was heading for the bottom corner, over the bar.
Holding on to the ball was difficult though and James could only bundle a Frank Lampard free-kick back into his own six-yard box where former Chelsea defender Glen Johnson cleared before Michael Ballack could finish it off.
Ballack headed just over from Lampard’s corner then, with the last kick of the first half, Alex’s rocket of a free-kick from 35 yards beat the wall but not James who got firm hands on it diving to his right.
Hiddink’s men needed to step it up and take the game to the opposition and the manager withdrew defensive midfielder Jon Obi Mikel and replaced him with the more attack-minded Juliano Belletti.
But the Blues were almost caught out on 58 minutes after an uncharacteristic mistake by Terry.
The skipper failed to deal with a routine through ball and David Nugent was clear on goal.
He got his shot in but it was a nice height for Cech who flew to his right to beat it away.
The man who changed the game was on-loan Quaresma who replaced Salomon Kalou on the hour and livened things up immediately.
He burst down the right and crossed for Drogba who headed over and another dangerous ball into the area from the Portuguese winger was scrambled behind by Sol Campbell.
It reminded us of what once made Quaresma one of the most sought-after creators in European football.
He lost his way having been bought then dumped by Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan but maybe he and Chelsea will be good for each other.
For all Chelsea’s pressure, Portsmouth suddenly broke as the ball rebounded to Crouch who was all alone on the halfway line.
His first touch was not a good one, taking him too far wide but he still had plenty of room to work in and crossed for Nico Kranjcar who controlled and shot wide.
The rain came down harder and the wind got stronger but Quaresma’s influence on Chelsea was growing and it was his cross which found its way through the Pompey defence for Drogba’s winner.
The strike from 12 yards was clean and true and it was job done.
Absolutely spliffing!
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