Sunday Times
Woodwork is no bar to Chelsea glory
Chelsea 1 - Portsmouth 0: Jonathan Northcroft Football correspondent at Wembley
Explain this. The first half: five Chelsea efforts strike the woodwork, one possibly bounces across the line, Salomon Kalou perpetrates the Miss of the Millennium, but somehow 45 minutes finish goalless. The second period: even more demented. A player from each side wastes a penalty, Kevin-Prince Boateng fatally, more open goals are squandered, both captains might be sent off but only one — belatedly — is booked. The match stats: 30 shots to Chelsea, four to Portsmouth. The scoreline: incredibly, just 1-0.
The aftermath: Portsmouth players crying, their manager greets full-time by burying his head in his hands and rails in his post-match press conference. Yet Portsmouth fans grin, embrace and sing out their Pompey Chimes with the greatest pride they have known in years of supporting their team. And let’s not even try to explain how Pompey got to Wembley in the first place nor, given the fiscal plughole the blood of this club is whirling down, where they go from here. This was a day when Fergie’s famous “football? bloody hell” comment seemed an understatement and cliches about the FA Cup and fairytales seemed criminally under-hyped.
Carlo Ancelotti, who became the first manager to lead Chelsea to the Double, released an autobiography called “Preferisco La Coppa”. The title translates into English as “I prefer the cup” but in Italian “Coppa” is also a cut of ham. This final was sliced straight from football’s funny bone and even the urbane Italian had problems digesting it. “I have never hit the post five times in one half in my life. Strange, very strange,” he said. On the sixth occasion Chelsea struck the goal frame the ball went in. Didier Drogba, for the third time, scored in an FA Cup final and his juicy strike from a 59th-minute dead ball was a fittingly vivid way to settle this game.
Drogba’s free kick was 25 yards out and at an angle where it was difficult for a right-footed player, without using spin, to convert. It was a tremendous strike, which exploited a careless gap between Aruna Dindane and Jamie O’Hara in the barrier David James had lined up. The ball flashed to the goalkeeper’s left, hitting the inside of his post and cannoning into his net. Moments earlier, Boateng had missed Pompey’s chance to turn a manic match into a miraculous one.
They — or rather the timbers behind James — had weathered Chelsea’s early onslaught. They had emerged from their dressing room re-energised by Avram Grant’s team-talk. They were enjoying possession at last, finally finding a way to force Chelsea back and — Ancelotti observed — causing them to commit silly fouls.
Boateng was their livewire and had just dipped a superb volley just over Petr Cech’s bar after a free kick. Dindane beat Juliano Belletti, a substitute for Michael Ballack, who Boateng left lame with a nasty challenge. Dindane breached Chelsea’s box, Belletti brought him down and Boateng stood over the penalty. He’s German, so he couldn’t possibly miss — except that Boateng already had this season, failing from the spot in Paul Hart’s last game in charge, at Stoke. His penalty was a feeble one, down the middle, half-paced, and Cech saved with his foot. Boateng’s miss, and the swift punishment meted out bu Drogba, shattered Grant’s team and although Nadir Belhadj came on to provide some testing crosses from the left — one just eluding Dindane thanks to John Terry’s faint touch — Chelsea moved inevitably to their deserved Double. They have been the best team this season and were the better team yesterday. Frank Lampard could have underlined the latter but, after Michael Brown fouled him to give away the penalty, he shot past the post from the spot. In front of Fabio Capello, Ashley Cole finished limping, thanks to Dindane’s late tackle, but Ancelotti said that the defender will be okay for the World Cup.
Capello will go away worried about the Wembley surface, on which England have to perform — and try to avoid injuries — against Mexico in eight days. The pitch had more bobbles than an old woollen cardigan, the ball spitting and jumping off the surface from minute one. Fifa delegates who will decide who hosts the 2018 World Cup were also here but as Grant observed: “Wembley is a temple of football but the pitch is not a temple of football.”
Grant’s claim that Pompey were unlucky was less plausible. Chelsea’s near misses began when Lampard cracked a 20-yarder off the post after 13 minute and continued when Aaron Mokoena, Pompey’s inspirational stopper, made an amazing double block after an insouciant one-touch Chelsea move set up Drogba.
Frederic Piquionne diverted Boateng’s shot at goal but Cech made a reflex block and then the madness resumed at the other end. Terry’s header looped against James’ bar and Drogba arched a free kick over the wall that James tipped on the woodwork. The ball dropped and from replays it was clear that most of it crossed the line, but perhaps not all. Referee Chris Foy, who had a torrid match, declined to award the goal after checking with his assistant.
Drogba, just before the interval, hit the post again. But Kalou went closest and should be taken back to strikers’ school as punishment for not scoring. Ashley Cole, found by Florent Malouda, chested down beautifully to beat Steve Finnan and crossed to where Kalou, inside the six-yard box, with an open goal and plenty of time, was waiting. Inexplicably, Kalou declined to use his left foot, let the ball run across him to try and convert with his right, connected with a shin, and sent his effort against the bar. No wonder he clutched his temples in the manner of a man who’s just dropped his car keys down a drain.
Pompey could not have given more but their dangerous moments were infrequent. Chelsea had the ball, had the chances, had the game.
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Telegraph:
Chelsea 1 Portsmouth 0
By Duncan White at Wembley
They could lay a swamp for a pitch at Wembley and not stop Didier Drogba scoring.
The brave last stand of this motley group of Portsmouth players could not prevent the Ivory Coast international from scoring his third FA Cup final winner and his sixth in six competitive games at this stadium. His superb free-kick, struck just before the hour, was his 37th goal, and brought Carlo Ancelotti the Double in his debut season.
'Uncle Avram's' strong hand John Terry was furious about the state of the pitch but it was a cup final full of compelling incident, played out in a raucous atmosphere. Chelsea hit the woodwork five times in a game containing superb saves, heroic blocks, nasty challenges, two missed penalties, an outstanding free kick and probably the worst miss in the history of the FA Cup final.
It was extraordinary stuff from the off. Portsmouth’s defending varied between the desperate and the inspired, with the courageous Aaron Mokoena leading by example, hurling his body in the way of shot after shot. It was a fine swansong – it is unlikely a single one who played at Wembley will still be at the club next season.
Chelsea were dangerous from the whistle. With Michael Ballack sitting deep and controlling the distribution, Nicolas Anelka and Frank Lampard were free to work between the lines. The pair combined well after four minutes, Lampard putting Anelka through only for Mokoena to block the Frenchman’s shot. The rebound fell to Lampard whose effort faded just wide.
He went even closer 10 minutes later. Again he found space 25 yards out and this team hit a superb dipping out-swinger that hit the outside of the post. David James could only watch it.
James denied Anelka at the near post before Mokoena’s defiance touched the epic. Branislav Ivanovic played a one-two with Lampard and got down towards the by-line, pulling back for Florent Malouda who helped it on to Drogba. Mokoena was knocked to the ground by his block, got up and threw himself down the barrel of the second, again taking the blow to his body.
Suddenly there was a gap in the siege and Portsmouth charged forward. Aruna Dindane scooted past Ashley Cole down the right and crossed to the far post where Kevin-Prince Boateng volleyed the ball back across goal. It hit Frederic Piquionne on the shin and flew up to the left of Petr Cech’s ear and the Chelsea goalkeeper instantly clawed it away.
The television cameras focused on a harassed Carlo Ancelotti in the technical area. Could Portsmouth defy the odds? It was followed by the obligatory cut to Roman Abramovich looking glum in the gloom of his private box.
His mood would not have been improved moments later when Malouda sent Ashley Cole free down the left. The England full back breezed past Mokoena and cut back for Salomon Kalou to tuck into an open goal.
Humiliatingly, Kalou managed to shin the ball onto the bar from four yards out. It was an astonishing miss, destined for YouTube immortality.
The inevitable was refusing to happen. Malouda sent in a deep free kick from the left touchline which Terry, soaring between Ricardo Rocha and Kevin-Prince Boateng, sent arcing high and against the top of the bar.
Meanwhile, a nasty little sub plot was beginning to unfold.
Portsmouth’s players were obviously eager to ruffle Chelsea in whatever way they could, with Michael Brown doing his characteristic best to get under Lampard’s skin as he tailed him around the pitch. With the treatment of Michael Ballack, though, they crossed the line.
The Germany captain had already been forced to hurdle a wild challenge from Jamie O’Hara earlier in the half when he got into a contretemps with Dindane inadvertently slapping him as he struggled for a header. It was hardly clean from Ballack and Boateng got into his ear.
That was no excuse for the terrible foul Boateng perpetrated on Ballack minutes letter, flying in late and hard and planting his studs in his right ankle. A hobbling Ballack had to be replaced before half-time.
Boateng, born in Berlin, is a German youth international who has recently declared for Ghana – who are in Germany’s group in South Africa – and his actions will not have gone down well at home, especially if Ballack’s ankle ligaments are damaged. Boateng was booked but the karmic forces would reserve greater punishment for him later.
The usual narrative was resumed with six minutes before half-time as it was Drogba’s turn to be frustrated by the woodwork. From a 30-yard free-kick he seemed to have deceived James with the flight, the Portsmouth captain just managing to palm it against the crossbar. It came down via the post before spinning out. Replays showed the ball had not quite crossed all the way over the line.
Three minutes later and Kalou’s cross drifted over Mokoena and Drogba flicked the ball under the advancing James with the outside of his boot, hitting the outside of the post. Drogba attacked the frame of the goal in frustration – was someone looking out for benighted Pompey?
Ten minutes into the second half and it opened up for Avram Grant’s side. Juliano Belletti, on for Ballack, was beaten by Dindane in the box and clumsily tried to make up for it, conceding a penalty. Up stepped Boateng. He sent his effort pretty much down the middle and while Cech had dived to his right, the Chelsea goalkeeper managed to save the ball with his legs.
It took just four minutes for the disappointment to deepen.
Mokoena chopped down Drogba 20 yards from goal and the Ivorian got up and sent a precision strike dipping over the wall in and in off the far post.
Even the woodwork was turning on Pompey. There was still half an hour to go and plenty of drama to come.
Chelsea just could not finish the game off. Kalou missed another good chance, pulling his shot across the face of goal, and Drogba was denied by James at the near post.
Portsmouth kept admirably at it. Grant had sent on Nadir Belhadj for Hayden Mullins and with his first touch the Algerian volleyed a cross across the face of the Chelsea box which Terry just managed to steer away from Dindane behind him. Dindane got on the end of another Belhadj cross moments later, the ball rather comically hitting him on the head as he tried to volley.
With two minutes to go Lampard was felled in the box by a tiring Brown. England’s first-choice penalty taker stepped up and sent his low effort wide of James’ right-hand post. Bad news for the watching Fabio Capello? Depends which way you look at it – maybe it was James’ imposing presence that forced him to miss. No, the one thing the England manager will have learned on Saturday was that he is best off avoiding Ivory Coast in South Africa this summer.
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NOTW:
NOW BLUES ARE CUP THERE WITH THE BEST
CHELSEA 1 PORTSMOUTH 0
By Neil Ashton
FOR years they have been teased, mocked by opposition fans as they went in search of silverware.
Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool had the history, Chelsea just lived the high life.
They have made it now, accelerating away from the rest of English football after this outstanding achievement.
The blue and white chequered flags being waved at one end confirmed it, crossing the finishing line after completing this memorable journey.
They are bossing the game again, a point ahead of United in the Premier League and too powerful for Portsmouth.
Carlo Ancelotti's team are fully paid-up members of the elite, one of the established order after pulling off the Dream Double.
They started the season at Wembley, claiming the Community Shield with a penalty shootout win over United way back in August.
Yesterday, they finished it in style, on course for the Double the moment Didier Drogba opted for placement rather than power with a 59th-minute free-kick.
The Chelsea striker is the club's Player of the Year and yet the overwhelming feeling is that Ancelotti is the man who makes this team tick.
Ancelotti is a success story, transferring a sustained period of glory at the San Siro with AC Milan to Stamford Bridge.
Outwitted by Jose Mourinho in both legs of the Champions League tie against Inter Milan, he has been outstanding ever since.
So, too, have his team, winning their third Premier League title and finishing the season with Chelsea's sixth FA Cup.
John Terry never tires of lifting the trophy, clambering up the steps to clutch the Cup for the third time in four seasons.
He was joined by a familiar group of players, a £250million super team with ambitions to take their game to Europe next season.
Victory in a Champions League final would give this team the full set of honours, with Ancelotti the man to one day take them the distance.
The Italian oozes class and composure, only allowing himself a crafty puff on a customary cigarette when he finally escaped the dressing-room celebrations.
They set out to do something special at the start of the season and they have pulled it off, the best team in English football by a street.
That much will be made clear when they set off from Stamford Bridge at 12.30pm today, winding their way through South-West London's swanky drives on an open-top bus.
Then they can remind the world what they are all about, Wembley winners yet again having squeaked past Portsmouth.
Such bad luck for Avram Grant, booted out by Chelsea in 2008 after Terry slipped on the surface of the Luzhniki Stadium in the Champions League final.
Portsmouth's manager has won so many friends this season and is immortalised on the South Coast after his end-of-season speech on the Fratton Park pitch.
The place was awash with emotion, a tidal wave of tears as Grant's powerful words reminded them of their unflinching support.
No one could break their spirit yesterday, not even Drogba's winning strike that dipped beyond David James with unerring accuracy.
These are troubled times for Portsmouth and their supporters but they left the worries and the woes behind for 24 hours.
Today, maybe even tomorrow, the reality will set in... defeat in the FA Cup final the last act of a season spent largely in disgrace.
Others, such as the suits in the boardroom, still have so much to answer, with the club crippled financially after indulging players on superstar salaries.
Soon it will hit home, yet 40,000 defiant supporters played their part in this magnificent occasion.
Two years ago, they were on an upward curve, with Kanu's goal against Cardiff in the final taking them into Europe.
This season, they were doomed the moment the Premier League docked them nine points and, yesterday, deflated when Drogba pierced their defence.
Until then they had been magnificent, 11 warriors travelling up from the coast to cover every inch of Wembley's flaky surface.
It was thrilling, an FA Cup final with two teams fighting for different causes.
At times it was bruising. Michael Ballack limped off just before the break after he was crippled by Kevin-Prince Boateng.
It was brutal stuff, a bloody battle in the middle as Chelsea threatened to pick off Portsmouth.
Michael Brown was jumping into tackles, under strict instruction from his manager to clatter anything that moved in blue.
Grant's crusade has been admirable, championing the club's cause when it seemed the football world was against them.
He still believes they are the victims, denied a place in the Europa League next season because of UEFA bureaucracy. It would have been a decent argument if they had won - and they were given the opportunity to threaten an upset with a second-half penalty.
That was their chance, the moment when Boateng could have written himself into FA Cup folklore by whacking the ball past Petr Cech.
It was unexpected, handed to him when substitute Juliano Belletti bundled over Aruna Dindane as he made his way into the penalty area.
Cech guessed right, Boateng drove down the middle and somehow Chelsea's keeper flicked the ball away with his left boot. It was a slow-motion moment, with Chelsea fans open-mouthed behind Cech's goal and Pompey fans reflecting on a dramatic miss.
That was the moment they were beaten, with Alex the first Chelsea player to celebrate with Cech and Boateng a broken man, falling to the floor.
It was a reminder for Chelsea, still a winning strike away from becoming the seventh English team to secure the Double.
They had dominated Pompey, smothering Brown, Papa Bouba Diop and Dindane whenever they were in possession.
Frank Lampard hit the upright with a swerving effort, Salomon Kalou clipped the bar when Ashley Cole presented him with a straightforward chance from six yards and Terry's header cannoned off the woodwork.
There was energy all over the pitch, anticipation whenever Chelsea set off in search of the goal that would guarantee glory.
At times they were too comfortable, with Cech saving brilliantly when Frederic Piquionne attempted to steer Boateng's first-time volley into the net.
It was a magical moment, a thrilling save from a man showing the composure and confidence that once marked him down as the world's best keeper.
They were pinned back at the start of the second half, panicked as Portsmouth and their supporters sensed an upset.
Boateng's volley went over the target before he got another goalscoring opportunity from the penalty spot.
But the chance drifted away from them and, moments later, Drogba lined up his free-kick from just outside the area.
Chelsea should have extended their lead when Lampard was fouled inside the area by Brown. He fluffed it, an uncharacteristic penalty miss, but the damage was already done.
They were seconds away, waiting for the whistle before Terry could lift the trophy and confirm their place as the most successful team in English football over the past five years.
Yesterday's triumph was their eighth major honour since 2005, with three FA Cups resting alongside three Premier League titles and a couple of Carling Cups.
Now that's history.
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Mail:
FA CUP FINAL: Chelsea 1 Portsmouth 0: Didier Drogba wrecks Pompey's dream as Ancelotti clinches Double
By Rob Draper
An inconceivably wretched season for Portsmouth ended yesterday in the most extraordinary FA Cup final.
And though it was Chelsea who created history, winning their first League and Cup Double, it was those famous Pompey Chimes that resounded around Wembley at the final whistle. As the Premier League champions cavorted on the Wembley pitch in celebration, it was the ovation afforded to a rag-tag collection of loan players and late transfers, the majority of whom will be leaving this summer, and to their manager Avram Grant, who will also depart, which provided the most emotionally charged moment of the afternoon.
For, with debts of £138million and their future utterly uncertain, the club who have become a parody of the Premier League's claims to glory almost pulled off an FA Cup victory which would have upstaged almost anything previously seen here.
'I'm sad and proud,' said Grant at the end of it all. 'It has been a difficult season, one we will never forget but everyone in Portsmouth can be proud of this team.' Yet when Kevin Prince Boateng trudged from the pitch on 74 minutes, he knew he had missed a momentous opportunity for himself and his club.
His ineffective penalty strike on 56 minutes was truly the pivotal moment of an astonishing final. 'It would have won the game,' mused Grant.It might well have done and in doing so it would have inflicted on Chelsea an astonishing humiliation. As it is, Carlo Ancelotti will join the history-makers after a remarkable first season in English football.'I am just lucky to have worked at fantastic clubs, like AC Milan and Chelsea,' said Ancelotti. 'They make my job easy.'
And though he now stands alongside Bill Nicholson, Bertie Mee, Kenny Dalglish, Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger as one of the post-war managerial greats of the English game, there were chilling moments for him. For Chelsea contrived to miss so many chances in such bizarre circumstances that their fate took on comic proportions. Five times they hit the woodwork in the first half alone as Portsmouth survived by farcical means, in the case of Saloman Kalou's miss, and foul, in the case of Kevin-Prince Boateng's ugly challenge on Michael Ballack.
'Never in my career have I seen a half like this one in which my team hit the post five times,' said Ancelotti. He claimed not to have been worried, to have dismissed the creeping thoughts of fortune favouring the broke.
Yet when Kalou, from four yards with an empty net beckoning, managed to lift a perfectly weighted pass on to the crossbar, a miss as calamitous as it is possible to imagine, even Ancelotti must have doubted.Before that Frank Lampard's dipping strike from 30 yards had struck the top of the post on 14 minutes and Didier Drogba had been denied by two outstanding defensive blocks by Aaron Mokoena. Therafter, John Terry sent a header crashing against the bar on 30 minutes and David James produced an excellent save on 39 minutes to tip Drogba's thundering free-kick on to the bar. The ball then bounced on to the goalline and agonisingly spun out, hitting the post and dribbling away to safety. Three minutes later, the Ivorian striker controlled a long pass but again shot against the post.
Drogba caught the mood, berating the goal post and then the crossbar for its impertinence in denying him. Petr Cech was even forced to take a throw-in 10 metres from the halfway line at one point, so deep were Portsmouth playing. Yet amid the onslaught, came Cech's own stunning reflex save from Frederic Piquionne on 23 minutes, proof that there was life in Pompey yet. And shortly into the second half they created the moment which defined this game, when Aruna Dindane began a mazy run down the right, which so bewildered Juliano Belletti that he unwisely brought him down inside the penalty area. Wembley erupted as the penalty was awarded and up stepped Boateng, just as he had in the semi-final. Yet, on this occasion he was unequal to the task, with Cech able to kick away his poorly struck penalty despite having dived away from the ball.
All Wembley sensed the despair. Portsmouth's raucous fans bravely struck up those defiant chimes and yet surrender was nigh. Just three minutes later Mokoena was forced to bring down Drogba as the striker honed in on goal. Thirty yards out, the irrepressible striker struck his free-kick through a hole in the wall, cunningly created by Florent Malouda, and this time it rebounded off the post into the net with James well beaten. Portsmouth gave of their best, with Dindane going close on 61 and 83 minutes, but the narrative of the game had changed utterly and their cause was lost. At the death they even conceded a penalty, Michael Brown's clumsy challenge felling Lampard, yet at least the England midfielder had the grace to pull it wide. Portsmouth deserved that at least amid their desolation.
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Independent:
Drogba refuses to be denied as Chelsea lead a Double life
Chelsea 1 Portsmouth 0: Ancelotti's men make history after Portsmouth pay the penalty
By Steve Tongue at Wembley
An unexpectedly riveting FA Cup final – the first between teams right at the top and bottom of the League – ended with blue flags flying all round the stadium. Chelsea's followers were celebrating the club's first Double and deservedly so, but Portsmouth's legions were mightily proud of their men, who ended a horrendous season with a typically defiant performance and a huddle in the pitch between a squad who will never appear together again as the club's administrator sets to work selling them off.
There has been widespread sympathy for the players and their manager, as opposed to those who have ruined the club financially, and a generous reception was offered from the Chelsea end as David James led his weary team-mates up the 107 steps to receive their losers' medals; applause redoubled for the former Chelsea manager Avram Grant, so cruelly denied at the 2008 Champions' League final.
It could not be said that Portsmouth were unlucky; not when the crossbar and post spared them an astonishing five times in the first half alone. Yet it was still possible that having somehow survived that barrage, the 12-1 outsiders could have taken the lead twice – the second occasion when Kevin-Prince Boateng's penalty was saved – and clung on for what would have been one of the most remarkable wins in the history of the competition.
Instead, as Didier Drogba struck a post again from a free-kick, the ball at last bounced Chelsea's way and finished in the net. Then there was a late piece of history with the second missed penalty in the same final, as Frank Lampard pulled his kick wide.
Lampard lost Michael Ballack as a midfield helper before the interval, the victim of a dreadful challenge by Boateng, prompting fears that he might miss the World Cup, though Carlo Ancelotti believes he will be ready. The Chelsea manager was one of those who found the experience of hitting the goal frame so often something unique. His concern was that for a while at the start of the second half, "the match was not in our control".
That was mainly down to the vigour of Portsmouth's two holding midfielders, Michael Brown and Papa Bouba Diop, disrupting Chelsea by fair means or foul – often the latter in Brown's case. Just in front of them, Jamie O'Hara, playing his last game before returning to Tottenham, typified Portsmouth's spirit this season by playing a full 90 minutes with a stress fracture of the back.
A year ago Chelsea conceded the final's fastest goal to Louis Saha within 25 seconds. Pompey's ambition during that period was merely to touch the ball, which they did, although the pattern of the game was soon set.
Portsmouth sat back and hoped to utilise the pace of Frédéric Piquionne or Aruna Dindane on the break. Unfortunately it was rare for both to be forward at the same time. When they were, amid all the mayhem at the other end, Cech was forced to make one of the saves of the season. Dindane cut the ball from the byline for Boateng, whose mishit shot was nudged at goal by Piquionne. Cech, using pure instinct, stuck out his left hand to divert the ball to safety.
If that earned the gratitude of his underemployed defenders, Ports-mouth's embraced David James for the save at the other end in the first half. It came from the free-kick, 25 yards out, that followed Boateng's crude foul on Ballack. Drogba hit one of his new-style dipping efforts which the goalkeeper just managed to put a hand on, pushing the ball on to the bar and right down on to the line. The assistant referee was in no position to judge whether it was a goal or not, but replays suggested that Chris Foy was correct in waving play on.
On either side of that, Salomon Kalou contrived to strike the bar from five yards as Ashley Cole set him up; Lampard struck the top of the post; John Terry headed against the bar; and Drogba toe-poked against the foot of a post, banging his fist in frustration against the two spots he had hit.
Chelsea were also thwarted before half-time by another of Aaron Mokoena's brave blocks. The second half was barely less eventful, Portsmouth starting it well and earning a penalty when Ballack's replacement, Juliano Belletti, carelessly tripped Dindane, who was going nowhere. Boateng hit it too straight and Cech pulled off his second notable save. "That was the key moment," Ancelotti admitted.
Within three minutes Drogba was fouled and kept his free-kick from 20 yards lower than the previous effort. It struck a post, but this time bounced in. James kept Portsmouth alive with a block from Drogba, and with his first touch the substitute Nadir Belhadj volleyed a wicked cross that Alex miskicked and Terry just touched away from Dindane's lunge.
A different sort of lunge by the provocative Brown sent Lampard tumbling, but unusually he put his penalty wide to keep Portsmouth hoping against hope until the very last.
"Everyone in Portsmouth can be proud of this team," Grant said. "It was a season I won't forget."
Bookings: Portsmouth: Boateng, O'Hara, Rocha.
Attendance: 88,335
Referee: Chris Foy
Man of the match: Drogba
Match rating: 8/10
Ivorian's home from home
Didier Drogba has only failed to score once in seven Wembley appearances (the 2009 FA Community Shield v Man Utd).
FA Cup finals
2010 v Portsmouth (1 goal, 59 min)
2009 v Everton (1 goal, 21 min)
2007 v Man Utd (1 goal, 116 min)
FA Cup Semi-finals
2010 v Aston Villa (1 goal, 68 min)
2009 v Arsenal (1 goal, 84 min)
Carling Cup final
2008 v Tottenham (1 goal, 39 min)
Jo Springett
Man for man: Chelsea
Petr Cech 7/10
One of the quietest matches of Cech's season – he found time to take a throw-in – was enlivened when Piquionne mis-hit a chance into the goalkeeper's grateful grasp. In the second half he made one of the easier penalty saves, diving to his right and adjusting his legs to kick away Boateng's weak shot.
Branislav Ivanovic 7/10
With the defensive side of the Serb's game rarely tested he had ample opportunity to make several significant incursions on the Portsmouth left. Still going strong late on to set up a chance for Kalou.
Alex 7/10
Picked off Portsmouth's attempts to thread the ball through the middle and was a match for Piquionne's pace, but in truth the Brazilian centre-back could not have had many gentler matches this season as the opponents settled for doughty defence and breakaway attacks.
John Terry 7/10
Revealed as a weak link – or at least an out-of-form one – in Chelsea's back four in the past couple of months, the captain had a sound match, was not distracted by constant booing, tackled wholeheartedly and was denied a headed goal by the crossbar.
Ashley Cole 8/10
Returning to near top form, and fitness, in time for the League run-in, England's World Cup and this final, the full-back again impressed as a vibrant attacking option on the left. It was his run and cross just before the half-hour mark that saw Kalou spoon the ball on to the bar, the Blues' best chance in open play.
Michael Ballack 6/10
Strolling through the early part of the match in the role of holding midfielder, the German was able to push forward as the threat to Cech's goal ebbed away. A heavy tackle by Boateng led to his first-half substitution.
Frank Lampard 8/10
Having contributed so many goals from midfield this season, it was an eye-rubbing moment when the normally reliable marksman placed a penalty kick wide. But that was a rare blot on an afternoon of application and energy. Was the first of many to hit the woodwork, with a curling shot from distance.
Florent Malouda 7/10
Has been in fine form in the final part of the season but he did not catch the eye so readily here. However, his pace and perceptive passes were still key as Chelsea turned up the heat on hard-pressed opposition.
Nicolas Anelka 7/10
The French striker toiled hard and was a constant handful. Unfortunately, he had omitted to bring his shooting boots – at one point only one of six efforts had been on target. Not a clinical ratio.
Salomon Kalou 6/10
After 26 minutes, when Ashley Cole broke free on the left and crossed low, tapping the ball in from four yards looked one of the afternoon's simpler tasks. It was beyond Kalou. Had that chance gone in, Chelsea's win would surely have been heavy.
Didier Drogba 8/10
At one point, Drogba seemed ready to dismantle the Wembley woodwork, so frustrating had it been to Chelsea's efforts. Twice it denied him, from a thunderous shot that bounced down on to the line, and a deft flick under James. But his free-kick, thumped in off the post, made him a match-winner yet again.
Replacements
Juliano Belletti On after 43 minutes for Ballack, and gave away a penalty with an ill-timed lunge at Dindane. Joe Cole On for Kalou after 70 minutes, but after seeing shots blocked by Finnan and Brown did not make an impression. Daniel Sturridge On for Anelka in the 90th minute.
Man for man: Portsmouth
David James 8/10
By far the busier of the two goalkeepers, an early save at his near post from Anelka and a wonderful tip on to the crossbar from Drogba's free-kick were the pick of a good afternoon's work. But needed several slices of luck to keep his goal intact for 58 minutes. The woodwork deserves nine out of 10.
Steve Finnan 6/10
Was slowly but surely submerged by wave after wave of attacks from the Chelsea left, with Ashley Cole and Anelka persistent threats. Unable to support Dindane on Pompey's right to any great effect.
Ricardo Rocha 6/10
Charged with the unenviable task of shackling Drogba, the Portuguese centre-back tried to plug gaps but it was a Sisyphean task as his side was forced further and further back. Given a late booking for dissent, a mark of the stress.
Aaron Mokoena 8/10
South Africa's captain gave a heroic exhibition of defending, particularly in the first half when two blocks in very quick succession denied Anelka. Flung himself at everything else that Chelsea fired at the Pompey goal. Must be hoping he can play with similar determination and spirit at home this summer.
Hayden Mullins 6/10
Under almost constant pressure from Kalou and the overlapping Ivanovic, the left-back was given some measure of the task early in the first half when Kalou escaped, but wasted the space won. Could not often find the time to support Boateng on the left.
Papa Bouba Diop 5/10
Playing just in front of the Pompey back four, the big midfielder's strong tackling was eventually no match for the speed and skill of the Chelsea midfield. An early foul on Anelka was evidence that he lacked the pace for the task ahead. Made way for Kanu late in the second half.
Aruna Dindane 7/10
Might have given Finnan more assistance by tracking back to cover the marauding Ashley Cole. In possession he was one of the liveliest threats to Chelsea that Pompey could muster, though his ball control let him down. Was certainly too quick for Belletti when winning Portsmouth's penalty.
Michael Brown 6/10
Worked hard in a midfield steadily over-run as the tempo of Chelsea attacks increased. Walked a tightrope with referee Chris Foy with an early ill-timed tackle on Lampard and the red mist seemed about to descend near the end in a challenge with Sturridge.
Kevin-Prince Boateng 7/10
Blotted his day's work with a penalty struck weakly and straight at Cech, as the second of Pompey's two good chances disappeared. In open play he fired in two better efforts, one left-footed and one with the right, from Chelsea's right, the first turning into a chance for Piquionne. Substituted soon after that penalty miss.
Jamie O'Hara 6/10
Defied a stress fracture in his spine to play and gave his all in midfield, but the on-loan Spurs man was rarely able to get forward quickly enough to support Piquionne. The injury clearly slowed him down.
Frederic Piquionne 5/10
Did not give a good exhibition of how to perform the role of lone striker and never held the ball up long enough for reinforcements to arrive. Missed a great chance to turn in Boateng's first shot, lobbing it into Cech's arms.
Replacements
John Utaka On for crestfallen Boateng after 73 minutes but wasn't as effective. Nwankwo Kanu Replaced Diop after 80 minutes in a double substitution with Nadir Belhadj for Brown. The latter made the greater impact with two teasing crosses.
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Guardian:
Didier Drogba secures Chelsea Double after Cech save stuns Portsmouth
Chelsea 1 Drogba 59 Portsmouth 0
Paul Wilson at Wembley
Didier Drogba's 37th goal of the season, and sixth in seven Wembley appearances, earned Chelsea the FA Cup and their first Double – so no surprises there. This was not the boring final everyone had feared, however. Thanks in no small part to Portsmouth's extraordinary competitive spirit, it was a good deal more enjoyable and entertaining than many of its predecessors. There were times – not very long times, admittedly – when it was almost tense.
While suspense could never be anticipated in a meeting of champions versus team relegated in bottom place, bankrolled Cup holders against potless bankrupts, Pompey gave an excellent account of themselves. They could even have won the game had Kevin-Prince Boateng not struck the second-feeblest penalty of the week at the start of the second half. That may seem a large claim, with over half an hour of the game still to go, but Portsmouth would have taken the lead and, as it turned out, there was only a single goal in the match. In the end there was no fairytale – indeed nothing from the Brothers Grimm, unless you count the sight of John Terry and Frank Lampard pogo-ing with the trophy.
"The match was not under control at the start of the second half," Carlo Ancelotti said, conceding the point that Portsmouth's penalty could have altered the outcome. "That was a key moment, it would not have been easy for us if Portsmouth had scored at that point. The first half was strange, I don't think I have ever seen a team hit the post and bar so often without scoring. I wasn't worried, though a goal against us might have made a difference."
Avram Grant chose what seems likely to be his final Portsmouth game to berate the authorities for not allowing his players into Europe as runners-up to a Champions League side. Noncommital on his own future – "I will wait to see what Portsmouth do, but not for long" – he suggested rules have been bent before for deserving cases. "The players, the club and the fans deserve to be in Europe," he insisted. "Just as Liverpool deserved to be in the Champions League in 2005, when they only finished fifth. The rules were clear, but they were amended. Well, we deserve it, too." Hardly. Portsmouth are entitled to a certain amount of sympathy but ought not to try to milk the it. Liverpool made an exceptional case for themselves by winning the Champions League in 2005. Entering administration and not applying for a licence in time are not comparable, and Grant succeeded only in returning quickly to reality when his players appeared to have successfully put it out of their minds for a day.
The first 20 minutes or so were as slow and stodgy as the pitch, although until Wembley's playing surface is sorted out that may be something Cup finals will have to live with. Once the sides settled down, the first half was far from uneventful, it was just slightly embarrassing for Portsmouth that most of the action was taking place in and around their goal. Quite literally, since Chelsea hit the frame of David James's goal five times in the first 45 minutes. Lampard started it before Saloman Kalou made a bid for Wembley miss of the century, stabbing against the bar from Ashley Cole's square ball with the goal gaping empty in from of him. Terry headed against the bar from a free kick, then James got a crucial hand to a fulminating Drogba shot after Michael Ballack had been fouled, diverting the ball on to the underside of the bar then out via a dramatic bounce on the goalline. Drogba slid his next effort under James, but against an upright, then the Pompey goal's charmed life brought the first half to a close with an almost comic sequence of events, as the ball bounced back and forth between Branislav Ivanovic, James, Kalou and the crossbar before finally coming to rest in the goalkeeper's arms.
If that makes it sound as though the first half was all Chelsea, that would not be an inaccurate surmise, though on the few occasions Portsmouth got enough men forward to make attacks meaningful they had chances of their own. But for Kalou's spectacular miss they would have been in with a shout for best chance of the first half. Certainly they were unlucky not to take the lead after Aruna Dindane's raiding run down the left, when Boateng met the cross and saw his shot helped goalwards at the last minute by Frédéric Piquionne, only for Petr Cech to make a smart reaction save. Portsmouth knew they would have to exist on scraps, though the scrap between Ballack and Dindane shortly before Boateng was booked for going through the back of the German eventually led to the Chelsea player having to limp off before the interval. While early reports suggest Ballack will be fit in time for the World Cup, he will might be relieved to hear Boateng has opted for Ghana rather than Germany.
A few other nasty fouls disfigured the second half, notably when Terry shoved his shoulder into Dindane's face and the Ivorian made what looked like a calculated stamp on Ashley Cole's ankle in the closing stages, though it was a see-saw five minute period just before the hour mark that settled the outcome.
Portsmouth had come out for the second half on the attack, seemingly bucked by their luck and first-half resilience,, and Boateng had already shot just over from a narrow angle when Dindane carried the ball into the area on the opposite flank and was brought down by a mistimed tackle by Juliano Belletti. – and Chris Foy's decision was correct. Boateng did not try to chip the goalkeeper, as Leicester's Yann Kermogrant had with such disastrous results in Wednesday's Championship play-off, though Cech found his weakly struck shot down the middle easy to stop with his legs.
Four minutes later, Pompey were looking for a way to get back into the game after Drogba struck another free kick sweetly and this time found the target. Even the winning goal went in off a post, though there was no argument about the Aaron Mokoena foul on Drogba that brought the opportunity, or the quality of the shot from just outside the angle of the area.
Portsmouth could hardly complain after what had taken place in the first half and, in the end, they were the recipients of a bit more luck when Lampard, bundled over by Michael Brown in the area, uncharacteristically placed his penalty the wrong side of a post. It was still quite a game, though, with James, Mokoena and Jamie O'Hara particularly unlucky to be on the losing side. Chelsea may be back, but Pompey will be missed.
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Express:
CHELSEA'S DIDIER DROGBA SERVES UP THE DOUBLE
By John Richardson
Chelsea 1, Portsmouth 0
SPITTING out the dummy one week and sipping a Double the next – all part of being the complex figure of Didier Drogba.
The striker had the biggest of strops in the first half of Chelsea’s Premier League title-winning victory over Stoke after not being allowed to take a penalty.
Yesterday he was Mr Cool as everyone else was in danger of losing it after squandering so many chances, slotting in his sixth goal in six Wembley appearances.
Chelsea struck the woodwork five times while an outplayed Portsmouth missed a penalty. If Kevin-Prince Boateng had scored he would have been a Prince among thieves because relegated Pompey with their physical approach didn’t deserve anything.
There was no fuss from Drogba when Chelsea were awarded a late spot-kick. Lampard was allowed to assume responsibility only to hammer wide.
So Carlo Ancelotti in his first season landed the League and Cup double for the first time in Chelsea’s history – only the seventh club to achieve this feat. Eat your heart out, Jose Mourinho. As for Portmouth, leaving parties don’t come much grander than staging one at Wembley.
Ahead of the expected exodus of manager and players, Pompey had been hoping to take the famous old pot home with them. The last time it was at Fratton Park just two years ago at least they could afford the polish to clean it.
Grant’s side were looking for another miracle similar to the semi-final here which accounted for Spurs. It wasn’t to be. A bigger miracle it seems these days is to have a proper playing surface at the so called home of football. If you had grass like this at home following yet another expensive returfing operation you would expect a full refund.
In the early stages the ball was treated like a bouncing bomb rather than something to caress as it bobbled on yet another new surface with so much sand showing that maybe instead of boots, buckets and spades should have been the order of the day. Luckily for Chelsea Lampard is able to display his creative talents on just about any standard of pitch.
Whether it’s pristine or potholed doesn’t matter to the midfielder. Twice the England midfielder, who has once again topped the 20 goals mark, had James scrambling on his goal line, the first attempt flashing just wide, the second leaving its imprint on the top of the post.
James did well to block Nicolas Anelka at the near post before Portsmouth came so close to taking the lead. Aruna Dindane crossed from the right and Boateng’s volley from beyond the far post arrowed towards Frederic Piquionne only for Petr Cech to show marvellous reflexes.
After that Chelsea took control and but for one of the worst misses witnessed at the famous stadium, a fine stop from James and the woodwork rattled on four more occasions, Ancelotti’s side would have been home and dry by half-time.
First the miss. Ashley Cole brilliantly controlled Florent Malouda’s long ball before skipping to the by line and presenting the opening goal on a plate for Salomon Kalou. Somehow unmarked from four yards the Ivory Coast striker contrived to hit the bar.
A John Terry header from a Malouda free-kick met the same fate while James showed at the age of 39 he can still rise to the occasion, with an agile leap and strong hand to touch a fierce Drogba free-kick on to the underside of the bar. Portsmouth hearts sank as the ball landed on the line amidst Chelsea claims for a goal. The officials got it right and Avram Grant’s side survived.
But for how long? Drogba caused more problems in a packed penalty box before stabbing against the post. Portsmouth’s luck was also in when an ankle-high challenge on Michael Ballack by Boateng only produced a yellow card instead of a red. The German paid the price, eventually being replaced by Juliano Belletti.
Ten minutes after the break Belletti was guilty as he brought down Dindane inside the box, an easy decision for referee Chris Foy.But Boateng’s spot-kick was low and down the middle and Cech stuck out a foot to break Pompey hearts.Two minutes later they burst as Chelsea finally scored.
Drogba was hacked down by Aaron Mokoena but instead of rolling around in mock agony he picked himself up and from 25 yards found a gap in the defensive wall and again struck wood – only this time the bounce was in Chelsea’s favour and Drogba celebrated his 34th goal of the season.
It maintained his Wembley record – a sixth goal in his sixth appearance. With just two minutes of normal time remaining Michael Brown tripped Lampard inside the area.
Up stepped the England man but drove his spot-kick wide. Luckily it didn’t matter. It might do in South Africa.
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Mirror:
Chelsea 1-0 Portsmouth
By Simon Mullock
What a way to banish the spectre of the Special One.
These may still be the players that Jose Mourinho first turned into champions – but rest assured this is now very much Carlo Ancelotti’s team.
In his first season at Stamford Bridge, Ancelotti has delivered something that was beyond even Mourinho – a Premier League and FA Cup Double.
Didier Drogba’s stunning 59th-minute free-kick enabled the Italian to get his hands on the oldest trophy of them all.
It was a devastating strike.
Enough to silence the incredible Portsmouth fans, who made this an occasion to savour, and the critics, who accuse Chelsea of having no history.
The Blues’ place among the legends of the English game is now guaranteed after an achievement that has only been savoured by six other clubs.
For Pompey it was another day of heartbreak at the end of a season when everything apart from the heart has been ripped out of the club.
Avram Grant’s men became the sixth club to be both relegated and beaten in the Cup Final.
Grant, of course, is the man that came within a penalty kick of making Chelsea the champions of Europe.
That John Terry slip in Moscow was two years ago this week. It must seem like another lifetime for the Israeli.
A new challenge away from Fratton Park beckons for Grant, while Pompey’s fans returned down the M3 contemplating life in the Championship and debts of £140million.
At the end, before Terry and Frank Lampard lifted the trophy in unison, both sets of supporters rose as one to acclaim Grant as he collected his medal. ‘Carpe diem’ they say in Ancelotti’s homeland. ‘Seize the day’. And it seemed like Pompey would do just that after somehow surviving a first half which saw Chelsea strike the woodwork FIVE times.
When Aruna Dindane tore past Juliano Belletti in the 55th minute and was then sent sprawling by the Chelsea substitute’s desperate lunge, referee Chris Foy pointed immediately to the penalty spot.
Opportunity knocked for Pompey but, when Kevin-Prince Boateng fired his kick against the legs of Petr Cech, the door slammed shut.
Within minutes, Drogba picked himself up after being fouled by the otherwise outstanding Aaron Mokoena 25 yards out.
And when David James took a slight step to his right as Drogba shaped to shoot, it was fatal.
Drogba’s whipped effort beat the Pompey keeper’s left hand by inches and bounced in off the foot of the post.
The Ivorian deserved his 37th goal of the season. In the latter stages of the first period, he had seen a free-kick clatter the crossbar off James’ fingertips and another close-range effort strike the foot of the post.
At that moment Portsmouth must have believed they were going to produce one of the greatest upsets of them all.
In an emotional show of defiance before the tie, their fans in the East Stand turned one half of Wembley into a sea of waving flags. It harked back to the golden days of the FA Cup, the glittering silver vision that has always offered hope to the underdog.
This was top versus bottom; rich versus poor; champions against vanquished.
Lampard almost silenced the Pompey chimes inside four minutes with a snap shot on the run that curled wide.
And when he got another sight of goal – and a chance to score in successive finals – the outside of James’ post intervened.
But Chelsea also had a let-off when Dindane stabbed instinctively at Boateng’s volley inside Chelsea’s six-yard box only to see Cech produce an incredible save.
The Blues went from the sublime to the ridiculous moments later when Florent Malouda somehow fired a shot against the underside of the bar. Then Terry rose between Ricardo Rocha and Boateng to meet Malouda’s lofted free-kick only to see his header bounce off the bar.
Drogba twice struck the same overworked goal frame as the break approached. It seemed nothing would get past James.
But when Boateng fired over on the restart, and then blundered from the penalty spot, Drogba struck decisively. Salomon Kalou and substitute Joe Cole should have made it comfortable.
And Pompey would have made Chelsea pay had Terry not inadvertently diverted substitute Nadir Belhadj’s cross away from Dindane with the goal gaping.
Even Lampard was wasteful, shooting wide from the penalty spot in the 88th minute after being hauled down by Michael Brown.
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