The Road To Wembley

Didier Drogba was the hero for Chelsea as they added the FA Cup to their Premier League crown with a 1-0 win over Portsmouth. 

The Pompey goal led a charmed life throughout an entertaining first half at Wembley, with Chelsea left wondering what they had to do to force a breakthrough.

Frank Lampard saw a swerving effort clip the outside of a post before Salomon Kalou somehow contrived to hit the bar from six yards out with the goal gaping.

John Terry then headed against the woodwork and Drogba hit the bar with a stinging free-kick, which cannoned down onto the line after David James got a hand to his 30-yard drive.

Drogba poked a low effort onto the outside of the post as the half wore on but the two sides went into the interval level, much to Pompey's relief.

For all their opportunities, Chelsea almost fell behind 10 minutes into the second half as Aruna Dindane was felled in the box by Juliano Belletti.

Kevin-Prince Boateng took responsibility from the spot, but saw a tame drive kept out by the feet of Petr Cech.

Chelsea then made Pompey pay for their wastefulness from 12 yards shortly before the hour mark when Drogba lashed a dipping free-kick into the back of the net off the inside of the post.

The Premier League champions should have wrapped things up and given themselves breathing space two minutes from time, but Lampard uncharacteristically scuffed a penalty past the post after he had been felled by Michael Brown.

Given the financial straightjacket they find themselves in, this was likely to be Pompey's last major final for quite some time.

That certainty, at the end of a campaign where you are £135million in debt, in administration, have had nine points deducted, been relegated, not been paid your wages on time on numerous occasions and seen players sold at a moment's notice, probably generated a devil-may-care attitude within the Portsmouth squad.

Frederic Piquionne brought a staggering reaction save out of Cech and Dindane failed to make clean contact as he tried to turn home Piquionne's cut-back as Pompey started brightly.

By any standards, these were glorious openings which Portsmouth might have had cause to regret if it were not for the fact that Chelsea were enduring frustrations of their own so great Drogba ended the half beating a post in total frustration at his side's inability to get the ball past it.

Within this flurry of activity came a contender for the best save ever seen in a cup final, and that miss.

Chelsea's victory will save Kalou extreme ridicule, but he knows his own contribution is going to be replayed so often he will never escape.

Lampard had already flashed a shot against a post and Chelsea were on top when Ashley Cole, the first man to win the famous old trophy six times, drove deep into the Pompey box, completely outpacing Aaron Mokoena.

Fabio Capello would not have been the only one to admire his sublime cross, which completely took David James out of the game and presented Kalou with a four-yard tap-in.

The Chelsea fans were already on their feet, arms aloft in triumph, when Kalou's side-footed effort soared skywards and thudded against the bar.

For a moment or two, the stadium was completely silent, as if unable to comprehend what they had just witnessed. The eruption of noise from the Portsmouth end confirmed the reality.

Within a couple of minutes Terry had glided a header against the bar, but that was nothing compared to the free-kick Drogba curled towards the top corner later on.

Somehow, James managed to reach it. His touch was only faint but it was enough to push the ball onto the bar and down, smack bang onto the goal-line.

So, when Drogba fired a low effort against the post four minutes from time, little wonder the offending upright suffered the backlash.

For once, a half had been completed with no-one mentioning the pitch.

An odd colour it might have looked but it was not restricting the entertainment value, which included a penalty 10 minutes after the restart.

Introduced for Michael Ballack, who had been the subject of a vicious first-half tackle from Boateng, Belletti had not quite got his bearings.

And when Dindane nipped past him, the Brazilian lunged in and sent him sprawling.

After all that had gone before, the entire stadium had the sense this was the moment that would give the underdogs the trophy. Except Boateng had not read the script.

So bad was his effort that Cech, having gone down early, had time to make the readjustment required and boot it clear.

Within three minutes, Drogba converted his magnificent free-kick and the dream was over.

Had Lampard scored when he was bundled over in the box by Brown two minutes from time, Chelsea would have deserved it.

He did not. It was that type of extraordinary game.

Portsmouth have set up an FA Cup final with Chelsea after upsetting the odds and securing an improbable 2-0 extra-time success over Tottenham.

Spurs were expected to put under-strength and relegated Pompey to the sword at Wembley, but Frederic Piquionne's 99th minute opener and Kevin-Prince Boateng's penalty secured a remarkable win.

High-flying Tottenham started the game on the front foot, although Pompey always posed a danger to Harry Redknapp's side on the counter-attack.

French striker Piquionne was looking lively for the south coast side, however, his shots were often easily gathered by Spurs keeper Heurelho Gomes.

Tom Huddlestone was pulling the strings for Spurs and his cross was met by Peter Crouch before his long-range toe-poke was acrobatically tipped over by David James.

Spurs continued to dictate the pace in the second half although their inability to find the back of the net saw Roman Pavlyuchenko replace Jermain Defoe with an hour played.

The remainder of the second half chances feel to Crouch, but more often than not either James or the impressive Aaron Mokoena and Ricardo Rocha came to the rescue for Avram Grant's side.

The unthinkable happened in the 99th minute when Piquionne was Johnny on the spot to stab home from close range after Dawson slipped following Marc Wilson's free-kick.

Grant's charges could and should have netted a crucial second, although John Utaka's through-ball was hopeless for Aruna Dindane in a two-on-one counter-attack.

With Spurs continuing to press, the game was finally up when Boateng converted from the penalty spot despite Wilson Palacios appearing to make contact with the ball before bringing down Dindane in the penalty area.

Pompey's main concern has been keeping the club afloat, so Dindane was saved for the semi-final, and he had an early sight of goal when Piquionne sent him through but Dawson, who passed a late fitness test on his Achilles, made a last-ditch tackle.

Piquionne also had an early effort with a powerful run and a shot that was deflected before Brazilian keeper Gomes saved.

Spurs' threat came through Defoe, who was back in the starting XI after a hamstring problem. The England striker, jeered by the Pompey fans, stabbed over the bar under the challenge of Mokoena after Vedran Corluka flicked on David Bentley's corner.

Free-flowing football was made difficult by the surface at Wembley, with the pitch cutting up in areas and players slipping over, in Steve Finnan's case just 12 seconds after kick-off.

Set pieces were an obvious tactic to employ, with Piquionne finding himself unmarked from a corner but failing to get power on his shot. Boateng also fired a free-kick just wide of Gomes' post.

At the other end, James was called into action when Tom Huddlestone crossed and Crouch climbed above his marker to get a header on target.

The first clear-cut chance came when Hassan Yebda slid Piquionne through and Gomes used his legs to save the Frenchman's finish - Pompey had the better of the first half and they sensed an upset.

Just after the interval, however, Defoe had sight of goal from close range and his finish was bravely blocked by Rocha.

Pompey continued to attack, Dindane scampered past Gareth Bale and his chipped cross found Piquionne with just Gomes to beat but his header went straight at the Brazilian.

Redknapp's response was to bring on Pavlyuchenko for Defoe just before the hour mark, with Pompey fans taunting the striker on his walk to the bench.

That came just before Spurs had a shout for a penalty turned down when the ball struck Finnan's hand.

Crouch had the next chance, heading wide from a Bentley corner after James had flapped at the set piece, then he went over from close range from Bale's cross.

Mokoena had put Crouch off, then the Pompey defender almost scored an own goal when he tried to clear Corluka's cross but he managed to clear off his own line.

In an end-to-end finale to the 90 minutes, Crouch hit the post when he got his head on Bale's deep cross and Corluka had an effort cleared off the line.

Piquionne's goal came nine minutes into extra-time when Wilson's free-kick was met by Boateng. Dawson slipped at the crucial moment and Piquionne tucked his finish away through Gomes' legs.

© Dave Wateridge