Chelsea take FA Cup over Portsmouth on Drogba freekick

Many expected the FA Cup Final between EPL champions Chelsea and relegated side Portsmouth to be a rout.  One thing about European finals though is to expect the unexpected.  This match was none too different as Portsmouth stood strong and had plenty of chances to grab the lead in the second half.

The opening half saw mostly Chelsea on the attack as Frank Lampard opened the attacks by curling a ball off the post in the 14th minute of play.  Peter Cech was called into action for Chelsea in the 22nd with a wonderful reaction save, but the rest of the first half was one way traffic.  The crossbar was Portsmouth's friend as Kalou somehow rifled a ball off the crossbar from close range in the 28th minute.   Chelsea hit the woodwork six times on the afternoon.

Shortly after John Terry put a header off the crossbar and in the 39th Didier Drogba thought he had scored the opener.  His shot forced David James into action as he tipped the shot up off the crossbar.   The ball came straight down bouncing off the line and out.

The second half saw Portsmouth make a push to steal the match.  Boateng whistled a shot just over in the 51st and then the pivotal stretch in the match came beginning in the 55th minute.  Dindane strode into the Chelsea box and was dropped by Belletti earning a penalty for the underdogs.  Boateng stepped up and tried to go down the middle as Cech dove right but dragged his leg stopping the weak penalty.

Then it was time for a bigtime player to make a bigtime play.  Didier Drogba stepped up to take a freekick and curled it around the Portsmouth wall and off the right post into the net.  Chelsea had their lead through their star.  The air was out of the Portsmouth sails, but credit to them they were able to put some pressure on the Chelsea goal just never finding the equalizer.  Frank Lampard slid a penalty kick wide in the 88th, but the outcome was already decided.

Chelsea had their third FA Cup title in the last four years.