Drogba wins it for Chelsea

Didier Drogba kept Chelsea's faint title hopes alive as he scored the winner at Fratton Park.

Blues come out on top as chances wasted by both teams

Didier Drogba kept Chelsea's faint title hopes alive as he scored the only goal of the game against Portsmouth at Fratton Park on Tuesday. The 30-year-old had threatened on numerous occasions throughout the match but he finally found the back of the net 11 minutes from time. Jose Bosingwa whipped in the cross low from the right where the ball was flicked on at the near post for Drogba to meet it on the run and fire neatly across David James. The defeat was Pompey's first under temporary manager Paul Hart and they will be disappointed they didn't get something out of the game after missing a number of clear-cut chances. Midfielder Sean Davis was denied by a great save from Petr Cech before he saved well from David Nugent at point-blank range. Winger Niko Kranjcar had perhaps the hosts' best chance but he couldn't convert Peter Crouch's cross when free in the area with the scores at 0-0. The game was being played in atrocious conditions with rain sweeping down onto the Fratton Park playing surface. The pitch was extremely slippery and made ball control difficult for both sets of players. In the 16th minute, Chelsea should have taken the lead but Drogba was inches away from putting the finishing touches to a drilled cross from Ashley Cole.The Ivorian flung himself at the ball but missed it by inches at the far post. Moments later a clever ball by Frank Lampard put Drogba through but the Chelsea striker's shot was charged down by the onrushing David James.

Flashed

Chelsea continued to have the better of the exchanges and in the 21st minute Florent Malouda flashed an angled 20-yard drive beyond the far upright. Seconds later Chelsea were unable to take advantage of an error by James. The Pompey goalkeeper allowed a cross from Malouda to slip out of his grasp in the wet conditions but Pompey's Sean Davies cleared for a corner. The Blues had goalkeeper Petr Cech to thank for keeping the scoreline level in the 28th minute when he dived to his right to keep out a powerful low drive from Davis. A foul by John Terry on Peter Crouch on the edge of the penalty area brought Pompey a free-kick but Johnson smashed his effort straight into Chelsea's defensive wall. James failed to hold Lampard's 20-yard drive in the 34th minute but again Chelsea were unable to make the most of it as the ball bounced out of his hands. Chelsea were now beginning to assert some consistent pressure for the first time in the game but the conditions were preventing them from playing the neat passing game they rely on. Long passes through the middle for Drogba to chase also had little effect with the ball skidding off the surface and out of play on numerous occasions. Three minutes before the break a goalmouth scramble from a Pompey corner ended in relief for the visitors when Cech pounced to grab the ball inside the six-yard box.

Deadlock

Chelsea almost broke the deadlock in injury time but Michael Ballack's header was just over the bar. In the 59th minute Chelsea had Cech to thank again as a header from Crouch put David Nugent clear but the Pompey striker's shot was pushed away by the Czech Republic keeper. Chelsea made two quick changes with Ricardo Quaresma replacing Salomon Kalou and John Obi Mikel making way for Juliano Belletti. Both sides had increased the tempo but had little luck in the worsening conditions. The Blues remained in overall control though and in the 66th minute a cross from Quaresma was headed just over by Drogba who managed to get ahead of Sol Campbell. Quaresma was providing an excellent service from the right flank and another cross had to be cut-out by Campbell as Drogba lurked inside the six-yard box. Portsmouth had become penned in their own half and Davis presented the Blues with a free-kick opportunity in the 68th minute when he brought down Lampard. Lampard, normally deadly from 20 yards, sent the free-kick into the ball and Campbell's clearance sent Crouch racing clear into the Chelsea half. The England striker crossed for Niko Kranjcar but the Pompey midfielder sent his effort just wide. But Ivorian Drogba settled the contest when he drilled home a cross from Bosingwa on 79 minutes.

Portsmouth	Team Statistics	Chelsea
0	Goals	1
0	1st Half Goals	0
2	Shots on Target	7
5	Shots off Target	9
7	Blocked Shots	4
6	Corners	6
7	Fouls	16
0	Offsides	1
0	Yellow Cards	0
0	Red Cards	0
69.3	Passing Success	82.4
24	Tackles	16
70.8	Tackles Success	75
42.2	Possession	57.8
46.8	Territorial Advantage	53.2