Soccer Central

After going 1-0 up after 16 minutes through a well timed headed goal from Adam Barrett; it looked as though Southend could take something from this game. The goal came against the run of play, and Chelsea could have taken the lead within minutes of the match having started; it was Southend that scored first however, and after the goal was scored Southend was always going to have great difficulty in trying to keep hold of the lead.

Despite difficulty, Southend almost kept the lead until half-time; in the 45th minute of the match Michael Ballack scored an equaliser for the away team however, and Chelsea really took the driving seat going into the interval. Had Southend managed to hold onto the lead until half-time, then maybe the second half would have been different; it wasn’t though, and Chelsea ultimately went on to win the game comfortably.

Second half goals in the 60th minute, 78th minute, and 91st minute secured the win for Chelsea, and Chelsea ultimately won the game 4-1. It could have been a very different story, and after Southend had gone 1-0 up, a potential giant killing looked to have been on the cards. It wasn’t to be for Southend though, Chelsea achieved the victory that was expected of them going into this game, and despite losing; the Southend fans still showed great loyalty and support for their side as they kept cheering right up until the very last kick of the game.

Southend will be pleased to have earned this replay against Chelsea, not so happy to have lost to heavily however, and will be disappointed that a 1-0 advantage slipped sorely away to a 4-1 defeat. Chelsea had more than 25 shots throughout the game though, and given how many chances the away team did have to score; Southend can perhaps count themselves lucky then that Chelsea only managed to find the net four times, and not more.

So Southend is out of the FA Cup, there was no upset in this one, and as had been expected; Chelsea managed a comfortable win from the match. Southend put up a pretty good fight, ultimately it was worth very little however as the game was heavily lost, and Southend’s failure to defeat a top flight team in the FA Cup continues.

Southend 1-4 Chelsea

Goals: Barrett 16, Ballack 45, Kalou 60, Anelka 78, Lampard 90
Attendance: 11,314

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