CHELSEA COMPLETE DOUBLE

 

(Image taken from BBC)

Last time around, Chelsea faced Everton in the FA Cup final at Wembley. Guus Hiddink was Chelsea manager at the time but other than that it was still the same old faces and the Stamford Bridge crew lifted the trophy after winning 2-1. That was a relatively straight forward season for the grand old Cup competition. 07/08 was anything but though. That time around a Harry Redknapp gaffered Portsmouth side made it to Wembley after becoming the only Premiership team to even make the semis. They went on to beat Championship side Cardiff 1-0 in the final - having managed to build up what looked like a pretty solid side back then.

This time around, well this year's competition proved to be pretty interesting as well, for the wrong reasons from an MUFC perspective. In the meantime, Chelsea, now managed by Carlo Ancelotti went on to win the Premiership title and Portsmouth, now managed by ex-Chelsea boss Arvam Grant...have always looked dead men walking in more ways than one. Still, anything can happen in an FA Cup final at Wembley can't it? The Pompey fans came to England's football cathedral making plenty of noise. Ashley Cole in the meantime, just proved how desperate Fabio must be for a good quality left back - unfortunately we still need the guy in South Africa. That was for the future though.

Well Chelsea were in no mood to hang around and battered the Pompey goal from the start but seemed to find pretty much everything but the net and it took Pompey a while to even think about replying - but keeping a clean sheet for the early stages would have been fine by them. Kevin Prince Boateng finally got a header on target for the relegated side but that was pretty much it. In the meantime...the new Premiership champions did hit the net...or at least got the ball over the line...I think. The ref thought otherwise. Ancelotti would not have been happy. This is how Pompey have beaten sides in the FA Cup this season. The game could not be taken for granted.

That was proven all too easilly when the first real highlight of the second half turned out to be a Portsmouth penalty. However it was saved. Chelsea weren't interested in dodging any more bullets though and in the 59th minute Didier Drogba slammed in a freekick. Substitutions were made as Chelsea continued to dominate - this game was over surely. Indeed there was certainly the feeling of both sides seeing out the clock. Chelsea did get a penalty late on but messed it up completely. Still in the end it didn't matter. It was Chelsea that were the team lifting the trophy on this occasion and Portsmouth the ones left to say goodbye to the big time for the foreseeable future.

So, Chelsea have won the 2009/10 FA Cup. It's the second season in a row that they've lifted the grand old trophy, the first time they've pulled off that sequence since the club started up in 1905(and the last team to win back to back FA Cups was Arsenal in '02-'03). It's also Chelsea's first ever domestic double since the club started up(the last team that could claim that honour was again, Arsenal in '02). Well, that'll garuntee Ancelotti and his team immortality in Stamford Bridge history. Is this a vintage team though? Hmmm....not sure - it's still effectively Mourinho's team three years on player wise. Still, they will be the team to beat next season.

North of the border, Dundee United faced SD1 side Ross County in the Scottish Cup final at Hampden Park. The Tangerines could have got an early penalty but it wasn't given and it proved to be a relatively weak, goalless first half. That changed when David Goodwillie opened the scoring for the SPL side early on in the second half. Craig Conway then put the Tangerines two up and just in case the underdogs had any hope left, got a second goal to finish the game off. Congratulations to Dundee United who've claimed their first Scottish Cup since '94 when I moved south of the border. Also congratulations to Motherwell who claim a Europa League spot off the back of this result.

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