https://www.chelseafc.com/news/latest-news/2018/01/ checkatrade-trophy-report--portsmouth-v-chelsea.html Checkatrade Trophy report: Portsmouth 1 Chelsea 2 Tue 9 Jan 2018 Our development squad advanced into the Checkatrade Trophy quarter-finals courtesy of a brace from Charly Musonda, whose bending free-kick in the 95th minute sealed the win against League One opposition at Fratton Park. The Blues fought hard and defended well in the face of Portsmouth pressure, winning headers in the box and standing up to the physical fight. They opened the scoring 13 minutes into the second half as Musonda rounded off a neat move with an expert finish before conceding an equaliser late in stoppage time. Where others might have retreated, Joe Edwards's side still sensed the opportunity to win and Callum Hudson-Odoi’s brilliant run right at the death was ended prematurely and illegally on the edge of the box. Musonda stepped up, picked his spot and curled the free-kick perfectly into the corner as our youngsters continued their remarkable run in this senior competition. Edwards made five changes from our 4-0 victory at MK Dons in the last-32 in December with Michy Batshuayi, scorer of a brace in Buckinghamshire, replaced by Harvey St Clair up front. Forward support came in the form of Callum Hudson-Odoi and Musonda, also goalscorers in the last round, while Ruben Sammut, Kyle Scott and Jacob Maddox comprised the midfield. Marcin Bulka returned in goal protected by a back four of Dujon Sterling, Ethan Ampadu, Trevoh Chalobah and Josh Grant. Reece James missed out with injury, while Jake Clarke-Salter completed a loan move to Sunderland earlier in the week. With an average age of just over 18.5, the visitors were collectively four years younger than Portsmouth, who named a strong starting line-up having not been in action since New Year's Day. The hosts are currently sixth in the League One table and started with the confidence of a side chasing promotion, placing Edwards's side under plenty of early pressure. Ampadu read the danger and scampered across to the left to halt an attack before Sammut stooped to head clear a dangerous inswinging free-kick inside the opening five minutes. Pompey seemed intent on establishing an early advantage and came close through Ben Close, the midfielder's volley crucially deflected behind by Chalobah. Our first opportunity to test the home rearguard came down the left wing through Hudson-Odoi, though the teenager ran into trouble as he advanced centrally and the danger was cleared. Bulka knew he was likely to face a busy evening on the South Coast and our Polish keeper had to demonstrate alertness and agility down low to his right to keep out Connor Ronan's well-hit effort after the debutant had pounced to exploit a slip from Sterling. As the home side enjoyed much of the opening possession and territorial advantage, our threat came predominantly on the break. St Clair and Hudson-Odoi exchanged neat passes to set the latter into space in the box but Luke McGee, the home keeper, quickly closed the angle and made a smart save at his near post. That was the clearest chance mustered by our youngsters in the opening period, with Bulka and his defenders called into frequent work thereafter. Chalobah did well to clear the ball from under his own crossbar after a delivery from Jamal Lowe was fizzed across the face of goal, with the resulting corner headed straight at Bulka by Matt Clarke. Edwards was forced into a change before the half-hour mark as injury brought the withdrawal of Maddox. It allowed our 16-year-old striker Daishawn Redan to enter proceedings up front, with St Clair shifted to the right flank and Hudson-Odoi operating in behind the striker. However, the switch failed to alter the flow of the contest and Portsmouth continued to pepper our goal with shots. Bulka had to be creative to keep out Lowe's powerful low strike, kicking the ball to safety, before he clawed away a looping headed effort on the follow-up. Ronan saw a free-kick fly narrowly over and Oliver Hawkins's header lacked the accuracy to trouble our goal as the sides went in goalless and level at half-time. The visitors will have been content with that scoreline at the midway point, though eager to cause more problems in the final third. Ronan saw another shot blocked on the edge of the box before Kenny Jackett introduced Brett Pitman, his leading goalscorer, in order to find a breakthrough. The deadlock was broken five minutes after that switch but it was Chelsea celebrating as Musonda started and finished a wonderful move. The Belgian picked up a loose pass on halfway and drove forward, feeding the supporting Scott and racing into the box to turn his midfield partner's cross into the far corner. It was his second Checkatrade Trophy goal of the season and a precious advantage for Edwards's side. Portsmouth responded and Matthew Kennedy almost produced an instant equaliser, though his drive was straight at the grateful Chelsea goalkeeper. The Blues then survived a loud penalty appeal as Ronan fell under the challenge of Grant right on the edge of the 18-yard box, though referee Gavin Ward was unmoved by the home cries. Scott was so close to moving from creator to finisher with 20 minutes remaining as we almost doubled our lead. St Clair swung in a cross from the right and it fell perfectly for the midfielder, who diverted the ball towards goal with his chest. McGee was equal to the effort though and tipped the ball over the crossbar for a corner, from which Ampadu's overhead kick dropped just past the near post. Pitman's header flew narrowly off-target after an inviting volleyed cross from Dion Donohue before the hosts had another penalty appeal, this time for handball, turned down. As the fourth official signalled for five minutes of additional play, the scene was set for a grandstand finish. Pompey equalised two minutes into the allotted extra as Pitman reacted quickest to turn a loose ball past Bulka, much to the delight of the 3,000-crowd in the ground. Yet with the tie heading towards a penalty shootout, there was still time remaining for the visitors to snatch a dramatic winner. Hudson-Odoi, lively and electric all night, advanced from his own half with the ball at his feet, accelerating away from defenders and jinking past others. He was cynically brought down by Christian Burgess, a foul that saw the centre-back booked, but the full damage was still to come. Musonda stood over the ball 20 yards out and curled a brilliant strike beyond McGee and into the left-hand corner of the goal. It was practically the last kick of the night and sealed a place for Edwards and his side in the last-eight of a competition that ends with a final at Wembley. The draw takes place on Thursday evening, with quarter-final fixtures set to be played in the week commencing 22 January. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- https://www.chelseafc.com/news/latest-news/2018/01/ checkatrade-trophy-reaction--digging-in--drama-and-delight.html Checkatrade Trophy reaction: Digging in, drama and delight Wed 10 Jan 2018 From 64 competitors down to the last eight, our development squad progressed to the Checkatrade Trophy quarter-finals in dramatic fashion at Fratton Park last night (Tuesday), knocking out League One Portsmouth. The contest was as hard-fought as expected against the side sixth in the third tier, with Joe Edwards's team on average four years younger than their hosts. Goalkeeper Marcin Bulka made some important stops while it was a resolute group effort in defending deep for long periods before Charly Musonda gave us the lead 13 minutes into the second half. Our youngsters thought they had been denied late in the game after substitute Brett Pitman turned a loose ball in the box beyond Bulka to make it 1-1 but Callum Hudson-Odoi's terrific counter-attack won a free-kick right at the death and Musonda stepped up to dispatch the set-piece to claim the victory. login to watch After the game, Edwards reflected on a performance that merged brawn with brains and character with quality. 'It was a really difficult game,' he told the official Chelsea website. 'In terms of the style of play from the opponent, it was exactly the challenge we want to face when we play against these teams in this competition, a real direct style of football. We found it really hard in the opening stages to get any foothold in the game and it was only after 15 minutes when Callum went through one-on-one that we saw the first real bit of football in the game. 'That shows the lads that in the real world sometimes it's about going out there and having to earn the right to play for long spells in matches. There were moments when we looked physically weaker and a little naive but equally there were moments when we really dug in, competed well and held our own. 'We spoke at half-time about the game being scrappy and how we thought we could do more but it was still 0-0 so we knew we were still in the game. If you defend well and can keep a clean sheet for as long as possible, with the quality we have in our team, there's always a chance you can open something up going forward.' Edwards was particularly impressed with his team's response to the disappointment of conceding a stoppage-time equaliser. https://twitter.com/ChelseaFC/status/950844730685960192 'The biggest plus for us was the reaction to conceding so late on,' he continued. 'There was an element of deja vu from the Plymouth game, when we let in a late equaliser and then lost the penalty shootout, but we had the bravery to keep attacking to get the winner. For such a young team to respond like that, against the side sixth in League One, I think that's a great credit to the boys.' Only Swansea City's youngsters managed to reach the quarter-finals last term, the inaugural campaign in which development teams were invited to participate in the Checkatrade Trophy, and Edwards believes his players deserve special praise for how far they have advanced in the senior competition. 'It's an outstanding achievement for all of us to get this far in the competition, especially if you consider we didn't win any of our games last season and if you look at the amount of academy teams that went out at the group stage,' he added. 'It's only us and Leicester left [Leicester's last-16 tie was postponed last night] and we're the furthest academy team which says a lot in itself.' Jacob Maddox's withdrawal with a knock after half-hour forced the coaching staff into a switch which saw Musonda move deeper into central midfield, a move that Edwards felt was significant in the tie. The boss also reserved words of praise for 17-year-old Hudson-Odoi, who demonstrated skill, speed and the element of surprise to play a key role in the dramatic late winner. 'The change to replace Jacob was enforced but we wanted to get Charly into midfield because we could see early on he wasn't getting much of the ball out wide,' Edwards went on. 'We know he's a player who can influence games on the ball and as time wore on and spaces opened up, he grew in influence and confidence. I could see that in him so I did fancy him when he stepped up to take the free-kick right at the end. 'People will talk about the free-kick as the winner but the solo counter-attack from Callum was outstanding - to have the physical capacity, quality and audacity to take that on in the 95th minute when you're one of the youngest players on the field says a lot about Callum. It was a lovely way to finish with a bit of late drama and the home crowd against our players, which is what these nights are all about.' The draw for the quarter-finals will take place tomorrow evening (Thursday), in which the Blues can face any of the remaining sides either at home or away. Those left in the competition are Fleetwood Town, Oxford United, Peterborough, Lincoln City, Yeovil Town, Oldham/Leicester and Shrewsbury/Blackpool. Chelsea (4-3-3) Marcin Bulka Dujon Sterling Trevoh Chalobah Ethan Ampadu Josh Grant (Joseph Colley 83) Jacob Maddox Ruben Sammut (c) Kyle Scott (Daishawn Redan 28) (Luke McCormick 87) Charly Musonda Callum Hudson-Odoi Harvey St Clair Unused subs - Kylian Hazard, Jamie Cumming, I. Christie-Davies, Cole Dasilva Scorer - Musonda 58, 90+5 Portsmouth (4-2-3-1) Luke McGee Nathan Thompson (c) Matt Clarke Christian Burgess, Dion Donohue (Brett Pitman 53) Adam May Ben Close Jamal Lowe Connor Ronan Matthew Kennedy (Conor Chaplin 76) Oliver Hawkins (Kal Naismith 53) Unused subs - Alex Bass, Kyle Bennett, Sylvain Deslandes, Theo Widdrington Scorer - Pitman 90+2 Booked - Burgess Referee - Gavin Ward Crowd - 3,116 -- ＫＴＢＦＦＨ -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc), 來自: 36.236.39.115 ※ 文章網址: https://www.ptt.cc/bbs/Chelsea/M.1515527453.A.456.html ※ 編輯: JamesCaesar (1.172.84.179), 01/11/2018 02:39:02

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