GOMES DEFIES THE BLUES
Lethargic Chelsea make late rally but Watford keeper holds them at bay
GUUS Hiddink’s first game of his second s pel l at Chelsea started with a draw against Watford and the interim manager was frustrated by their honest endeavour once again.
There were no goals at Vicarage Road, where caution gripped two teams in the process of stabilising after losing their form, and the away fans took to borrowing a chant from Manchester United.
‘Attack, attack, attack,’ sang the Chelsea fans midway through the second half, as the game drifted along, most notable until that point for another tantrum from the storm-tossed Diego Costa.
The fallen Premier League champions are certainly harder to beat than they were under Jose Mourinho, but Hiddink is still searching for the right formula and there is none of the relentless power which led them to the title last year.
Chelsea are unbeaten in 10 since Mourinho’s exit but have no backto-back victories this season, and a point does little to help their topfour ambitions.
Quique Sanchez Flores saw his team enjoy the better chances and will look back with a little regret that they were unable to find the winner which would have hauled them up to seventh in the table.
Watford held Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on St. Stephen’s Day and opened in positive mood last night having stopped the mini-wobble which has slowed their progress since the turn of the year.
Odion Ighalo, a constant threat with his quick feet and burst of pace, sidled past John Terry with ease and registered the first effort of the game, a shot deflected wide by Cesar Azpilicueta.
Terry’s name was sung loudly by Chelsea supporters on his first appearance since revealing that he would not be offered an extension to his contract and expects to leave at the end of the season.
There is no question where the fans stand on this one, and he retained his place in the heart of defence, which meant Gary Cahill was back on the bench. So too Eden Hazard, despite scoring a penalty, his first goal since April, in the FA Cup win at Milton Keynes.
There was no sign of Alexandre Pato in the match-day squad. Hiddink still thinks the Brazilian, signed last month on a loan deal from Corinthians, needs more time to improve his physical condition.
Diego Costa led the line in his usual combative style. There was an early tussle with Austrian centre half Sebastian Prodl, who fell without much encouragement.
Referee Mike Dean settled for a quiet word with Costa and Prodl, who was booked, moments later, for a lazy trip on Oscar.
Costa engaged again with Juan Carlos Paredes before the break. During the course of a few seconds, both players rolled around on the turf, complaining to anyone who would listen and pleading with the referee. Both were booked.
Actually, it injected some emotion at the end of a quite turgid 45 minutes. With John Mikel Obi and Nemanja Matic deep in midfield, Hiddink’s team lacked creativity.
Watford kept them comfortably at bay for half an hour and might have taken the lead when Terry misjudged a wonderful cross from Jose Holebas.
Ighalo drifted behind Terry but did not connect cleanly with a header. Watford were on top, and Thibaut Courtois made a series of saves in quick succession to deny Prodl, Ighalo and Etienne Capoue.
Thirty minutes had passed before Chelsea f ashioned their f i rst glimpse of goal, and it came from an uncultured long ball, launched out of defence by Oscar towards Costa, who twisted and shot on the turn only to see it deflected wide.
At least it lifted the champions, and they summoned their best spell of first-half pressure just before the interval.
Oscar, having scored his first Chelsea hat-trick at MK Dons, slowly became more influential. The Brazilian midfielder was released by Cesc Fabregas early in the second half, but was blocked by Craig Cathcart as he tried to twist on to his right foot.
Mikel picked up the loose ball and forced a save from Gomes with a long-range shot which took a big deflection and spun into the air.
Oscar went closer when he nudged wide a cross from Costa having deceived Watford’s back line with a dart to the near post. Having reached the ball, he looked sure to score, but he missed the target.
Still there was little pattern to the game. No sooner did Chelsea muster some positive possession than they seemed vulnerable at the back. The perfect balance has eluded them this season.
Troy Deeney slammed a volley wide from 20 yards, and Holebas cut into the penalty area on a bustling foray only to lose all composure and crash the ball into the side-netting.
As t he Chelsea supporters chanted for Hazard to be introduced, Oscar danced inside from the left and forced a full-length save from Gomes. Hiddink sent Hazard on for the last 18 minutes, replacing Matic and surrendering midfield protection for ambition.