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Chelsea 4 - 1 West Ham United
March 13, 2010
Chelsea went back to the top of the Premier League with a comfortable win over West Ham at Stamford Bridge.
Brazilian defender Alex headed Chelsea in front in the 15th minute but Scott Parker levelled with a stunning volley on the half-hour mark.
Didier Drogba rose unmarked to restore Chelsea's lead in the 55th minute before Florent Malouda's 20-yard effort in the 76th minute and Drogba's second put Carlo Ancelotti's side one point clear of Manchester United at the summit.
Chelsea goalkeeper Ross Turnbull made his league debut for the club and looked confident enough ahead of Tuesday night's Champions League last-16 return leg against Inter Milan.
The keeper, third choice all season, will be asked to play against Inter, who lead 2-1 from the first leg, due to injuries to Petr Cech and Hilario.
Chelsea were given a sterner test than they would have wanted by a West Ham side that went in 1-1 at the interval.
Ancelotti's side had the better of the early exchanges but West Ham should have been ahead in the 13th minute.
Mido's low cross from the byline found Araujo Ilan unmarked just eight yards out but the West Ham striker blazed his effort over the crossbar.
The miss proved costly for West Ham as Chelsea went ahead two minutes later through Brazilian defender Alex.
The Hammers failed to clear a corner from Malouda and when the ball was returned to the France winger, his cross was headed home by the unmarked Alex.
It was the defender's first goal of the season but it could have been worse for the Hammers seconds later.
Another cross from Malouda caused panic in the West Ham defence and a deflection off Matthew Upson looked to be heading for his own net until goalkeeper Robert Green just managed to palm it away to safety.
In the 27th minute, Chelsea carved West Ham open again and Frank Lampard's curling cross found Drogba at the far post only for the Ivorian to miss the target.
But West Ham were level in the 29th minute when former Chelsea midfielder Parker sent a 25-yard volley over Turnbull and into the top corner.
Turnbull could do nothing about Parker's effort but once again Chelsea were guilty of failing to defend a throw-in.
The goal stunned Chelsea and their response was predictable and rapid. In the 35th minute, Green had to dive at full-stretch to keep out a 20-yard low drive from Lampard.
Two minutes later, Nicolas Anelka tried his luck from 20 yards but the ball was comfortably collected by Green.
Malouda was a constant threat to West Ham and five minutes before the break he sent over another dangerous cross but Paulo Ferreira could only direct his header into the arms of Green.
Chelsea almost restored their advantage when a 53rd minute cross from Malouda just eluded Michael Ballack at the far post.
But the home side were ahead again in the 55th minute and the driving force was captain John Terry.
The Chelsea defender surged forward to the edge of West Ham penalty area and allowed Drogba to lay the ball off to Malouda on the left wing.
The France winger delivered another pinpoint cross into the six-yard box and this time Drogba headed home from point-blank range for his 26th goal of the season - his 20th in the league.
The Chelsea fans began chanting "There's only one England captain" as England coach Fabio Capello watched on from the West stand.
Moments later Chelsea were denied a third by a great save from Green who dived to his right to tip away a header from Alex.
In the 65th minute, Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole was given a chance to shine before Capello when he replaced Anelka.
It was followed moments later by a double substitution for the Hammers - Junior Stanislas replaced Kieron Dyer and Mido made way for Carlton Cole.
Malouda made it 3-1 to Chelsea in the 76th minute with a 20-yard shot into the bottom corner.
It was a fitting reward for the France winger who had set up both of Chelsea's earlier goals.
Chelsea were then denied a fourth in the 85th minute when Lampard's glancing shot hit the far post.
Drogba completed the scoring in the 89th minute with his 27th goal of the season - finishing off from close range after Green had palmed a Lampard shot into his path.
Ancelotti: We're ready for Jose
Carlo Ancelotti insists Chelsea are ready for the return of Jose Mourinho and Inter Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
Inter surprisingly lost to Catania on Friday night and that, coupled with Chelsea's victory over West Ham, has put the Blues in the perfect frame of mind.
"I don't think we sent a message,'' said Ancelotti. "The game is in the balance. We want to win but so do Inter. We have to do our best to win and in this moment we are in good condition to do our best. I have not seen Inter's game yet, I will watch it on Sunday.''
Ancelotti was a little coy though when it came to the situation concerning his goalkeeping choice for Tuesday night's game. Third-choice keeper Ross Turnbull made his Blues debut against West Ham, and while he looked competent enough, he had little to do. His inexperience, particularly when it comes to the Champions League, may be a concern for the Blues.
Chelsea are without calf injury victim Petr Cech and his deputy Hilario, has a groin strain. But Chelsea may well try to rush Hilario back to full fitness in time although Ancelotti continued to maintain Turnbull will play.
"We can play with a good goalkeeper on Tuesday,'' he added. "Ross was not involved a lot of time in the game but he did a good save in the last minute of the match.
"He played with confidence and a good game. There was no worry. This is important. he deserved to play this game because he trained very well in the last month to improve his quality. We have confidence in him. I think he will play Tuesday.''
After the 4-2 defeat to Manchester City at home, Ancelotti was looking for his side to bounce back in the league. They delivered the response perfectly. "It was important to have a good reaction,'' said the Italian.
"We had a good reaction against Stoke and we improved again today. We had a bad day against Manchester City but we came back the right way. It was a very good performance.''
West Ham coach Gianfranco Zola said the scoreline was not a true reflection of the game but they could not recover from Chelsea's second goal from Drogba. "It was tough after the second goal,'' said Zola. "Until then we looked okay. But the second goal was a big blow.
"We played well and kept the control. Scott Parker was dominating in my opinion and I thought we could have got something. But Chelsea punish you when you make mistakes.
"The result does not reflect the way the game was played. It was too much. I feel for my players because they worked hard all the game and they did not deserve that result. The first goal was poor marking and we lost our shape for the second.''
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MLS players vote to strike for first time if no deal by March 25
Associated Press
March 13, 2010
New York, NY — Major League Soccer players voted to strike if a new labor contract isn't agreed to before the first season opener on March 25.
The league's first collective bargaining agreement, a five-year deal, originally was set to run out Jan. 31 but was extended twice while negotiations continued. It expired Feb. 25 after the MLS Players Union refused another extension.
"Recent comments from players simply reflect the fact that the players are unified and, per the results of our strike vote, will not begin the new season if a new agreement with the league is not reached," union executive director Bob Foose said in a statement Thursday.
The union did not detail the strike authorization vote.
Negotiators for management and players met Tuesday and Wednesday in Washington, D.C., in talks convened by George H. Cohen, director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.
Earlier Thursday, Toronto defender Nick Garcia was quoted by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. as saying: "We're anticipating not having the season starting. ... As of now, for us, we're very far apart, even with the mediator there in D.C."
Unhappy with the single-entity structure that has seen the league negotiate all contracts since play began in 1996, players want greater free-agent rights and a higher percentage of guaranteed deals.
Player income averaged $147,945 at the start of last season, according to the union. But the median — the point at which an equal amount make above and below — was $88,000 for 323 players listed.
"We have an understanding with the union and the mediator that we will not publicly discuss what takes place during these bargaining sessions, so we were disappointed when we saw comment from a number of players that both characterized the status of the negotiations and discussed the possibility of a strike," MLS president Mark Abbott said before Foose's announcement.
"The meetings this week were productive and we scheduled a number of additional meetings," Abbott said. "The players' comments do not accurately reflect the proposals that we've made to address their concerns or the productive nature of the discussions we've had between MLS and the union."
MLS declined comment after Foote's statement, league spokesman Dan Courtemanche said.
"This is not a change in position by the union and should not be read to reflect in any way upon what has, or has not, occurred this week in the meetings with the mediator and the league," Foote said.
The threat of a strike comes as the Philadelphia Union, the league's 16th team, is set to start play at Seattle in the league opener. While Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J., is to open with an exhibition between New York and Brazil's Santos on March 20, a strike would postpone the first league match at the $200 million soccer-specific stadium, against Chicago on March 27.
Abbott said MLS ticket sales have not been hurt by the lack of an agreement.
"The league continues to function business as usual," he said.
Galaxy captain Landon Donovan, whose loan to Everton is scheduled to end after Saturday's game at Birmingham, may be able to extend his stay in the English Premier League if there's a strike.
"There's not a strike, so there's nothing to address at the moment. Landon is going to be returning after this game this weekend," Galaxy coach Bruce Arena said. "We're proceeding ahead like we do a couple of weeks before any season."
Galaxy midfielder David Beckham already is on loan to AC Milan through the end of the Serie A season in May.
It is not clear whether players signed to contracts with MLS would have the ability during a strike to sign with clubs in other countries without MLS approval. MLS players under consideration for the U.S. World Cup roster could be sent to foreign clubs for training.
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