THAT’S MORE LIKE IT
Lampard and Blues get confidence boost with victory but the League Two side put up brave fight at Bridge
COME on, you didn’t honestly expect to find an upset here, did you?
This was always going to be a question of how many.
Had Frank Lampard not been able to ease into the fourth round, against the side sitting seventh in League Two, then he really would have found himself deserving of the scrutiny he is currently under.
As it is, Chelsea’s win could well be the confidence boost Lampard ( below) and his players need – with the club ninth in the Premier League – going into the second half of the season. For much of the first half, it wasn’t pretty. Morecambe would actually have gone ahead had Kepa not scrambled to prevent a cross-shot from Adam Phillips from humiliating him.
In fact, a Chelsea side pushing half-a-billion pounds struggled at times to break down a Morecambe team full of heart after four wins in a row.
It took an 18th-minute, rightfooted sizzler from Mason Mount (scoring then celebrating below), from outside the box, to put them in front.
Even then, Morecambe didn’t fold. It was not until a minute before the break that Timo Werner grabbed a first goal in 13 games to earn his side some breathing g space. Hakim Ziyech, the Blues’ £33million winger, crossed from deep, Kai Havertz, their £71m midfielder, headed down and £ 45m forward Werner tapped the ball home.
Chelsea fans will have been reassured by the strike, but the overall performance at this stage really was nothing to write home about.
It improved four minutes into the second half. Ziyech floated a pass over the top for Callum HudsonOdoi to beat the offside trap and get the nation watching on the BBC iPlayer looking elsewhere in terms of competitive games.
By the time Cesar Azpilicueta c r o ssed for Havertz to end his 15- game goal drought ( below right), with five minutes lef t , Morecambe were already thinking about Leyton Orient away on Saturday.
Chelsea have progressed from this stage each season since the 1997- 98 campaign when they were put out by Manchester United.
Morecambe were in only
their second FA Cup tie against top- flight opposition in 20 years.
Manager Derek Adams’ men had done well to reach the third round for a fourth time but, let’s face it, from the moment their names came out of the hat, this was always going to be a bridge too far.
The Shrimps were only back in training last week after a Covid-19 shutdown, with their players self-isolating for 10 days.
Last year should have seen their 100th birthday celebrations. Instead, they saw Covid wipe out their revenue streams and mourned the sudden death of 23- year- old defender Christian Mbulu. It puts the club’s exit here into stark perspective. Morecambe have come together as a club during their troubled period. Their home ground is being used as a vaccination centre.
Fans have decided against demanding refunds for the 2020-21 season tickets they’ve bought, even though the club’s first 10 home league games have been behind closed doors.
Players, led by captain Sam Lavelle, agreed to top-up the wages of some club staff who were furloughed.
On the pitch, it was always going to be mission impossible. Success for Morecambe, however, was bringing their strength in adversity to a wider audience.