Chelsea Res 1-2 Arsenal Res

James · February 16, 2010

Last night saw a mixed bag for Chelsea reserves. The team was to do without younger regulars like Connor Clifford, Josh McEachran, Jacopo Sala, Gokhan Tore, Milan Lalkovic, Jeffrey Bruma and Billy Clifford. All due to the upcomming FA Youth Cup quarter final which is on Wednesday night. That meant that comming in was Daniel Philliskirk who has been a player very much in limbo for most of the season, Nana-Ofori back from loan at Dagenham and Redbridge and Liam Bridcutt and Jacob Mellis continued from the previous game. What we saw was a decent forward line with Gael Kakuta and Jacob Meliis playing behind Fabio Borini, a strong midfield with Bridcutt, Matic and Philliskirk and a weakish looking defence with the erratic Nana and Gordon and Strickland and Magnay once again pairing up in the centre of defence.

Things were not helped at all by the condition of the pitch, right from the outset it was clear that this was a pitch that was not going to helping either team play any decent football on the deck. The game started with Arsenal looking the strongest while Chelsea took their time to find their feet. A couple of early chances fell to Arsenal but they didn’t manage to citalise. Chelsea then grew into the game, finding themselves going for the longer balls looking for the head of Matic more often than not who was playing more box to box than at the holding role (This is something the club have decided to do with him to utilise his height and his ball skills) who would be knocking them on for Borini to chase. Or even going straight over for Borini to chase.

This tactic lead to Fabio Borini finding himself have plenty of chances and at the end of the day will be very very frustrated that he didn’t get a goal, he hit the woodwork a couple of times and missed a few more on another day he would have gladly tucked away, but the chances were there for Chelsea to try and take the game away from Arsenal. A ball cleared off the line which may have gone over certainly set the tone for what was to be an unlucky night for the blues. Arsenal then got a break away and some poor defending led to them taking the lead when Chelsea were the team at the time most likely to score. And that was pretty much the story of the first half, Chelsea huffing and puffing but not blowing the Arsenal house down and a couple of soft chances down the other end and we got caught.

The Second half continued in a similar vein, more good chances going to Borini who still couldn’t get that final finish. However Arsenal were looking more and more stronger as the game got on and were causing our defence some trouble finding themselves in good spaces and creating chances. A scrappy chain of events led to Arsenals second which was deflected in off Carl Magnay who hada good night overall and things looked very bleak for Chelsea who didn’t deserve to be losing let alone by 2 goals. Immediately though Chelsea took the bull by the horns and broke down Arsenals left hand side, Kakuta getting some involvement at a rare point in the game hit a great cross which was touched on by Borini and finished nicely by Matic. Chelsea were right back in it.

After that i think legs started to get a bit tired and even though both teams were trying for further goals another never truly looked like coming and so it was to be. A game that would have been much more fairer had it been a draw ended in defeat for Chelsea, had Borni had his shooting boots on or his confidence higher probably would have won this game for Chelsea but it wasn’t to be. A lot can be taken from this game for sure, certainly the performance of Matic for one.

Player Reviews:

Rhys Taylor – Had a decent game and was not at fault for either goal. He is looking a more comfortable and solid but still has a bit of work to do on his crossing where he at times suffers from indescision. As i have said a good loan move is needed for him. But in this game he did well, some decent saves without really being tested too strongly. 6

Nana Ofori-Twumasi – A return to the reserves after a decent loan spell at Dagenham and Redbridge. He doesn’t seem to have improved too much from that loan spell and most of time is still very rash, Nikki Ahamed has definately moved ahead of him and Billy Clifford also is looking a better option at the moment. Not too sure what the end of the season will bring for him, but i would like to see him be more controlled with what he does. 5

Ben Gordon – Again as i have said many a time on these reviews Ben isn’t developing as we would like to see. He gets forward OK but the choices that he makes both going forward and in defence are poor for the most part. Cleared balls going to the attackers far too often and crossed balls in attack going to the defenders too much. Needs to watching Ashley Cole more often to be seeing what he should be doing. Confidence and aggression is missing from his game for sure. 5

Carl Magnay – A good performance from Carl in this game, the strongest of the 2 centre backs. Composed in bringing the ball out from the back and read the game well for the most part. The second deflected in off him but that was not his fault, more due to his willingness to get in the way of the shot. A good game overall and once that can hopefully earn him a loan move at some point soon which is where he needs to be going. 7

Kenny Strickland – A much more low key performance than Carl, a couple of times quilty of overdoing things and making the wrong choices. But a lot of the times he is doing the right things still. A decent centre back but it is clear that he has only been brought in for the cover. 6

Liam Bridcutt – Back to reserve captain duty, Liam is another one who doesn’t seem to have improved too much on his loan spell but has seemed to stay at the same level, which is a decnet level but i don’t know how far it will take him. He works hard for the team and trys to sweep up as much as he can. His passing at times was a little rushed and mis-timed. But he also set some good moves in motion. 6

Nemaja Matic – By a long shot the man of the match. It is really exciting seeing Matic come on. Playing now as a box to box player his ability on the ball is excellent especially in tight spaces he manages to always wriggle out of them somehow, his vision is great and his passing is excellent. If we can develop him in the right way he is going to be a useful player for the first team next season and could go on to be and important player for us. 8

Daniel Philliskirk – A poor performance from Daniel and one he would want to forget. Hardly in the game at all and did nothing of note at all. Really in limbo at the moment and i not too sure what we can hope to see from him, last season he put in some really good performances but has not been able to do the same this season which is a real shame. 4

Jacob Mellis – Jacob has lost a little something since being on loan and i hope he can get it back soon. He was lively in this game and willing to run into the spaces and try and make something happen, not too sure if playing that high up the pitch is where he is comfotbale or if he is more suited box to box. Involved in some good moves and still offered a lot to us going forward. 6

Gael Kakuta – Again from Gael we saw a performance that was not a performance. So often completely out of things but at least he was trying more to get involved in things. Set up the goal which was great to see but he wasn’t the influence on the game we want him to be. A few times we saw the real Gael Kakuta but definately not enough times for anyone to be happy with. 5

Fabio Borini – For someone who last season and the beginning of this season was such an accomplished finisher Fabio will look back on this with Horror. So many many missed chances where he should have buried them. Seems to be lacking confidence but was certianly more involved and busy than i have seen him in the last couple of reserves outings. It was good to see that improvement in him and good to see him getting the chances, but when he gets in those positions we want to see him score them, especially if they are going to be for the first team. 7