Finally there will be some calm until the next storm. Peace not because we won this match as we’re anyway expected to win this match even with 10 men and without a manager. The manner in which we won should make Roman and Avram really comfortable for the next few days at least – fours goals and plenty of shots on target.

sinclair_hull.JPG


Avram got his first win for Chelsea. He should feel lot more confident now, may about his abilities but not about his job. While Chelsea has denied the rumours of offering the job to Marco van Basten, Roman’s patience and determination is really being tested as Jurgen Klinsmann announces that he is available.

Back to the match. This was the team that played. Yes, it had Ben Haim and Shevchenko was in the bench.

23 Carlo Cudicini, 35 Juliano Belletti, 22 Tal Ben-Haim, 26 John Terry (c), 3 Ashley Cole, 24 Shaun Wright-Phillips, 9 Steve Sidwell, 5 Michael Essien, 17 Scott Sinclair, 21 Salomon Kalou, 14 Claudio Pizarro. Substitutes: 23 Carlo Cudicini, 18 Wayne Bridge, 4 Claude Makelele, 10 Joe Cole, 7 Andriy Shevchenko.

hullchelsea.JPGI did not get to see this game. With what I’ve made out of the stats, it must have been quite an exciting game. One strange thing is that our now ‘first-choice’ back four has allowed Hull to have 16 shots, of which 8 were on target. All this with just 38% possession. With a team of better quality, things would have been different. Also, the other statistic is that even we had 16 shots of which, believe me, 15 were on target. 4 goals out of 16 shots is a superb conversion ratio too.

Scott Sinclair scored his first goal for Chelsea which is nice. What would be nicer is taking boys like Sinclair beyond the league cup. Kalou got himself and a brace but he should start delivering in the premier league as well. Sidwell did not get too many chances to play and in those chances he was not too convincing but there’s nothing like scoring a goal. Going by the match reports, it appears that SWP, Joe Cole, Pizarro all had a good match.

[video]http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/6xJXUvWhXQCsOlGdv[/video]

Find the match report in BBC Sports.

Let’s put this result in perspective. It was Hull City and this was a match we simply could not have lost, for the situation we are in and for the strength of the competition. If I get to see the highlights of the match, I’ll be able comment much more. If it comforts you, Man Utd have been eliminated from the League Cup again this season. They chose their battles, perhaps. If I’ve to put it like Jose does I’d say

Playing various competitions simultaneously is like juggling lot of balls. If you’re an expert juggler, go for it. If you’re an average juggler, do it with lesser number of balls otherwise you’ll drop everything

That’s why, given the current situation, I had said that this would be a blessing in disguise, if we stay clear of the domestic cups.

[tags]Chelsea, Hull, Hull City, Avram Grant, Roman Abramovich, Marco van Basten, Jurgen Klinsmann, Carling Cup, League Cup, goals, highlights, videos[/tags]