I can't have been the only Saddler looking forward to the third round league cup tie with Chelsea both excited and nervous. A sell out at the Banks' were there to see the current champions of England take on the Saddlers under the lights. In reality I would contend that not many expected anything out of the game and I seriously hoped that it wouldn't turn into a drubbing, having the effect on team morale.
Three changes from Saturdays away draw at Peterborough for the Saddlers; Tom Bradshaw (whether due to injury or just precautionary remains to be seen) missing from the squad altogether with Andy Taylor and Reece Flanagan dropping to the bench. In came Jordan Cook as the lone striker, Milan Lalkovic on the left of a midfield five and Kieron Morris on the right. 4-5-1.
Visiting manager, José Mourinho, paid the Saddlers the highest compliment possibly by selecting a very strong team which featured former England captain and fan-favourite John Terry alongside current England international Gary Cahill. In fact only 2 of the starting Chelsea XI are not full internationals for their respective countries.
The game started well for the visitors who quickly settled into their passing game on the front foot, much to the enjoyment of over 1000 noisy travelling away Blues fans, and on the 10th minute made the pressure count. Walsall failed to sufficiently clear the ball from in their own area and it found it's way to new signing Kenedy on the left-hand byline, where he chipped a deep cross to fellow Brazilian Ramires at the back post to head home. 1-0 Chelsea. At this point I genuinely feared the worst.
For a few minutes after the opening goal the home side continued to press as push for parity which lead to a free-kick won near the Chelsea box that Milan Lalkovic fired over the bar. Not to be outdone however, the Blues evened up the firing over the bar stakes shortly after, however the latter was from a block inside the box from a Radamel Falcao shot.
The Saddlers always seemed to offer a glimmer of hope of an equaliser through the majestic display of Romaine Sawyers and this was evidenced just after the half-hour as he danced through the midfield and unfortunately dragged his shot wide of Asmir Begovic's right-hand post. Was the tide turning in favour of the Saddlers? No. Less than 10 minutes later Chelsea doubled their advantage after possession was conceded in the middle of the park, Ramires advanced forward and fed Loic Remy inside the box on the right-hand side and the Frenchman finished superbly into the roof of the net. 2-0.
Still the Saddlers ploughed on and in Morris, Lalkovic and Sawyers their directness and perseverance flirted to make a game of it still. Morris was next to take aim at the Chelsea goal but shot wide to the right. At least there was endeavour to fight and that should be praised. The Saddlers were duly rewarded for their efforts as a free-kick, conceded by Branislav Ivanovic in the centre of the pitch, was struck goal-wards by Lalkovic causing Begovic to party up in the air and James O'Connor reacted first to scuff the ball over the line. 2-1 just before half time.
Three changes from Saturdays away draw at Peterborough for the Saddlers; Tom Bradshaw (whether due to injury or just precautionary remains to be seen) missing from the squad altogether with Andy Taylor and Reece Flanagan dropping to the bench. In came Jordan Cook as the lone striker, Milan Lalkovic on the left of a midfield five and Kieron Morris on the right. 4-5-1.
Visiting manager, José Mourinho, paid the Saddlers the highest compliment possibly by selecting a very strong team which featured former England captain and fan-favourite John Terry alongside current England international Gary Cahill. In fact only 2 of the starting Chelsea XI are not full internationals for their respective countries.
The game started well for the visitors who quickly settled into their passing game on the front foot, much to the enjoyment of over 1000 noisy travelling away Blues fans, and on the 10th minute made the pressure count. Walsall failed to sufficiently clear the ball from in their own area and it found it's way to new signing Kenedy on the left-hand byline, where he chipped a deep cross to fellow Brazilian Ramires at the back post to head home. 1-0 Chelsea. At this point I genuinely feared the worst.
For a few minutes after the opening goal the home side continued to press as push for parity which lead to a free-kick won near the Chelsea box that Milan Lalkovic fired over the bar. Not to be outdone however, the Blues evened up the firing over the bar stakes shortly after, however the latter was from a block inside the box from a Radamel Falcao shot.
The Saddlers always seemed to offer a glimmer of hope of an equaliser through the majestic display of Romaine Sawyers and this was evidenced just after the half-hour as he danced through the midfield and unfortunately dragged his shot wide of Asmir Begovic's right-hand post. Was the tide turning in favour of the Saddlers? No. Less than 10 minutes later Chelsea doubled their advantage after possession was conceded in the middle of the park, Ramires advanced forward and fed Loic Remy inside the box on the right-hand side and the Frenchman finished superbly into the roof of the net. 2-0.
Still the Saddlers ploughed on and in Morris, Lalkovic and Sawyers their directness and perseverance flirted to make a game of it still. Morris was next to take aim at the Chelsea goal but shot wide to the right. At least there was endeavour to fight and that should be praised. The Saddlers were duly rewarded for their efforts as a free-kick, conceded by Branislav Ivanovic in the centre of the pitch, was struck goal-wards by Lalkovic causing Begovic to party up in the air and James O'Connor reacted first to scuff the ball over the line. 2-1 just before half time.
CAPITAL ONE CUP - HALF TIME
WALSALL 1 - 2 CHELSEA
Congratulations to the lad who hit the crossbar at half-time, although with those skinny jeans I doubt he is much of a Banks' drinker. If someone can tell Gavin that the bits of the goal that hold the crossbar up are called 'posts' and not 'sidebars' I'd be grateful. That was a faux pas that amused and annoyed me in equal measure.
Back to the game and within 8 minutes of the restart the visitors had resorted their two goal cushion though Kenedy who was passed to inside the box on the right by Ruben Loftus-Cheek and he slotted it home low to the right of Neil Etheridge I the Walsall goal. With all the stars on show I was most impressed by the young Englishman Loftus-Cheek who has the physique, technical ability, pace and workrate of a top player. I'll be interested to see if he can force his way into the first team regularly or where he ends up. 3-1 Chelsea.
Maybe from my recollections of the game it seems that Walsall were not in the game much, but it didn't seem to me at the time to be the case at all. Believe it or not it was still enjoyable to watch two goals down. Maybe a few funny moments helped. Firstly the free-kick from Falcao just before the hour mark. To say that the Colombian is much maligned is similar to suggesting that chips are missed in the ground. An understatement. Just find the clip on social media, it's worth a look. Then the sprinklers in the corner of the ground went off and the game had to be stopped while the issue was sorted out. I can assure the visiting supporters that this doesn't happen every week...we can't afford the wasted water.
A plethora of substitutions inevitably shortly followed the fourth goal, two for each side. If there was a way of showing the gulf between the sides then this was an opportunity to do so. Pedro and Nemanja Matic came on for the Blues, whereas Flanagan and Anthony Forde came on for the Saddlers in place of Adam Chambers and Lalkovic. That's not being unkind to Reece and Adam but the transfer fee for either of those players could buy Walsall as a team multiple times over let alone any of their players. Both substitutes.
Still the action continued and the Saddlers fans were still in full voice, aided and abetted by the magnificent Sawyers who showed some skills which would be at home on the showboat on the edge of the area before chipping a pass to Sam Mantom on the left on the area who fired wide. He also headed a corner over the bar following pressure from a Chelsea defender.
James Baxendale replaced Cook with a few moments to go, but the last moment in the game to note belonged to the substitute Pedro as the Spaniard slalomed through the tiring Walsall defence and fired low from outside the area past the outstretched right hand of Etheridge into the net. 4-1 Chelsea and the tie was over.
Still, as long as the boys are not deflated by the experience and we continue our great start to the league season I'm more than happy about the evening. A crowd of over 10,000 should add some more money to the coffers and hopefully bring a few more regulars to watch the quality of football we are producing. It was a gutsy and hard-working performance which was always going to be a tough ask. By no means did anybody disgrace themselves and in defeat we should be proud of what we have here. Mr Mourinho alluded to it in his post-match comments and yeah he should know, he is another special one of course.
James O'Connor picked up the Man of the Match award, probably for his goal, however for me it was Sawyers by a mile. Maybe I'm his biggest fan but the lad showed tonight why I've been banging the drum about him for a couple of seasons now. This has put himself in the shop window if the contract situation isn't sorted out quickly and honestly I wouldn't blame him going onto bigger and better things. He absolutely has the talent. Get down and see him while he is with us. Good luck for Saturday against Crewe, unfortunately I'm away and will miss it. Up the Saddlers.
Back to the game and within 8 minutes of the restart the visitors had resorted their two goal cushion though Kenedy who was passed to inside the box on the right by Ruben Loftus-Cheek and he slotted it home low to the right of Neil Etheridge I the Walsall goal. With all the stars on show I was most impressed by the young Englishman Loftus-Cheek who has the physique, technical ability, pace and workrate of a top player. I'll be interested to see if he can force his way into the first team regularly or where he ends up. 3-1 Chelsea.
Maybe from my recollections of the game it seems that Walsall were not in the game much, but it didn't seem to me at the time to be the case at all. Believe it or not it was still enjoyable to watch two goals down. Maybe a few funny moments helped. Firstly the free-kick from Falcao just before the hour mark. To say that the Colombian is much maligned is similar to suggesting that chips are missed in the ground. An understatement. Just find the clip on social media, it's worth a look. Then the sprinklers in the corner of the ground went off and the game had to be stopped while the issue was sorted out. I can assure the visiting supporters that this doesn't happen every week...we can't afford the wasted water.
A plethora of substitutions inevitably shortly followed the fourth goal, two for each side. If there was a way of showing the gulf between the sides then this was an opportunity to do so. Pedro and Nemanja Matic came on for the Blues, whereas Flanagan and Anthony Forde came on for the Saddlers in place of Adam Chambers and Lalkovic. That's not being unkind to Reece and Adam but the transfer fee for either of those players could buy Walsall as a team multiple times over let alone any of their players. Both substitutes.
Still the action continued and the Saddlers fans were still in full voice, aided and abetted by the magnificent Sawyers who showed some skills which would be at home on the showboat on the edge of the area before chipping a pass to Sam Mantom on the left on the area who fired wide. He also headed a corner over the bar following pressure from a Chelsea defender.
James Baxendale replaced Cook with a few moments to go, but the last moment in the game to note belonged to the substitute Pedro as the Spaniard slalomed through the tiring Walsall defence and fired low from outside the area past the outstretched right hand of Etheridge into the net. 4-1 Chelsea and the tie was over.
Still, as long as the boys are not deflated by the experience and we continue our great start to the league season I'm more than happy about the evening. A crowd of over 10,000 should add some more money to the coffers and hopefully bring a few more regulars to watch the quality of football we are producing. It was a gutsy and hard-working performance which was always going to be a tough ask. By no means did anybody disgrace themselves and in defeat we should be proud of what we have here. Mr Mourinho alluded to it in his post-match comments and yeah he should know, he is another special one of course.
James O'Connor picked up the Man of the Match award, probably for his goal, however for me it was Sawyers by a mile. Maybe I'm his biggest fan but the lad showed tonight why I've been banging the drum about him for a couple of seasons now. This has put himself in the shop window if the contract situation isn't sorted out quickly and honestly I wouldn't blame him going onto bigger and better things. He absolutely has the talent. Get down and see him while he is with us. Good luck for Saturday against Crewe, unfortunately I'm away and will miss it. Up the Saddlers.
CAPITAL ONE CUP - RESULT
WALSALL 1 - 4 CHELSEA
GOALS | O'Connor (45') - Ramires (10'), Remy (41'), Kenedy (52'), Pedro (90+2')
ATTENDANCE | 10,525 (1,363 Chelsea)
REFEREE | Mr. Lee Mason
BY PETE SADLER | @Pistol_PeteS9