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1st Team Friendly
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Attendance: 50,380
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DT92 Members at this game: (you can click here to load your profile picture) |
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gashead eric
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Rangers 2 - 0 Chelsea (friendly)
Novo 86, Sebo 87
Patrick Glenn The Observer, Sunday 29 July 2007 Article historyAssessments made on the basis of pre-season friendlies tend to be about as reliable as sweating dynamite. On the evidence available here, it is safest to conclude that Chelsea are still short of a gallop and Rangers, under Walter Smith, are experiencing a resurgence of spirit and self-belief. The two late goals from substitutes Nacho Novo and Filip Sebo that gave the Ibrox side victory were well executed, but tended to emphasise the lack of stamina in the visitor. Novo's powerful right-foot drive, low to the right of substitute goalkeeper Hilario, from the edge of the penalty area, was followed by Sebo's shot from an angle on the left, which sent the ball high into the far corner.
As well as the victory, Rangers also satisfied their desire for a competitive outing in advance of the first leg of their Champions League qualifier against FK Zeta of Montenegro on Tuesday. The opportunity to achieve further match sharpness was, as Smith said, the one aspect of Chelsea's visit that could be beneficial, in terms of the European assignment.
Nor did the Premiership club come to Ibrox to insult their hosts, Jose Mourinho fielding a starting line-up that included some of the tallest reputations in the game. Not surprising since they face Manchester United in the Community Shield on Sunday.
John Terry and Frank Lampard were in their usual places, but, for the home crowd, the most appetising news would be of the frontline partnership consisting of Didier Drogba and Andriy Schevchenko.
The powerful, often irrepressible Ivorian and the expensive Ukrainian, who has been something of an enigma since his move from Milan to Stamford Bridge, might have made the quickest possible impact by giving their team the lead straight from kick-off. It was Lampard's beautifully controlled flick with the outside of his right foot that released Schevchenko down the left, allowing the striker all manner of options for his delivery into the goal area. These included Drogba, yelling for service at the back post.
Schevchenko chose to wait for Steve Sidwell to stroll unattended to the edge of the box and roll the ball straight to the former Reading midfielder. The attempted drive, perhaps the result of rustiness, was a miscue, Sidwell wrapping his right foot around the ball and pulling it yards wide.
It was the kind of slick, instant movement the Rangers fans would have feared, but it was rarely reproduced by the visitors for the remainder of a first half that was robustly contested without being dazzling.
Rangers, to their credit, shrugged off the early scare to demand some respect of their own with one or two forward pushes that threatened to bring them a lead. This seemed especially likely when David Weir, from his own defence, sent a precision pass through the inside-left channel that gave the striker the chance to run, untracked, towards Petr Cech, in the Chelsea goal.
Boyd's touch was not particularly heavy, but pushing the ball three yards ahead of himself was enough to give a goalkeeper as alert and as quick as the big Czech the edge - and he was at Boyd's feet, snaffling the ball, before the latter had the chance to make the scoring attempt.
The extensive changes made by both managers at half time - six from Smith, five from Mourinho - amounted to the standard reminder of the experimental nature of pre-season friendlies, although they certainly provided Tal Ben Haim with an opportunity to demonstrate his versatility.
Having started as Terry's partner in central defence - and then being moved to left-back when Ricardo Carvalho came off the bench - the Israel defender moved to right-back when Ashley Cole replaced Glen Johnson.
Before those late flourishes from Rangers, Chelsea were denied twice when Drogba swept past Carlos Cuellar on the left and cut the ball back to Lampard. The England midfielder's low drive was cleanly struck, but Cuellar recovered well to block on the line, while Mikel John Obi's follow-up drive was saved by substitute goalkeeper Roy Carroll.
Ibrox 50,380
Rangers McGregor; Hutton, Weir, Cuellar, Papac; McCulloch, Ferguson, Hamdani, Adam; Darcheville, Boyd Subs used Carroll, Novo, Burke, Murray, Beasley, Broadfoot, Webster, Sebo
ChelseaCech; Diarra, Terry, Ben Haim, Johnson; J Cole, Sidwell, Lampard, Malouda; Drogba, Schevchenko Subs used Hilario, A Cole, Carvalho, Mikel, Pizarro, Sinclair, Wright-Phillips
Referee S Dougal
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Bluebear
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ChelseaJa
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