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Saturday 03 Feb 2007
Premiership champions Chelsea kept up the pressure on Manchester United at the top of the table and reduced the points deficit to three with a hard fought 1-0 victory over second bottom Charlton Athletic at The Valley.
Chelsea's victory came thanks to Frank Lampard's 17th goal of the season, but they were made to work very hard for their win after being in control in the first half.<DIV class=storyimageright>
<BR clear=all>FRANK LAMPARD </DIV><P nd="4">Blues skipper John Terry was on the subs bench after missing 13 matches with a back injury and he made a brief two-minute appearance at the end of the match when his team had the game won.
Chelsea created a hatful of chances in the first half, but only took one of them which was eventually to prove crucial.
Lampard's goal was sweetly struck after Charlton midfielder Amady Faye had given the ball away and it was his eighth goal in eight games.
Charlton goalkeeper Scott Carson had earlier made a great save to deny Andriy Shevchenko and the striker also headed over from another great chance as Chelsea took control of the game.
After two good performances away from The Valley which yielded four points, Charlton boss Alan Pardew kept an unchanged side for the third successive match.
The team spirit and hard work which had brought Charlton victory at Portsmouth and a draw at Bolton was evident again, but Chelsea's extra quality was the telling factor.
Without the injured Darren Bent, Charlton lacked penetration in the final third of the field and efforts from Dennis Rommedahl and Bryan Hughes were comfortably saved by Petr Cech, but the Chelsea keeper had to be alert to tip over Talal El Karkouri's cross-cum-shot.
With the last kick of the first half Lampard almost increased Chelsea's lead with his fiercely struck free-kick producing another smart save from Carson.
All the time Charlton were only a goal behind they always had a chance of getting back into the match and manager Pardew reverted to a 4-4-2 system after the break, replacing Rommedahl with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink to play against one of his former clubs.
Despite all their efforts Charlton were finding it difficult to mount any real challenge on the visitors goal, but they did eventually produce a couple of chances both of them falling to Faye, his first effort being tipped over by Cech and second being smothered by the goalkeeper.
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho was getting agitated on the touchline as Charlton tried desperately to carve out an equaliser but the visitors deservedly took the three points.
It was Chelsea's fourth Premiership double over Charlton and the visitors 76th victory in 103 matches under Mourinho's stewardship.
It was another big win for Chelsea in the first of six matches they have to play in 23 days in four different competitions.
Charlton's future in the Premiership won't depend on results against Chelsea and Manchester United next week, but when they play the teams around them at the bottom in the next couple of months of the season.
Mourinho paid tribute to Lampard after his goal gave victory to the Blues.
"Frank has everything in the way he plays and to score as many goals as he does from midfield is fantastic as he plays with a lot of energy."
Mourinho also welcomed back John Terry who played the last five minutes and who missed the last 13 games through injury.
"I hope John plays some of the international in midweek and comes back fit to play for us against Middlesbrough. I feel we are now back to defensive security and I am much happier now Petr Cech is back in goal. He made two crucial saves at the end when Charlton were looking for an equalis
Premiership champions Chelsea kept up the pressure on Manchester United at the top of the table and reduced the points deficit to three with a hard fought 1-0 victory over second bottom Charlton Athletic at The Valley.
Chelsea's victory came thanks to Frank Lampard's 17th goal of the season, but they were made to work very hard for their win after being in control in the first half.<DIV class=storyimageright>
<BR clear=all>FRANK LAMPARD </DIV><P nd="4">Blues skipper John Terry was on the subs bench after missing 13 matches with a back injury and he made a brief two-minute appearance at the end of the match when his team had the game won.Chelsea created a hatful of chances in the first half, but only took one of them which was eventually to prove crucial.
Lampard's goal was sweetly struck after Charlton midfielder Amady Faye had given the ball away and it was his eighth goal in eight games.
Charlton goalkeeper Scott Carson had earlier made a great save to deny Andriy Shevchenko and the striker also headed over from another great chance as Chelsea took control of the game.
After two good performances away from The Valley which yielded four points, Charlton boss Alan Pardew kept an unchanged side for the third successive match.
The team spirit and hard work which had brought Charlton victory at Portsmouth and a draw at Bolton was evident again, but Chelsea's extra quality was the telling factor.
Without the injured Darren Bent, Charlton lacked penetration in the final third of the field and efforts from Dennis Rommedahl and Bryan Hughes were comfortably saved by Petr Cech, but the Chelsea keeper had to be alert to tip over Talal El Karkouri's cross-cum-shot.
With the last kick of the first half Lampard almost increased Chelsea's lead with his fiercely struck free-kick producing another smart save from Carson.
All the time Charlton were only a goal behind they always had a chance of getting back into the match and manager Pardew reverted to a 4-4-2 system after the break, replacing Rommedahl with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink to play against one of his former clubs.
Despite all their efforts Charlton were finding it difficult to mount any real challenge on the visitors goal, but they did eventually produce a couple of chances both of them falling to Faye, his first effort being tipped over by Cech and second being smothered by the goalkeeper.
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho was getting agitated on the touchline as Charlton tried desperately to carve out an equaliser but the visitors deservedly took the three points.
It was Chelsea's fourth Premiership double over Charlton and the visitors 76th victory in 103 matches under Mourinho's stewardship.
It was another big win for Chelsea in the first of six matches they have to play in 23 days in four different competitions.
Charlton's future in the Premiership won't depend on results against Chelsea and Manchester United next week, but when they play the teams around them at the bottom in the next couple of months of the season.
Mourinho paid tribute to Lampard after his goal gave victory to the Blues.
"Frank has everything in the way he plays and to score as many goals as he does from midfield is fantastic as he plays with a lot of energy."
Mourinho also welcomed back John Terry who played the last five minutes and who missed the last 13 games through injury.
"I hope John plays some of the international in midweek and comes back fit to play for us against Middlesbrough. I feel we are now back to defensive security and I am much happier now Petr Cech is back in goal. He made two crucial saves at the end when Charlton were looking for an equalis