Chelsea lift the pressure

SOCCER/Southend 1 Chelsea 4:IF HARDSHIP was good for the soul then Chelsea will be revived by a victory they would once have viewed as a chore. Having conceded an opener fecklessly, they were not at peace until their two late goals, taken by Nicolas Anelka and Frank Lampard from Salomon Kalou's service. Kalou had given Chelsea a 2-1 lead after Southend had been ahead. The bad news was limited to a knee injury for Joe Cole, who had been most effective. This was the second win for his side in seven games.

The entire programme has become a punishment exercise for Chelsea. It looks almost vindictive, yet it is these players who inflict suffering on themselves.

The masochism has been honed at set-pieces and, with the opener after 16 minutes here nine of the last 12 goals conceded had come from set-pieces.

Alex paved the way for it by putting a back-pass behind from just inside the halfway line.

The visitors dealt with that corner but only by letting Southend have another.

Junior Stanislas struck it deep and the new zonal marking introduced for this tie by Luiz Felipe Scolari malfunctioned instantly. The captain Adam Barrett headed home with ease after getting between Alex and Anelka.

An equaliser was not notched until the last minute of the first half.

Southend’s goalkeeper collided with Peter Clarke, who had claimed the equaliser in the first match, and Michael Ballack recorded his first goal of the season with a beautiful finish.

The strike did little more than ease the frustrations and fears of the visitors.

They would have been 2-0 down had Petr Cech not pulled off a remarkable close range save from Alex Revell after 37 minutes.

Chelsea, with their form waning, must have wished this tie to vanish from the fixture list. In the event, it did drop from sight when mist descended on the ground in the early evening.

The referee Chris Foy called the match off, but soon changed his mind when visibility was perfect again just before 7pm. By the middle of the first-half the visiting fans were chanting, “It’s so foggy. Call it off.”

The appeal was humorous and, in some respects at least these visitors would have been glad to get onto the field.

The Southend manager Steve Tilson had spoken gleefully of the cramped and rudimentary away dressing room, but Chelsea have been in a far worse place than that for the last few days. A 3-0 loss against Manchester United meant that proud footballers were forced to live in a state of embarrassment and self-doubt.

Despite the miseries endured, Chelsea had passed smoothly and seen Joe Cole look menacing. Southend, however, have had their moments in fixtures such as this.

In 2006 a Manchester United side were knocked out of the League Cup at Roots Hall. The Southend squad has been almost entirely rebuilt since then, with Clarke among the few survivors, but the newcomers have their own ambitions.

Anthony Grant, for instance, used to be on Chelsea’s books and his single outing for them, as a substitute, came unforgettably during a 3-1 win at Old Trafford in 2005. He can only have been yearning here to remind his former employers, as painfully as possible, of his existence.

Tilson’s entire squad acted is they had precisely the same motivation and Chelsea faced trial by set-piece once more soon after the interval. They came to no harm at, but contrived to look uneasy in any case.

Nonetheless, the Premier League team was inevitably in control when the arts of the game were the key.

The full-back Ashley Cole called for a good save from Steve Mildenhall with a shot that flew through a crowded goalmouth. Chelsea’s real opponents were their own apprehensions.

If the visitors could have relaxed the match might have pleased them.

It did no such thing.

Scolari was worried enough to remove Mikel at the interval and introduce the experienced Juliano Belletti.

The side were still not wholly sure of themselves. There was agitation at each dead ball situation and and, especially, when a corner in the 58th minute from Stanislas was sent over the bar by Jean-Francois Christophe, who had a free header.

Two minutes later Chelsea did produce a moment of distinction to go into the lead. Joe Cole served up a shrewd pass that Kalou, picked instead of Deco, slipped into the far corner of the net. It had been arduous for Chelsea to seize that advantage.

A win over Southend over three hours has some benefits.

Chelsea have a spell of calm, brief as it might be, and Scolari can operate in normal conditions. Nonetheless, great progress will still be needed at his club.

SOUTHEND: Mildenhall, Sankofa, Barrett, Clarke, Herd, Revell (Betsy 86), Grant (Francis 80), Moussa, Christophe, Stanislas, Barnard (Freedman 73). Subs not used: Joyce, Walker, O’Keefe.

CHELSEA: Cech, Bosingwa, Alex, Terry, Ashley Cole, Mikel (Belletti 46), Joe Cole (Di Santo 76), Ballack, Lampard, Kalou, Anelka. Subs not used: Cudicini, Ivanovic, Carvalho, Mancienne, Stoch. Booked: Mikel.

Referee: Christopher Foy (England).