Cypriots confound casual Chelsea

Chelsea 2 Apoel 2:CHELSEA'S BREEZE through their Champions League group campaign has ended with something of a shudder. With their section already won and attentions apparently fixed upon domestic matters, the hosts' profligacy and one slack piece of defending too many costs the Londoners late on last night.

As ridiculous as a draw felt in a one-sided contest, Carlo Ancelotti’s side would do well to learn from this minor embarrassment.

The worry here was that it was the seniors who made errors that would, after Christmas, jettison a side from this competition. Opportunities had been passed up too readily, the locals seeking solace in the sprightly performance of Gael Kakuta on his full debut, when the Apoel Nicosia substitute Nenad Mirosavljevic nipped in between Mikel John Obi and John Terry to collect, bear down on goal and slip an equaliser past Ross Turnbull.

Chelsea ended incredulous to have been pegged back, with the Cypriots departing with a Europa League campaign ahead. Ancelotti will know that sterner tests await in the new year. Such sloppiness will prove disastrous then.

This had appeared the ideal opportunity for Chelsea to reassert themselves after the disappointing result, if far from a shoddy performance, at Manchester City. The loss at Eastlands on Saturday had eroded the Londoners’ lead at the top of the Premier League to two points with their captain John Terry, recovered from a gash to his knee to play here, declaring it to have been a “wake-up call”.

By the break this had the look about it of a stroll. Admittedly, the hosts had been shrugged from their slumbers into the contest, Apoel puncturing their staggering defensive record in this arena within six minutes of the start.

Yet, stung by the concession, Chelsea stirred. Michael Essien, gloriously, and Didier Drogba just as impressively had eased the Premier League team ahead with Kakuta making his mark.

The full debutant revelled in a roaming midfield brief initially alongside Essien and, once the Ghanaian had limped from the fray midway through the first period, with Lampard for company. The odd misplaced pass was excusable given the Frenchman’s vision and delivery to liberate Yuri Zhirkov some 26 minutes in and the Russian pulled the ball back for Drogba to convert from virtually upon the penalty spot.

That edged the hosts ahead, building on Essien’s effort from distance which had flown beyond Dionisis Chiotis and into the corner. The African’s subsequent injury, sustained after he dived into a tackle and tweaked a hamstring, was a concern for Ancelotti. Essien retreated in discomfort, though the home side’s revival served to deflect attention from their slack opening.

Apoel might have scored in their first attack when Constantinos Charalambides centred for Joost Broerse to draw a save from another full debutant, Turnbull. Yet Chelsea did not learn and, when Charalambides wriggled free down the left two minutes later, his slipped pass was poked home by Marcin Zewlakow and, after 968 unanswered minutes, the hosts were finally breached.

That record had stretched back, in all competitions, to Stephen Hunt’s opening goal for Hull City on the first afternoon of the season. For a while, when they led and with news filtering through that Atletico Madrid were being overwhelmed by Porto in Spain, the considerable Cypriot contingent dared to dream of the Europa League though that was short-lived. Joe Cole had an equaliser disallowed for a marginal offside before Chelsea stormed into a lead that rarely looked threatened.

Lampard, Juliano Belletti and Drogba pinged shots merrily at goal and Cole lobbed a cross on the bar with the contest threatening to meander, much to Ancelotti’s foot-stamping frustration.

Even so, there seemed little real concern while the chances continued to flow until Mirosavljevic’s late and unexpected intervention. Mikel and Terry were aghast at their miscommunication. Chelsea had fluffed their lines at the last.

CHELSEA: Turnbull, Belletti, Terry, Carvalho, Zhirkov, Mikel, Essien (Lampard 26), Joe Cole, Kakuta (Borini 73), Malouda, Drogba. Subs not used: Hilario, Ivanovic, Anelka, Bruma, Philliskirk. Booked: Zhirkov.

APOEL NICOSIA: Chiotis, Poursaitides, Broerse, Paulo Jorge, Haxhi (Elia 34), Morais, Michael, Charalambidis, Pinto, Kosowski (Mirosavljevic 70), Zewlakow (Breska 82). Subs not used: Kissas, Papathanasiou, Satsias, Jean Paulista. Booked: Poursaitides.

Referee: Matteo Trefoloni (Italy).