Chelsea
failed to get the better of Birmingham as the Championship outfit earned a 1-1
draw in the FA Cup fifth round at Stamford Bridge.
The home side's season was in danger of hitting a new low when their latest
defensive calamity allowed David Murphy to give the visitors a shock half-time
lead at Stamford Bridge.
Colin Doyle also brilliantly saved a Juan Mata penalty and, although Daniel
Sturridge eventually equalised, Chelsea simply did not do enough to find a
winner.
The performance showed Sunday's summit meeting in which Andre Villas-Boas'
players reportedly challenged their manager did nothing to address the problems
which led to their worst display of the season at Everton last weekend.
Villas-Boas insisted it did not matter if some of his squad did not back him as
he had the support of Roman Abramovich, but the club's billionaire owner would
not have been happy with what he saw on Saturday.
The man he spent £50million on - Fernando Torres - again failed to impress,
hauled off at half-time for Didier Drogba, who was a surprise substitute
following the African Nations Cup.
But others, too, let themselves down as Chelsea's winless run extended to four
matches.
The travelling fans taunted Villas-Boas with chants of, "You're getting sacked
in the morning", as Chelsea toiled from the start.
The hosts were almost embarrassed when David Luiz's attempted clearance
deflected off a Birmingham head before Stephen Carr was forced off injured,
Jonathan Spector coming on.
The defending that cost Chelsea at Goodison Park resurfaced when they fell
behind in the 20th minute, Luiz and Raul Meireles failing to deal with a
near-post corner, allowing Murphy to drill home.
Chelsea finally woke up and urgent attacking immediately won them a penalty when
Wade Elliott tripped Ramires but Doyle produced a world-class save to tip Mata's
spot-kick onto the post.
Curtis Davies produced a brilliant interception to stop Torres reaching a cross
from Sturridge, who then screamed in vain for another penalty when he crumpled
under Pablo Ibanez's challenge.
Luiz tried to inject some inspiration when a typical surge forward saw Jordon
Mutch rightly booked for the crudest of challenges, which the defender almost
punished with a superb free-kick that Doyle tipped over.
Sturridge then unleashed a blistering volley that just dipped too late and Mata
directed a header too close to Doyle before Chelsea trudged off to muted jeers.
The boos turned to cheers after the interval when Torres, who had another half
to forget, was hauled off for Drogba.
The Ivorian immediately showed the kind of commitment lacking from Torres by
retrieving the ball for a goal-kick.
But Chelsea showed little sign of improvement and Gary Cahill was booked for a
tangle with Adam Rooney before more shocking set-piece defending saw Redmond
blast over a corner.
Salomon Kalou replaced the ineffective John Obi Mikel, although it was someone
else the crowd wanted, judging by the chants of "Super Frankie Lampard".
However, the change paid off, Mata drilling wide after brilliantly taking down
Luiz's crossfield pass before Sturridge equalised in the 62nd minute.
Branislav Ivanovic was given time to deliver a cross and Sturridge rose unmarked
to power home a header via the inside of the post.
Elliott threw himself in front of Ivanovic's attempted follow-up before Rooney
was withdrawn for Jake Jervis.
Meireles' low drive through a crowd of players was deflected just over the bar
while Mutch tested Petr Cech with a low free-kick.
Lampard finally joined the fray when he replaced Mata for the last seven minutes
in another unpopular substitution, with Elliott also withdrawn for Chris Burke.
Ivanovic appealed half-heartedly for a penalty after a coming together with
Murphy before Birmingham wasted a glorious chance to snatch it when Redman shot
tamely at Cech after racing clear.
Lampard drilled a free-kick straight at the wall in stoppage-time, Luiz was
cautioned for clattering into Spector, and Davies headed too close to Cech as
the visitors held on for a deserved replay.
Click Here For Official Team Sheet
Teams
Chelsea
Cech, Ivanovic, Cahill,
Luiz, Bertrand, Ramires, Mikel (Kalou 57), Meireles, Sturridge, Torres (Drogba
46), Mata (Lampard 83)
Subs Not Used
Hilario, Bosingwa, Essien, Malouda
Booked
Cahill, Luiz
Goals Sturridge
62
Birmingham
City
Doyle, Carr
(Spector 12), Davies, Ibanez, Murphy, Gomis, Fahey, Rooney (Jervis 71),
Mutch, Elliott (Burke 83), Redmond
Subs Not Used Butland,
Caldwell, Asante, Reilly
Booked
Mutch
Goals
Murphy 20
Attendance
36,870
Referee
M. Atkinson
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