Chelsea's Premiership title hopes suffered a third successive setback as
Sheffield Wednesday edged a step closer towards safety today.
Gianluca Vialli's side have now drawn their last three matches and find
themselves four points adrift of current leaders Arsenal and three behind
second-placed Manchester United.
It's hard to see them going any higher, while they still face a challenge from
Leeds for that third place which guarantees a Champions' League action next
season.
The reason being is that the skilful, fast-flowing football which had carried
Chelsea to their long, unbeaten run and to the top of the Premier League for a
brief spell, has simply evaporated.
There were too many mis-placed passes, too much hit-and-hope to suggest the
Blues can seriously overhaul either Manchester United or Arsenal down the
closing stretch.
But despite that, they are still not out of the title frame as their run-in is
the easier of the three, with matches against Everton, Spurs and Derby potential
three-point bankers.
But then Vialli's side were also expected to beat Middlesbrough, Leicester and
Wednesday as well, but have ended up with a total of just three points.
The six dropped would have seen them climb the summit again, but it's clearly
become advantage Arsenal and United.
Vialli's body language was also a clear pointer of his growing frustration,
the Italian becomingly increasingly animated during the second-half.
The dismissive gesticulations of referee Steve Dunn's decisions which went
against him and his side became more and more flamboyant as the game wore on.
But this was a match for the purist as both sides, in particular Wednesday,
defended solidly as Chelsea's attacks floundered on the rocks which were Emerson
and Des Walker.
Although having taken just five points from the last 27, their future in the
Premiership for next season looks almost guaranteed.
The Owls are now eight points clear of Southampton and Charlton, with both the
Saints and the Addicks having just three games left with which to save
themselves.
This was certainly a deserved point and in young winger Mark McKeever they
appear to have a player for the future, having been earmarked as such when
bought by David Pleat three seasons ago from Peterborough.
Despite a third minute error in his own area which gifted Chelsea their best
chance of the game, the Republic of Ireland international looked sharp and
positive on his debut.
Bjarne Goldbaek should have done better with McKeever's mistake, but his
left-foot shot from just inside the area was curled wide of Pavel Srnicek's
right-hand post.
There were several half-chances as Mikael Forssell fired in a shot which
bounced off Des Walker, Marcel Desailly sidefooted wide and Vialli flicked a
near-post downward header into the sidenetting - but those were all in the
first-half.
There was barely an opportunity worthy of the name during the second 45
minutes from the visitors, despite the half-time introduction of the normally
livewire Gianfranco Zola.
But even he looked subdued during an off-day for Chelsea, who could easily
have ended up with nothing as the more inspired moments, especially towards the
end, came from Wednesday.
McKeever, who has enjoyed loan spells at Bristol Rovers and more recently
Reading this season, drilled a left-foot drive wide in the 22nd minute and
volleyed narrowly over 10 minutes after the break.
Carbone came closest, though, in a game in which even he also lacked the
ingenuity to break open a match which was crying out for someone to take hold of
it by the scruff of the neck.
The Italian, following a through ball free-kick from Wim Jonk, only just
grazed Kevin Hitchcock's crossbar with a dipping shot from just outside the
area.
And that was as good as it got as Wednesday, despite a late charge, left the
field by far the happier, while there were few smiles to be seen on the faces of
the Chelsea players.
Teams
Sheff Wed: Srnicek, Atherton, Walker, Thome, Stefanovic,
Alexandersson, Jonk, Sonner, McKeever, Booth (Cresswell 80),Carbone.
Subs Not Used: Pressman, Newsome, Cobian, Haslam.
Booked: Booth.
Chelsea: Hitchcock, Ferrer, Leboeuf, Desailly, Babayaro,
Lambourde, Poyet (Newton 59), Wise, Goldbaek, Vialli, Forssell (Zola 46).
Subs Not Used: Duberry, Nicholls, Kharine.
Booked: Babayaro, Ferrer.
Att: 21,652
Ref: S Dunn (Bristol).
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