The games are coming thick and fast but Gary Cahill and his team-mates are relishing the challenge given the quality of the football they are playing. The league leaders’ convincing win against West Ham on Boxing Day matched the previous one at Stoke in both scoreline and dominance, and was a fifth consecutive victory in all competitions since our only defeat of the season. It was the third 2-0 victory in the league since Newcastle and gives the Blues a three-point lead with the halfway stage in the campaign almost upon us. ‘We are very pleased with the clean sheet,’ said Cahill after the derby win over the Hammers. ‘That is two in the last couple of games now, and we are pleased with the performance against a tough team. West Ham are playing extremely well this season so we knew it was going to be hard but I thought we were outstanding again. ‘We fought well, we worked hard during the game and we played our football when we got hold of it. ‘When we didn’t have the ball we defended solidly, we all defended together, and when we did have the ball we showed our quality and some of the attacking play was great, we created quite a few chances. ‘That is two performances in a row we have been happy with.’ The wait for the opening goal against West Ham was a longer one than on Monday night in the Potteries, John Terry taking half an hour more than his 90 seconds that night to find the net, but there was always strong belief it would come. In both games the insurance of the second goal came after the interval, this time from Diego Costa who created his own chance and took it in style. ‘Particularly at home we feel strong, we have confidence but also realise how hard it is to win games,’ said Cahill, ‘but when you get that first goal it gives you a platform and we got it really early against Stoke. ‘We had to wait a bit longer this time but when it does come it gives you the platform to build from there and we could have had the second earlier, we had a few chances, but we kept going and thankfully it did come and generally the performance was fantastic, as it was against Stoke. ‘John’s goal was not really something we practiced, I think it was just anticipation from him, he has seen Diego is going to get a clear header in and he made his run. That is two in two games from him now and I am sure he will be pleased. ‘Diego is a top player and he is producing some magic out there and his goal was a fantastic individual piece of play. We won the ball back and counter-attacked and the rest was down to him.’ The Hammers’ best moments came very late in the match, with Morgan Amalfitano hitting the post. ‘When a team is chasing a game they make sacrifices which they probably wouldn’t during the start of a game, they push players forward and they gamble a little,’ says the Chelsea centre-back, ‘so it is always going to be difficult but we had a cushion of two goals and thankfully saw it out with a clean sheet.’ Next up is a visit on Sunday afternoon to a Southampton side who moved ahead of West Ham into fourth place with a 3-1 Boxing Day win at Crystal Palace. ‘It is a different test but we are in good form and are looking forward to the next game even though it is a busy time,’ states Cahill. ‘It is tough but it is the same for everyone. They are demanding fixtures but that is the same throughout the Premier League and it is what the fans want to see.’
Posted on: Sat, 27 Dec 2014 08:00:01 +0000
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015