Wolves 1 Chelsea 2:THE PAIN was short-lived for Andre Villas-Boas. Moments after the Chelsea manager threatened to kick over the drink bottles in the technical area in a fit of pique, following Stephen Ward's late equaliser for Wolverhampton Wanderers, the Portuguese was celebrating a restorative victory courtesy of a vintage Frank Lampard goal in the 89th minute that should help to relieve some of the pressure.
Wolves supporters will have departed questioning whether Lampard should have been on the pitch at the time, after a reckless challenge on Adam Hammill in the 24th minute that drew a yellow card from referee Peter Walton, when it might easily have been red. Yet for Villas-Boas all what mattered was Chelsea had secured a first win in five matches and taken a small step on the road to redemption after a miserable festive period.
Two points could still have been wrestled from their grasp in injury-time but Petr Cech produced an instinctive save to turn Kevin Doyle’s close-range header over the bar in what proved to be the final action.
Chelsea deserved to triumph on the basis of the number of chances that they created although Mick McCarthy’s anger at the way his side allowed the visitors back into the game, after Wolves had worked so hard to haul themselves level, was understandable.
“I am livid we conceded the goal we did,” said the Wolves manager, who claimed it was “irrelevant” whether Lampard should have been on the pitch to score it.
“Defend the bleeding cross. I have had a proper snarl in because that is not acceptable for me. It was professional suicide.”
For Villas-Boas, this was an afternoon that was all about the result and it was notable he passed up the opportunity to offer praise for Lampard’s goal. Chelsea had lost here last season, when their season was unravelling under Carlo Ancelotti, and another defeat would have been difficult to bear in the wake of Aston Villa’s 3-1 victory at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Without the injured Didier Drogba and Daniel Sturridge, Ramires adapted well to his unfamiliar attacking role on the right flank and Fernando Torres, although still desperately short of confidence in front of goal, was industrious outside the penalty area and played a number of incisive through balls that opened up the Wolves defence.
One of those passes led to Lampard’s goal, with the Spaniard threading a neat ball into the path of the onrushing Cole, who somehow got through the match without picking up a yellow card, despite poor tackles on Hammill and Doyle in a first half in which five players were booked in an eight-minute period as Walton lost control of the game. Cole delivered the perfect centre, picking out the run of Lampard, who volleyed home from close range.
It was a bitter blow for a Wolves side that had brought parity five minutes earlier. Jarvis swung a cross towards the far post and Steven Fletcher, who started on the bench, ghosted in behind Jose Bosingwa to steer the ball back across goal, where Ward thumped home.
Although Wolves started poorly, they troubled Chelsea a couple of times in the first half, in particular when Roger Johnson headed Hammill’s free-kick against the upright and when Ward nodded a set-piece from the same player wide with the goal at his mercy.
That profligacy was punished when Ramires stabbed the ball high into the roof of the net in the 54th minute after Wolves had failed to deal with Juan Mata’s corner.
The celebrations that followed will have been a long way from Villas-Boas’s mind when he struggled to contain his frustration on the touchline after Ward scored, but Lampard ultimately ensured this was a satisfactory day for the Chelsea manager and one that added credence to the idea that playing away from home suits his players much better.
“Our results away from home have shown we are more tranquil and we have less anxiety; this a thing we also have to address at Stamford Bridge,” Villas-Boas said. “We have discussed it between us and I think we can correct it. It’s been a very informative period in terms of learning the mistakes we have been doing.”
