Location: Wembley, London

Attendance: 87,660

Analysis:

Tottenham Hotspur stunned bitter London rivals Chelsea in a 2-1 comeback victory after extra time for Juande Ramos' first trophy at the club, and Spurs' first major silverware since 1999. Spurs started brightly and contained the Blues in their own half, as they surged forward in wave after wave of attacks, but failed to make the breakthrough. They were duly punished by their more clinical opponents. Zokora brought down Drogba just outside the penalty box and picked up a yellow card. Drogba then spotted a gap in Spurs' human wall and curled the wall into the bottom corner, with Spurs goalkeeper Robinson poorly positioned. It was a lead Chelsea hardly deserved, but they nearly threw it away minutes after when Berbatov burst through on goal, but took too many touches and lost possession. Chelsea went into the half-time break 1-0 up, and started the second half well as they dominated possession, but like the normal Chelsea way, they were content to sit back and soak up the pressure. They were punished for not pushing for a second goal. A surging run from Lennon, one of the rare times he was involved in the match, saw him put a decent cross into the box. Defender Wayne Bridge handled the ball with his arm, and the referee pointed to the penalty spot.

The atmosphere in the stadium was tense, but Berbatov managed to coolly slot the penalty into the bottom corner to draw Spurs level. Suddenly Spurs were on the ascendancy, and they should have taken the lead on 81 minutes. Zokora was put through on goal, but he shot straight at the goalkeeper, then blasted the rebound high over the bar. The match went on to extra time, when Chelsea were stunned. A 93rd minute free kick was swung into the Chelsea penalty box. Woodgate's initial header was punched by Cech, but the ball deflected off the Spurs defender's face into goal, sparking wild celebrations amidst the Tottenham fans.

The remaining periods of extra time was totally dominated by Chelsea, as Spurs defended their lead from deep. Last ditch tackles flew in everywhere and eventually Spurs were mighty relieved to hear the final whistle. The fulltime whistle saw Spurs' players huddle in a group celebrating, while their fans waved hundreds of flags and sang in full voice. They celebrated as Spurs finally lifted their first major trophy since 1999.

My Man of the Match: Woodgate
Woodgate was brilliant in defence for Spurs, only committing one or two errors at most. He made plenty of important tackles and interceptions to maintain Tottenham's lead during the extra time period. As a bonus, he even scored the winner for Spurs. Definitely a night that the English defender won't forget.

Joel at 2/25/2008 09:08:00 PM :: link