Drogba double wins Carling Cup

Brawl and Terry injury mar last Cardiff Final

Latics increase drop zone gap

—– The last major Cup Final to be held at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium (fingers crossed, all being well) ends in mayhem as two Didier Drogba goals take the first domestic trophy of the season to Chelsea.
Against an Arsenal team with an average age of 21 and showing eight changes from their midweek Champions League game, a full-strength Chelsea have to come from behind to win a Final that is packed with intrigue and interest from start to finish.
17 year-old Theo Walcott nets his first Gunners goal before Drogba takes his tally for the season to 28 goals.
His winner comes after a sickening injury to John Terry.
Having made a remarkable recovery from a midweek ankle injury, the Chelsea captain is carried from the field in a neck brace and needing oxygen having swallowed his tongue and knocked unconscious after being accidentally kicked full in the face by Abou Diaby in a goalmouth melee.
After a hospital visit, Terry confirms his Iron Man status by recovering to join the post-match celebrations.
Diaby’s team mates Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor are not so innocent in a mass brawl that breaks out just before the game comes to an end.
The unseemly squabble brings managers Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger out on to the pitch as peacemakers.
Despite refereeing the game superbly, Howard Webb has no choice but to show red cards to the duo and to Chelsea’s John Obi Mikel. Only three players have been sent-off in the entire previous history of League Cup Finals.
More than 11 minutes of added time has to be played before the final whistle brings to a close the seventh and (hopefully) last League Cup Final to be played at Cardiff.
There’s little argument that the Millennium Stadium has been a worthy venue.
There’s a similar lack of debate about its biggest drawback. It has been dogged by transport problems, and more than 2,000 supporters travelling by train missed the start of the game. Some faced a wait of over four hours after the game before making the return journey.

—– Wigan Athletic ease their Premiership relegation worries with a 1-0 win against Newcastle United at the JJB Stadium.
The Latics now have a six-point cushion above the bottom three.
Keeper John Filan, in his first home appearance of the season, saves a controversial penalty before right-back Ryan Taylor - who broke his leg in a reserves game at Newcastle last year - hits the winner.
In common with the recent trend, Wigan fell aggrieved with the referee has they have six players booked and so face a £25,000 fine.

—– An exciting afternoon for Robbie Keane soon turns sour.
Having scored twice as Tottenham Hotspur led Bolton Wanderers 3-0 after only a quarter of the game at White Hart Lane, Keane is harshly sent-off for deliberate handball after 37 minutes as he tried to clear the ball of the line after a Bolton corner.
Spurs go on to win the game 4-1 as Wanderers miss the chance to move in to the top four.

—– A late miss from Shabani Nonda arguably cost Blackburn Rovers their further participation in the UEFA Cup on Thursday, but he is the villain-turned-hero today.
Although he weakly misses a penalty, the AS Roma loanee scores twice in a 3-0 win against Portsmouth at Ewood Park as Rovers move in to the top half of the Premiership table.

—– Wrexham remain in the bottom two of League Two after suffering a 1-3 home defeat by Shrewsbury Town.
Veteran striker Leo Fortune-West nets two for the Shrews.

—– Celtic clutch victory from the jaws of defeat in their Scottish Cup quarter-final at Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
Having trailed since early in the game, the SPL leaders score twice in the last 90 seconds.
Cally boss Charlie Christie admits: “I cannot believe it. It’s a real sore one to take and the players are near to tears in the dressing-room.”