7? - Fernando Torres has an early run at left-back George
Friend, but the former Wolves
man manages to scramble it out
for a throw after making the
Spaniard look quick!
5? - Meanwhile, on the field neither side have been able to
assert themselves in the opening
five minutes as they try and keep
the ball on the floor in a brisk
wind.
4? - Over in the South-West corner are a few hundred Boro
fans, the self-styled 'Red Faction'.
There's a drum, incessant jumping,
and scarf waving. It's just a flare
away from bringing an all-out
experience of Milan to Middlesbrough.
1? - Here we go then, the visitors in their home strip of all
royal blue get us underway on a
chilly night in the north east.
... - The teams are out onto the pitch, with both sets of
players shaking hands during the
pre-match necessities. Blues
midfielder Nathan Ake looks
suspiciously like a young Ruud
Gullit, let's hope for a performance in the same ilk as
the imperious Dutchman.
... - Despite a Premier League team coming to town and tickets
slightly reduced in price, the
Riverside Stadium is nowhere near
full. Maybe 1,500 Chelsea fans at
most are housed to my right and
are not making an awful lot of noise, despite being introduced to
the pitch as the "Champions of
Europe".
... - Kick-off is just five minutes away here at the Riverside, can
the Championship high-flyers
spring a surprise to reach Old
Trafford?
... - The Blues' defeat against Manchester City on Sunday saw
the European champions slip a
staggering 19 points behind Sir
Alex Ferguson's side in the title
race, but you would have to
fancy them this evening.
... - Neither side have been in good form coming into this one,
but with a mouth-watering clash
against Manchester United
awaiting in round six, both sides
will be keen to progress.
... - Middlesbrough - Steele; Bailey, McManus, Bikey, Friend;
Carayol, Leadbitter; Williams,
Haroun; Main, McDonald. Subs -
Leutwiler, Zemmama, Emnes,
Ledesma, Hines, Miller, Smallwood.
... - Tony Mowbray's side have been in disastrous form of late in
the Championship, with a run of
just one win in nine games having
seen Boro slip out of the play-off
places.
... - Chelsea - Cech; Ferreira, Ivanovic, Terry, Bertrand; Ake,
Ramires; Moses, Oscar, Benayoun;
Torres. Subs - Turnbull, Cole, Luiz,
Lampard, Hazard, Marin, Ba.
... - Blues manager Rafa Benitez has made a host of
changes for the long journey to
Teesside, as Yossi Benayoun
makes his first start for almost
two years alongside youngster
Nathan Ake.
... - Good evening all and welcome to africatopforum.com's coverage of
Chelsea's trip to the Riverside to
face Middlesbrough in the FA Cup
fifth round. I'm Jordan Halford,
thanks for joining me.

12? - Great chance for Chelsea as Moses torments the
backpedaling Friend before sliding
the ball across to Oscar, but his
low drive was superbly beaten
away by Jason Steele in the
hosts' goal. The first real chance of the game so far.
12? - The Champions League winners have set about their
task well here, although they
survive a scare after Scott
McDonald is narrowly flagged for
offside when it looked as though
he had eluded the clutches of John Terry.
10? - Friend does well to prevent Moses from getting his
cross in and the home side
comfortably deal with Oscar's
poor ensuing corner, before
Torres flashes another low cross
across the six-yard box but no- one was there to help it in.
8? - Oscar sends a teasing ball across the face of the Boro goal
just inches away from the
onrushing Victor Moses. Early
warning sign from the visitors
there.

22? - Chelsea toss possession away inside their own half, but
Belgian midfielder Faris Haroun
can't find the killer pass to find
Curtis Main. Careless from the
Premier League side.
20? - Approaching midway through the first-half and the
home side are starting to move
the ball well on a tricky surface,
The pace of Torres is still a
danger on the break, however,
as he fires a tame effort goal- wards, which Steele comfortably
gathers.
17? - A combination of Paulo Ferreira and Ramires haul down
Boro skipper Rhys Williams, but
Grant Leadbitter can't pick out a
red shirt from his curling free-
kick. Chelsea are just shading
proceedings so far.
14? - Incidentally, from the brains at Goal.com towers, Rafa
Benitez has never won at the
Riverside, with his Liverpool side
drawing three and losing two of
their five trips to Teesside whilst
under the Spaniard's stewardship.

32? - Andre Bikey, who has been struggling with a knock,
stands up to pinch the ball off
Oscar after the Brazilian tried to
nutmeg him in the box. It's still
goalless as neither side have
conjured much in the way of a clear-cut opening.
30? - Excellent pressing from the home side, who force Terry
to pass all the way back to Cech.
They look a very organised and
well-drilled outfit so far.
26? - From Matt Scott at a freezing Riverside - "From the
opening 26 minutes, you couldn't
easily say who the Premier
League side were if you had to
guess. Middlesbrough have been
composed in possession and largely kept Chelsea at bay, for
whom Fernando Torres has been
timid, hitting one low cross ahead
of everyone in the area and
bobbling one low shot at Jason
Steele. Boro have come closest through Scott McDonald's header
and the volume is cranking up at
the Riverside."
25? - Haroun does brilliantly on the touchline to pull the ball
back to Nicky Bailey, but McDonald
can only head the 28-year-old
right-back's dangerous cross wide
of Petr Cech's upright. A decent
opening for the hosts.
24? - Moses once again has the beating of Friend on the far
side, but Stephen McManus is
equal to his low cross and thumps
it clear. The former Wigan man is
enjoying himself against the Boro
left-back though.

 45? + 3 - The half-time whistle blows, with neither side
able to break the deadlock at the
Riverside. Plenty more to come
after the break.
45? - A wonderful sliding challenge from Friend thwarts
Moses, who is becoming a little bit
predictable as he attempts to go
on the outside of the left-back
again.
42? - Rafa Benitez is busy making notes before his half-time
team talk in three minutes, I just
hope he isn't playing hangman.
Chelsea must improve dramatically
after the break if they are to
reach the last eight.
40? - Middlesborogh's first shot on goal comes from the
quiet Mustapha Carayol, who
comes inside onto his favoured
right-foot before plundering a
20-yard drive which is cleaned up
by Terry after Cech fumbled the bouncing ball.
39? - Haroun finds space on the right but his attempted cross
is miscued into the arms of Cech,
while at the other end, Hines'
first contribution is to head
Moses' dangerous cross away
from danger.
36? - Substitution Andre Bikey Sebastian Hines (Middlesbrough)
36? - Bikey's evening is over following complaints of a tight
hamstring from the Cameroon
defender and he is replaced by
24-year-old Seb Hines. A big blow
for Boro that.
35? - Oscar is attempting to inject some impetus into his side
as he forces a flurry of corners
10 minutes shy of the break, but
his delivery is poor and the Blues
lose their momentum when
Ferreira passes the ball out of play.

Matt Scott from the Riverside - "Boos roll down from
the Chelsea fans as Martin
Atkinson blows the half-time
whistle. It's been pretty
uninspiring stuff from the Blues,
who do not look likely to break Rafa Benitez's winless run on Teesside on this evidence.
Fernando Torres may have been
eyeing lower-league opposition to
break the funk he is currently in,
but he has been well marshalled by the Boro back-line."
... - A largely uneventful first half comes to a close with Oscar's
attempt the closest either side
have come and Carayol's long
range drive Boro's response. Food
for thought for Mr. Benitez during
the next 15 minutes, don't go away.

Well done for the commentary so far, one would have expected Chelsea FC  to beat Middlesbrough hands down in the first half going by the type of great prayers it has.
But let see how the second half goes, as match is still on....

@perfect u are welcome

46? - The teams are back out onto the pitch and we're all set
for the second-half, the visitors
will have to be much improved if
they are to avoid a replay.

49? - The second period has begun in a similar vein to the
first, neither side are forcing the
issue and the Championship side
look content to get numbers
behind the ball.

52 mins - And it has changed the
picture for Boro. They've
contained Chelsea well, but now
they must ask them more
defensive questions.

52 mins - Ake approaches the penalty area - that goal has
woken Chelsea up.
51 mins - GOOOOAAAAL: He hits it well from the edge of the
D, and it takes a slight
deflection as it sails past
Steele. Chelsea make the
breakthrough! 
51 mins - Torres takes a tumble.
No foul, says the referee. Moses
luckily finds Oscar, who crosses.
Torres can't get there but the
ball is played back to Ramires,
who can shoot...
50 mins - Nothing has really
changed - it's still scrappy, bitty
and shapeless at the Riverside.

56 mins - Ake feels he is fouled for Chelsea. Nothing doing, says
ref Atkinson, and Carayol comes
forward.
55 mins - Chelsea are on the
ball, inside their own half.
Forward it goes with Oscar. Torres finds Ramires, whose
effort is deflected into the air
and easily claimed by Steele.
54 mins - It's played towards
McDonald, who swings a boot at
it only to see Ake block again.
53 mins - Friend comes forward,
and the ball is fed back to
Leadbitter. He shoots, Ake blocks
and Boro have a corner...

Yahhh, this what Chelsea fans expected from Chelsea, as they are beginning to impress their fans....

63 mins - Miller, front and
centre for Boro, wins the ball
but his colleagues waste it,
giving the ball away.

62 mins - Boro play the ball
forward, Terry ushers it to Cech - and Cech shanks his clearance
straight out of play.
62 mins - Curtis Main is off and Ishmail Miller on as Boro
make a switch.
61 mins - However, while there's
only one goal in it, Boro have
every chance.
60 mins - On the hour and Chelsea, without doing anything
anywhere close to spectacular,
are assuming control at the
Riverside.
59 mins - Moses takes it, and
Boro thump it away.
59 mins - There must have been
a deflection on that Torres shot,
because the officials have given
a corner.
58 mins - Benayoun is off and Hazard is on - Benitez
makes his first change of the
night.
58 mins - Torres is in - there's
no flag. He lashes in a shot, but
it clears the bar. A good chance for Chelsea.
57 mins - Again, the attempt to
come forward breaks down and
Chelsea come forward. McManus,
though, gets in the way of
Ramires, who looks to have been given a new lease of life by his
goal.
56 mins - But Middlesbrough lose
the ball again, only to win it
back through Haroun.

64 mins - Hazard chases a ball
forward but Steele does well,
just ushering it behind for a
goal-kick.
63 mins - As Chelsea break,
Torres takes on Friend. Friend wins, and gets a free-kick as
the frustrated Spaniard is
adjudged to have fouled him.