Monday, May 2, 2011

Lampard concedes goal was lucky

Chelsea's controversial goalscorer Frank Lampard admits his side were lucky to escape with a 2-1 win over Tottenham.
Lampard cancelled out Sandro's spectacular opener with an effort that squirmed under Spurs' keeper Heurelho Gomes.
Although the Brazilian goalkeeper appeared to prevent the whole of the ball crossing the line, the assistant referee awarded the goal amid howls of protest from Spurs' players.
Salomon Kalou then poked home a late winner for the hosts from a borderline offside position to leave Spurs' coach Harry Redknapp with a sense of an injustice about the result.
Asked if they had been lucky, Lampard told Sky Sports: "In those two instances, maybe yes.
"The one that didn't go over the line, I was due one of those - I had a big one [at the World Cup] in the summer! So I'm pleased with that. But it's unlucky on them.
"You get what you deserve and, that's not rubbing it in on Tottenham, we deserved that, we created enough, we were bright enough to win the game."
Chelsea are now three points behind leaders Manchester United, who have that game in hand against Arsenal to come, and Lampard hailed the spirit of his side.
He said: "We're fighting to the end. We had a couple of months where we let ourselves down a bit and let it slip, but you saw the character. We deserved it.
"They're in the driving seat and it's theirs to lose, but if they do slip up we're in a position now where we'll have a real go to try and do it.
"We've kept ourselves alive and we can sit back and watch and hope."
Chelsea skipper John Terry felt the result said a lot about the character of the team following their mid-season slump.
"We said a few weeks ago when we were nine, 12 points behind that the one thing about Chelsea is we never give up," Terry said. "That's what we're all about.
"Man United have said in the week that we're their biggest challengers and they've got a massive game that they must win to open up that gap again."

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