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Sunday, February 20, 2011

Ashley Cole leaves Carlo Ancelotti in the lurch as FA Cup love affair fizzles out

Ashley Cole went into the fourth-round replay with Everton as the FA Cup's most successful player but came out of it as the man who placed Carlo Ancelotti's job in jeopardy. The defender's woeful, missed penalty in the shoot-out after extra-time was decisive and brought his amazing run and the holders' interest in the competition to an end. Cole had gone 30 games without defeat in the Cup, winning it a record six times along the way with Arsenal and Chelsea. His last reverse was a decade ago in the final for Arsenal against Liverpool and he had admitted to a love affair with the famous old trophy. So much so that he had even claimed that lifting it again would mean more to him than a debut victory in the Champions League final. Dejection: Ashley Cole is consoled by Didier Drogba after his penalty missBut as he reflected on the wider implications of his wayward effort from 12 yards, Wojciech Szczesny was already taunting him about it. The young Arsenal goalkeeper said on Twitter: 'Is it a bird? Is it an aeroplane? No, its just Ashley throwing Chelsea out of the FA Cup. What do you think Ashley was aiming for when he took his penalty?' Cole was seen shaking his head and mouthing 'no' as Carlo Ancelotti picked his penalty-takers. He looked apprehensive as he made the walk from the halfway line to take his spot-kick and was then barged by Everton's Johnny Heitinga on the way. Cole blasted it high and wide and Phil Neville converted the winning penalty to continue Chelsea's misery in shoot-outs. They have now failed in their last six attempts in competitive games, including the 2008 Champions League final against Manchester United. John Terry, who infamously missed in that game in Moscow, was not given the chance to make some amends, but Ancelotti insisted he had made the right choice. Sheer, shirtless delight! Phil Neville, who landed the decisive blow in the shootoutThe Chelsea manager said: 'I decided, Cole wanted to take a penalty, and the five chosen were the best penalty-takers in training. Penalties are a lottery and sometimes you can win, sometimes you lose.' Everton's 4-3 shoot-out triumph came thanks to a last-gasp extra-time equaliser from Leighton Baines, which cancelled out Frank Lampard's opener. It leaves Chelsea desperate to salvage something from a season in which they started so well. Fourth place in the Premier League is Ancelotti's only remaining target in English competition and they already trail Tottenham, the team in that position, by two points. After spending ?75million in the transfer window, the pressure on the manager had already been cranked up. But after the Cup exit, the focus on his team to deliver in the Champions League will reach a whole new level. They go to FC Copenhagen on Tuesday and the Italian admitted he has his work cut out trying to raise the spirit of his players. Even Christine can't watch! Bleakley (left), Frank Lampard's girlfriend, shares the pain'Together we must use the coming days to prepare well for the Champions League,' Ancelotti said. 'It will not be easy but we have time to recover. I would sign now to finish fourth and win the Champions League.' No kidding. Fernando Torres will be one of those sharing a large part of Ancelotti's burden in trying to fulfil that target. He will come back into the team on Tuesday after Didier Drogba fluffed his chance to stake a claim for a starting berth. 'Next time we will have Torres and far more opportunities to score,' said Ancelotti. 'A lot of chances were created today.' Lampard missed most of those and Drogba, filling in for the Cup-tied Torres, was seldom a threat. But Everton captain Neville was clinical and maybe Cole and Nicolas Anelka, who also missed, could learn a thing or two from him. 'The manager told us just to hit it as hard as we could,' said Neville. 'My biggest worry was the big divot on the penalty spot. Petr Cech looks really big in the goal and, thankfully, he went the wrong way. 'But I had practised all week and knew where it was going to go. This could be a springboard for us.'  Chelsea 1 Everton 1 AET (Everton win on penalties): Cole and Anelka bottle it in shoot-out as Blues crash outFA Cup live: Chelsea v Everton - all the action from Stamford Bridge as it happenedThe Matt Lawton interview - Carlo Ancelotti: Torres is not 100 per cent...All the latest Chelsea FC news, features and opinion  Explore more:People: John Terry, Phil Neville, Petr Cech, Ashley Cole, Didier Drogba, Fernando Torres, Frank Lampard, Nicolas Anelka, Carlo Ancelotti Places: Moscow, Liverpool

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