The hero Chelsea needed was someone else and it didn’t matter if they deserved him or not, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall proved it. That was his slick, solo strike at Stamford Bridge enough to give the Blues a 1-0 win over FC Copenhagen and an eventual 3-1 aggregate victory in the UEFA Conference League quarter-finals.
It wasn’t pretty. Chelsea’s attack was more dull than a butter knife for 45 minutes. With FK Copenhagen not exactly creating waves on the pitch, Elias Achouri lifted his head early, then Rodrigo Huescas’ shot blocked, they weren’t just paying us a visit.
However, Dewsbury-Hall decided he had had enough of the snooze fest.
A Forgettable First Half—Until It Wasn’t
If the first half were a movie, it would be the one you walk out of halfway through. Chelsea couldn’t muster a single shot on target, and the Stamford Bridge faithful were left wondering if their forwards had forgotten the point of the game.
FC Copenhagen came closer to scoring—Achouri’s header floated over, and Birger Meling’s effort sailed somewhere into orbit. Chelsea’s only hint of danger came when Pedro Neto hit the deck inside the box, but the referee wasn’t buying it.
Dewsbury-Hall Breaks the Deadlock
Maresca must have said something in the halftime speech that worked—be that or desire this is what took us on to this win. Palmer injected life into Chelsea’s attack just moments later, he crossed to Trevoh Chalobah only for the youngster to miss with a point blank effort.
In fact, it was on 55 minutes when Dewsbury-Hall stood up. He picked up the ball on the edge of the box, danced past defenders as if they were training cones and neat finish into the bottom corner. Chelsea desperately needed that goal, and it finally created life at Stamford Bridge.
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