Chelsea barely forces FA Cup replay
Penalty shot in injury time draws club even with Oxford
Posted: Tuesday January 26, 1999 09:51 AM
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Chelsea's Gianluca Vialli takes the ball from Martin Gray AP |
LONDON (AP) -- Frank Leboeuf fired home an injury-time penalty shot
for a 1-1 draw as Premier League leader Chelsea salvaged a FA Cup
replay on Monday instead of suffering an embarrassing fourth round
loss to cash-strapped division one Oxford United.
The French World Cup star fired the ball past goalkeeper Elliott
Jackson after referee Mike Reid had harshlu ruled that a Kevin
Francis tackle on Gianluca Vialli was a foul.
Until that point, Chelsea appeared headed for a humiliating loss
to an Oxford team which is struggling near the foot of division two
yet deserved its lead, which came from a header by Dean Windass
early in the second half.
Oxford, some 12 million pounds ($21 million) in debt and
second from last in division one, faced a wealthy club whose squad
cost 61 million pounds ($102 million) to put together. While
Chelsea chased its fourth cup triumph in 18 months, Oxford's
players were glad to have a high-profile game to take their minds off
trying to avoid relegation to division two.
Against almost an entire lineup of established international
stars, Oxford refused to lie down and played fast, enterprising
soccer, refusing to let the highly-paid Chelsea players dictate.
They kept Chelsea's Dutch goalkeeper Ed de Goey busy for much of
the first half and some 9,000 Oxford fans crammed into the Manor
Ground went wild when Windass headed in a corner to put his team
ahead in the 53rd minute.
The former Hull City and Aberdeen forward was a constant threat
and made his mark with his 13th goal of the season as Oxford, which
had won only one of its previous seven games, began dreaming of a
fifth-round game at Sheffield Wednesday and a chance of reaching the quarterfinals for the second time in its history.
Oxford sent on the towering Francis with 20 minutes to go and he
missed a great chance to make it 2-0, missing from in front of goal
with only De Goey to beat.
Fourteen minutes before the end, Italian midfielder Roberto Di
Matteo took a pass from Graeme le Saux and was homing in on goal
when Oxford's Canadian defender, Craig Watson, got back to rescue
his team with a stunning tackle.
Jackson then made a great save to keep out a shot from Dennis
Wise but then came Francis' tackle on Vialli and Oxford was denied
an historic win.
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