02/03/2002  Charlton 2 Chelsea 1
 
Charlton's Jason Euell bagged a brilliant brace at the 
jubilant Valley to almost certainly wreck Chelsea's lingering 
dreams of Champions League football.

The striker smashed a fine 71st-minute volley and - after 
Frank Lampard had levelled - came up with a cheeky lob with 
just two minutes left for the winner.

The only real moments of excitement in a desperately dull 
first half were when referee Graham Poll snubbed what appeared 
a clear penalty for the Addicks after William Gallas' tackle 
on Euell - and when Charlton's Jorge Costa made a brilliant 
sliding tackle to deny Eidur Gudjohnsen.

But the second half of this London derby was thankfully far 
more entertaining and Euell ended the Addicks' 352-minute 
barren goalscoring spell with a superb 18-yard volley.

The home defence allowed Lampard far too much space with 
just seven minutes left and he powered the ball home from six 
yards but Euell snatched the points at the death.

French centre-back Gallas had returned to the Chelsea 
backline after a six-match absence with an ankle injury, while 
Mario Melchiot was back at right-back after a three-game 
ban.

For the midtable Addicks, 21-year-old Jon Fortune kept his 
place in central defence alongside Costa due to Mark Fish's 
lay-off with a knee problem.

The home side had a great shout for a penalty turned down 
by referee Graham Poll in the ninth minute. Mathias Svensson 
flicked a header inside to Euell, who poked the ball past 
Gallas - and the Blues man stuck out his boot and caught the 
Charlton striker on the knee, sending him tumbling. However 
Poll shook his head.

The hosts went close to taking the lead after 26 minutes 
after a towering far-post header by the impressive Svensson. 
Skipper Graham Stuart flicked the ball on and Emmanuel Petit 
cleared as Euell prepared to pounce.

Svensson also forced Chelsea goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini into 
action with a 25-yard curler.

Charlton centre-back Costa denied Chelsea the first goal of 
the afternoon three minutes before the break, with a 
sensational sliding tackle to prod the ball away from 
Gudjohnsen's feet.

Lampard's hopeful ball forward had curled into the 
Icelander's path but, after he brought the ball under control 
and prepared to shoot, Portuguese international Costa 
recovered to make a magnificent challenge 10 yards from 
goal.

Charlton's Paul Konchesky let rip with a fine drive after a 
one-two with Euell early in the second half. Cudicini did very 
well to make a smart save low to his left.

And Charlton finally made their possession pay with a 
superb goal by Euell in the 71st minute.

Powell launched a deep cross from the left and Svensson - 
enjoying a great performance after months of injury trouble - 
leaped highest to head the ball back to Euell, on the edge of 
the penalty area.

The former Wimbledon man calmly chested the ball down and 
smashed a brilliant right-foot volley into the bottom left 
corner for his 10th goal of the season.

Only a fantastic double-block by Gallas prevented the 
Addicks increasing their lead two minutes later.

Cudicini spilled the ball under pressure from Svensson and 
Euell flicked the ball goalwards - only for the French 
defender to acrobatically clear off the line. The ball fell to 
Svensson and Gallas again made a great point-blank clearance 
on the line.

But Chelsea equalised when Lampard smashed the ball home 
from six yards to level the scores with seven minutes 
left.

Gudjohnsen won a great knockdown from Le Saux's far-post 
cross and Hasselbaink flicked the ball to the England 
international - who almost ripped the net with a blistering 
close-range finish.

And there was late drama when a lofted Chris Bart-Williams 
pass bounced through the Blues defence and Euell raced clear 
to dink a marvelous chip over Cudicini for the 88th-minute 
winner.