Petr Cech has revealed he received
texts from fellow players and
goalkeepers after his sensational
save denied Javier Hernandez in
Chelsea's 1-0 FA Cup win over
Manchester United on Monday.
Chelsea took the lead at Stamford
Bridge yesterday thanks to a
superb goal from Demba Ba, but
Hernandez looked set to level
things up after getting on the end
of Danny Welbeck's cross in the
second-half.
The Mexican striker looked
destined to score only for Cech to
keep his side in the lead with a
brilliant flying save.
The win means Chelsea are still on
course to retain the cup they won
last season and they face
Manchester City in the semi-finals
at Wembley later this month.
The Blues have Cech to thank for
that, and the 30-year-old revealed
after the game that his fellow pros
had been in touch to congratulate
him for pulling off the wonder-
save.
‘It was a great ball from the wing
and Javier did well to direct the
ball into the goal,’ he told
Chelsea's official site. ‘I went as
fast as I could and left my left arm
to do the job. I tried to cover as
much space as I could and luckily I
was able to reach it.
‘I knew before the cross came that
Hernandez was there, so I knew I’d
have to be really quick to get
there, that’s what allowed me to
make the save. You need to have
awareness of the people around
you as it helps you make the right
decision.
‘It was an important moment in
the game, I’m sure a lot of people
could already see the ball in the
goal, so I was glad I got enough
on it to push it over.
‘I got a few messages from other
players and keepers, it’s great that
people can appreciate the save.
Even in the first half with the shot
from Hernandez, when the ball
moved away from me, it was a
scary moment and it took a lot of
energy for me to kick the ball
away, so I’m pleased with the way
I played.’
If Chelsea make it all the way to
final against either Wigan or
Millwall, they will be in with a
chance of winning their 5th FA Cup
since 2006.
‘We seem to have a special
relationship with the FA Cup,"
Cech continued . "We treat it with
respect, every season we try to win
it and we get something back. We
have another tough game against
City, but it’s a semi-final so you
expect a tough game.’
‘It’s always important to beat big
teams for the confidence. ‘We are
not having such a fantastic season
in terms of the league, but t shows
we can still beat the top teams
and it gives us confidence to play
another game on Thursday.’
‘We have another semi-final to
book in the Europa League and
hopefully we are going to go
through.’
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