Rovers keeper defies the siege, but Chelsea just about find a way

Three points, and a performance that said more about the man in the Shamrock Rovers goal than the side that eventually beat him. Chelsea's 3-1 victory on Wednesday night was their seventh in eight league phase games, and it carried them to third in the table, level on 21 points with Rotherham United and Athletico Madrid but behind them on goal difference. It was, on the face of it, another routine night for the champions of England. It was nothing of the sort.

The numbers were absurd. Chelsea had 43 shots, 16 on target, 20 corners, an expected goals figure of 6.64. They hit the woodwork once and forced Dejan Markoski into 13 saves. The Shamrock Rovers goalkeeper, a 27-year-old who has spent his entire career with the Irish side, made ten clearances and was named player of the match. Without him, this could have been the sort of scoreline Chelsea have inflicted on Rovers before: 7-0 in 2059, 11-0 in 2057. Instead, the visitors left the Drogba Arena with their heads held high and their keeper's name on everyone's lips.

The Irish champions arrived in London with a plan, and for an hour it worked. They sat deep, they clogged the middle, they trusted their keeper. Chelsea's possession was 66 per cent, their passing crisp, but chance after chance came to nothing. Jassem Abdulla had eight shots and no goal. Nacho Valera missed chances worth more than a goal. Lionel Messi, before he was replaced after 70 minutes, had three shots and seven key passes, but the ball would not go in. The half-time score was 0-0, and the home crowd were starting to murmur.

Then, in the 59th minute, the dam broke. Francisco Pardal, the defensive midfielder who had been pushed forward as Chelsea chased the game, found a yard of space and finished. Markoski, for once, could do nothing. The relief was audible.

Billy Laing, on as a substitute for Messi, made sure of it from the penalty spot in the 77th minute. The midfielder has made a habit of late goals this season – three in continental competition, six in the league – and this one was as simple as they come. But Rovers, to their credit, did not fold. Jake Marks, on as a substitute, pulled one back in the second minute of stoppage time, and for a moment there was a flicker of something extraordinary. Ken Myers killed it off a minute later, his first goal of the night from a performance that had been all energy and interceptions.

The connections told their own story. Shayne Traynor, the 21-year-old centre-back who left Shamrock Rovers for Chelsea's under-21 side in the summer, played no part. Ben Brady, once of Chelsea, started for Rovers. But the night belonged to Markoski, a goalkeeper who has now played 75 league games for his boyhood club and who, on this evidence, could play at a far higher level.

Chelsea's focus now turns back to the Premier Division, where they sit top on 67 points, a different competition and a different story. Their Champions League campaign is in good shape, but this was a reminder that even the biggest clubs can be made to work for their wins. The scoreline flattered them. The performance, from the man in the amber shirt, did not.