Chelsea make history as they are crowned Cup Kings at the new Wembley

A hundred and fifteen minutes have elapsed and it was still nil nil. Everyone expected the FA Cup Final at the new Wembley Stadium between the top two teams in the Premiership to go into a shootout, but in the 116th minute, finally, the winning goal finally slid inside the net.

Chelsea came in as the underdogs. Out of the Champions League, defeated in the Premiership, plagued by injuries with only 15 players left fit, including 2 goalkeepers- no Ricardo Carvalho, doubtful Arjen Robben and Ashley Cole, absent summer signings Andriy Shevchenko and Michale Ballack, favor stood in Manchester United's side. Detractors are sure to say, we play boring football, incomparable to the one played by Manchester United all throughout the season giving them the Premiership title back once again. Yet being to withstand the challenge, controlling the opponents for what seemed to be a final going into a shootout, that surely says something about the Blues.

In the argument who is the real winner, one can go on and on about Chelsea having the money, making the big spendings for players, and cheating and diving our way to victory. At the same time, one can argue that United have regained the EPL title through the dodgy penalties, which could have deprived them of the 9th Premiership title, and even diving players. However, there are certain facts that couldn't be missed out on: on the one hand, the Blues managed to be a challenger for the quadruple despite the absence of Petr Cech and John Terry for months, alongside the endless list of injuries even until the clash in this Cup Final. Again and again, it was the Blues' fighting spirit and big heart which made them contenders for all four titles and won them this Cup. On the other, United's goalscoring is admittedly nothing short of wonderful. Beating their opponents with 3 to 4 goals in almost every single game, they surely played attractive football.

Yet in the end, of course, it is always the result that matters. Even as the final was only halfway through, spectators have already labeled the final boring. With no goals in the first half, people expected more from the second. Yet they were up again for disappointment. The nil nil draw at the end of 90 minutes only half-mattered to the players and us fans, who preferred it over the other side leading. Despite the 'boring' game, many players from the Blues showed promise of scoring and winning the title for the team.

One reason we came in as the underdogs was our extensive list of injured and unfit players. The pressure was on us to prove a double was still possible. Earlier, when asked about the squad to play, Blues manager Jose Mourinho stated he might either use one of our goalies Hilario to play up front or a couple of our reserve players Ben Sahar and Nuno Morais. In the end, he still opted for the players tried and tested, despite not being fully fit. The game was too crucial for him to take the risk.

Cech put his safety on the line again as he launched himself to save the ball from Rooney and as Giggs volleyed back, he launched himself again making a double save. Later on, Giggs' attempt for another goal failed, that while it crossed over the line, would've counted as a foul.

In the absense of Carvalho, we feared that our defense will stumble and that United will sprint past our players and score. Yet Essien, despite underperforming, did his job in the center, together with our talismanic captain John Terry, who couldn't have been more impressive in his defending, clearing the ball and saving us several times.

In the midfield, John Mikel Obi proved to be a good selection, playing attractively and having good control of the ball, while the heavily criticized England international Frank Lampard also did well, creating threats several times and providing the crucial assist to Didier Drogba, who scored his 33rd and the winning goal to lead us to victory. Half-time substitute Robben played as if he didn't come from an injury.

Up front, Joe Cole, despite not being a hundred percent fit, also displayed well his football skills. The man was soaking one of his feet on ice before the game started just so the pain would not be felt. He still went on to play. And what else could be said about Drogba? The man is just fantastic. His tap of the ball to slide it inside the net was nothing short of lovely. Scoring in the 116th minute, we knew we were minutes away from claiming our second trophy. Our fear of going into penalties disappeared the moment the Drogs once again provided us with a late goal stunner.

Today is the day of the less prominent Blues players. Makelele, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Ferreira, and Mikel contributed a big chunk to our victory.

At the end of the game, apart from the celebration and ecstatic emotions provided by the fans and the players, it was second lovely to hear what the detractors, including Manchester United fans, had to say. Cheating, one shouted. The Ryan Giggs' goal should have been counted, claimed by another. Boring, said most people. There's no point being retroactive at the moment, nothing could be done about it. We are being blamed again by some but remember it is the United players who failed to live up to their being champions. Their big stars failed to shine. Where was Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo? I almost forgot he was playing! Forget about Rooney, he chokes in big games anyway.

We won without controversial dives and no controversial penalties (although that belongs more to the other side). Moreover, none of our big summer signings was present, which had they been there, would've just provided an alley for critics to say we bought our way to victory. We deserved the win.

For the Blues and us fans, we once again prevailed while also creating another history. We were the last to win at the old Wembley, we were the first to win at the new one. We came in as real underdogs, with everyone, including history, favoring a win by United. Admittedly, the game did not turn into a classic, as everyone wanted it to be. The game was slow, picking up pace at some periods but in the end, it is the result that matters. Both sides were only being cautious, defending their own goals and trying not to make mistakes. What's important is, for us Blues, we painted the new Wembley blue.