Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas has sprung to the defence of goalkeeper Petr Cech by insisting that Jordi Gomez‘s equaliser for Wigan in the sides’ 1-1 draw was not the result of an individual mistake by the Czech Republic international.
The goal, which saw the Latics grab a dramatic late point at the DW Stadium after Daniel Sturridge’s opener, leaves Chelsea six points off Premier League leaders Manchester City having played a game more.
Gomez appeared to benefit from some hesitant goalkeeping by Cech, whose ability to command the area in and around the six-yard box has been questioned since he suffered a fractured skull in 2006, but Villas-Boas believes the goal was due to a collective defensive error, rather than that of an individual.
“Goals like that happen,” he told reporters after the game. “It is always a collective mistake and Wigan made the most of our lack of concentration and they put the ball in the back of the net. I don’t know if Petr [Cech] was unsighted by his defenders on the goal but it certainly looks like it.
“We managed to organise ourselves and had good men behind the ball – [Jose] Bosingwa, John Terry and Ashley [Cole] – but they are nearer the keeper and eventually they lost track of his position and the position of the opponent but then again it is normal. It is nothing that we would point to as an individual mistake.
“In the second half it was a question of patience until we found a goal. Maybe we could have tried to go on for the second goal. But we decided to hold on and exploit the spaces in behind but we conceded a goal that is disappointing.”
The 34-year-old admitted that the result was a blow to his side but having seen an improvement that was highlighted in his side’s 2-1 win over City on Monday, Villas-Boas insists that it will not affect the good mood in the Chelsea camp.
He said: “It prevents us getting the three points we expected. It is a pity. The players fought hard so confidence is not affected but it is a fair result. It does not undo the positivity of recent weeks.”
The opening 45 minutes were cagey in Wigan but the hosts attacked at will as the game went on, and Villas-Boas admitted that Roberto Martinez’s men, who are sat 18th in the Premier League, looked dangerous.
“They were two different halves completely,” said the former Porto boss. “The game really opened up in the second half for both teams. In the first half there was not a lot of penetration for either team.
“They tried to surprise us on the counter-attack and always looked lethal but were very compact and denied us the space to create proper chances.
“Wigan are different because they have picked up momentum from their recent run of good results and the crowd got behind them.
“At half-time we decided we needed a bit more creativeness and that is why we took Oriol (Romeu) off to put [Juan] Mata between the lines behind the striker and introduce another winger to give us more penetration because we didn’t have enough in the first half.
“We scored but because Wigan have momentum they never stopped attacking.”