Chelsea 5 Shamrock Rovers 1: Marc Guiu bags first-half hat-trick as Blues make light work of Irish
CHELSEA were pelted with toilet paper but are on a roll with their best run for eight years.
Play was halted for a few minutes in the first half when Christopher Nkunku came under attack from a hail of Kleenex three-ply launched from the away end as he tried to take a corner.
But the diversion tactics backfired as boss Enzo Maresca rounded off the first phase of the Conference League with his 100 percent record intact and an eighth successive win in all competitions.
That hasn’t been seen since 2016 and is a sign of the marked upturn under the Italian this season.
Striker Marc Guiu clinched a hat-trick by half-time to add to two he scored against Kazakhstanis Astana last week.
The Spaniard put his team in front on 22 minutes when Rovers full-back Darragh Burns and keeper Leon Pohls got in a muddle with a cushioned back header.
Chelsea were pegged back briefly when Markus Poom – son of former Derby keeper Mart – scored with a heavily-deflected shot four minutes later to level.
The wild scenes among the Irish contingent in the Shed End were quickly quelled though as Chelsea regained their lead from another cock-up in defence when Dan Clearly underhit a back-pass and Guiu nipped in to round the keeper and score.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall made it 3-1 five minutes before the break and Guiu wrapped up a memorable first half for himself by heading home a cross from Noni Madueke.
Maresca included teenage centre-back Josh Acheampong in the starting line-up just a few days after the 18-year-old signed a new five-year contract.
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There was also experience in the team with Spain Euro 2024 winner Marc Cucurella playing in only his second Conference League game of the campaign.
Cucurella is banned from Sunday’s away trip to Everton for being sent off after the final whistle once the Blues had beaten Brentford 2-1.
He signed off with a goal in the 58th minute by knocking in a shot off the inside of a post.
European football takes a back seat until March for Maresca now and that might not be the total blessing it looks on paper.
He has a strong squad of young and hungry players who are desperate to be part of his plans.
The FA Cup, which kicks off on January 11 against League Two outfit Morecambe, will not offer so many matches as a secondary competition to keep them happy the way the Conference League has up to now.
Maresca took his foot off the gas after Cucurella’s goal and handed a debut to academy full-back Harrison Murray-Campbell.