Cech hails Chelsea's 'moral strength'

Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech hailed the team's "moral strength" Wednesday after a last-gasp goal had sent the Blues past Paris Saint-Germain to the Champions League semi-finals the day before. Chelsea won 2-0 at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday with a first-half goal by Andre Schuerrle and an 87th-minute decider by Demba Ba to squeeze into the semi-finals on away goals after a 3-1 loss in Paris a week ago. "We knew it wouldn't be easy but we told each other before the game that winning 2-0 at home is not impossible," the 31-year-old Czech keeper said on his website www.petr-cech.cz. "We pursued this goal from the beginning to the end. We showed great moral strength." With PSG focused on defence, Chelsea created quite a few scoring chances but Schuerrle and Oscar were denied by the woodwork within two minutes shortly after halftime. "Hitting the crossbar twice didn't break us. We kept pressing them and found the strength to score a second goal," said Cech, who made several good saves on Tuesday after coming under heavy fire following the Paris game. Substitute Demba Ba "probably scored the goal of his life, but I hope he has a more important one left for the games to come," said Cech. "He withdrew to midfield after the goal and helped the defence until the last minute. "He played a great game, just like the whole team. We showed Chelsea's character, everyone fought hard until the final whistle."