BRAD Friedel believes Chelsea owe it all to goalkeeping counterpart Petr Cech for breaking Blackburn's hearts.

Cech played an instrumental role in keeping Rovers at bay in the second-half of yesterday's 2-1 FA Cup semi-final defeat.

Rovers piled on the pressure producing a string of good chances in the final 25 minutes of normal time.

But it was the reflexes of Cech that Friedel believes prevented Mark Hughes' men from booking a dream final against Manchester United next month.

The Czech international was named man-on-the-match by national television for a host of fine saves,.

The pick of them came in the 88th minute when he diverted away a goalbound header from his own skipper, John Terry.

"He is an outstanding goalkeeper. On another day, we would have come away with a victory," said Friedel, who signed a one-year contract extension on Friday, tieing him to the club to 2009.

"I think Chelsea should consider themselves extremely lucky to have a goalkeeper like him.

"As the game progressed in the second-half, we just got stronger and stronger.

"We are a very fit team. It was a warm day and they've had a lot of games.

"We knew that at some stage their legs would start to tire. We just wanted to keep going and going at them, and hoped to get two goals in the second-half but it was not to be."

The American added: "They probably just edged the first-half, but we definitely had the second-half."

He was full of praise for the vocal backing Rovers received.

"The supporters were tremendous," he said. "I know they will go home disappointed, but hopefully they will be pleased with the effort the lads put in."