A brilliant goal from Didier Drogba bring Chelsea make sweet History

CHELSEA 1
- Drogba 59

PORTSMOUTH 0

**A brilliant goal from Didier Drogba allowing Chelsea to retain the FA Cup with a 1-0 win over Portsmouth, Chelsea have won the double beating Portsmouth in the FA Cup final at Wembley. For Chelsea it's a chance to make club history and secure the league and cup double for the first time, they can be more prepared to make history.

Salomon Kalou missed an easy chance in the first half, hitting the ball against the crossbar six yards in front of an open goal.

Portsmouth could have gone in front just before Drogba's goal when Kevin-Prince Boateng's weak penalty kick was saved by Petr Cech's legs. Frank Lampard also missed a late penalty kick for Chelsea, with the England midfielder dragging the ball wide.

Within minutes in second half, Drogba struck the post with a curling free kick that this time went into the net beyond the outstretched James.

Squads:

Chelsea: Petr Cech, Ashley Cole, John Terry, Alex, Branislav Ivanovic, Frank Lampard, Florent Malouda, Michael Ballack (Juliano Belletti 43), Salomon Kalou (Joe Cole 71), Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka (Dan Sturridge 90).

Portsmouth: David James, Steve Finnan, Ricardo Rocha, Papa Bouba Diop (Nwankwo Kanu 81), Michael Brown, Hayden Mullins (81 Nadir Belhadj), Mokoena Aaron, Jamie O'Hara, Kevin-Prince Boateng (John Utaka 73), Frederic Piquionne, Aruna Dindane.

Tottenham Hotspur 0-2 Portsmouth: Piquionne, Boateng scores

**Despite experiencing various problems, but Portsmouth prove their quality. Through extra-time, The Pompey frustrate Tottenham Hotspur, and won the FA Cup final tickets.

Spurs overcome Portsmouth 2-0 in the semi-final match held at Wembley, Sunday (11/4/2010) . The winning goal FA Cup winners 2007/2008 season was recorded Frederic Piquonne in the 99th minute and Kevin Prince Boateng minute penalty 117.

In the final to be held next May 15, The Pompey the season is buffeted by a severe financial crisis and almost certainly relegated from the Premiership at the end of the season, will face Chelsea.

The game

Spurs' first chance to pick in the fifth minute. Through a corner of the football situation, Jermain Defoe off attacks from close range but still failed to penetrate the target.

Seven minutes later Portsmouth's turn to invade. Frederic Piquionne managed to successfully kick secured by Heurelho Gomes.

Buying and selling attacks have continued. Minutes to-27, Tom Huddlestone cross ditanduk by Peter Crouch. Tall players efforts were successful denied by Portsmouth goalkeeper David James.

Ten minutes later, Hassan Yebda breakthrough bait Piquionne leads to a successful escape from the escort Spurs defender. Furthermore, players were numbered the back nine opened fire can still be driven flat Gomes. Aruna Dindane struck the ball rebounds. But the loose ball that he had not led to the goal so that it can be secured by Gomes.

Six minutes into the break, David James in action foiled a removable chip kick Tom Huddlestone from outside the penalty box.

At the end of the first half, two opportunities that got the Spurs midfielder David Bentley entirely thwarted Portsmouth midfielder Marc Wilson.

A minute after the restart, Defoe kick from the right goal can still be discarded by Portsmouth defender Ricardo Rocha.

The Pompey threaten via Kevin Prince Boateng's free-kick on 51 minutes. The ball had bounced the ground in front of the wicket The Lilywhites and then driven away by Gomes and producing football corner.

Four minutes later, a cross was met Aruna Dindane cross. The ball can be caught by Gomes.

Spurs opportunity through Defoe's pass in the 55th minute was too weak so that James would not be too difficult to break the attack.

Next Spurs more threat. However, Crouch got two opportunities in each of the 65 minutes and three minutes later still deviated from the target.

Golden opportunity came for Spurs in the 70th minute. Vedran Corluka released the ball from the left side of the Portsmouth penalty box hit the foot of Aaron Mokoena and could lead to the goal itself. Although overshadowed Crouch, Mokoena successfully throw the ball out.

Five minutes towards the end of the second half, Spurs strike back. Through the corner of the football situation, a ball and then kicked by Kranjcar. But the efforts of Croatia's players still hit the foot of Boateng who was standing in front of the goalposts.

James returned to action in the 90th minute. Luka Modric struck feed from Peter Crouch, the ball successfully ignored by the former England goalkeeper. Gareth Bale struck the ball bounce, but only giving soccer corner kick.

0-0 score stood until 2 x 45 minutes done half forcing extra time. In the first minutes of extra time, the threat of Portsmouth through Piquionne still sideways from goalkeeper Gomes.

Portsmouth opened the scoring in the 99th minute through Piquionne. This goal started from a free kick situation. French players were successful using the situation as defender Michael Dawson who escorted him from slipping. Piquionne then shook off the execution of the North London team goalkeeper.

Crouch had scored in 11 minute first half of extra time. However annulled because of previous violations.

Second half minute of extra time to walk, James avert incursion Spurs built by Gareth Bale and terminated by the execution Pavlyuchenko.

Portsmouth lock the victory in the 117th minute through a penalty Kevin Prince Boateng. There were 12 right-kick awarded after Sebastian Bassong Aruna Dindane in the box violating forbidden.

The last chances in this game comes through substitute spurn The Pompey, John Utaka. Kick can still be pushed over by Gomes.

Teams :

Tottenham Hotspur: Gomes; Dawson, Bassong, Bale, Corluka, Bentley (Kranjcar 78 '), Huddlestone (Gudjohnsen 102'), Modric, Palcios, Crouch, Defoe (Pavlyuchenko 59 ')

Portsmouth: James, Finnan, Rocha, Brown, Mullins (Hughes 119 '), Mokoena, Yebda (Utaka 87'), Boateng, Wilson, Piquionne (Bouba Diop 112 '), Dindane

Great Chelsea through Drogba, Malouda and Lampard

**Goals from Didier Drogba and Florent Malouda secured Chelsea's place in the FA Cup Final after the Blues beat Aston Villa 3-0 at Wembley.

Aston Villa went into the game hoping they wouldn’t face a repeat of the 7-1 battering they took at the hands of Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in March, with Chelsea wanting to extend their unbeaten streak to five games by seeing off Martin O’Neil’s side at Wembley to book their place in the FA Cup final.

Both Richard Dunne and James Milner recovered from Achilles injuries in time to feature in Martin O’Neil’s starting eleven, with Milner replacing Fabien Delph in Villa’s midfield.

Carlo Ancelotti made only one change to the side that has beaten both Villa and Manchester United in the past fortnight, bringing in Didier Drogba to replace Nicolas Anelka up front for the Blues.

Play in the opening minutes was hindered by the slippery surface at Wembley, with Aston Villa having the better of the play early on, pushing forward well and forcing Alex to concede a corner, which failed to find a Villa player after Downing had sent the ball in from the right-hand side.

But Chelsea soon managed to find their feet and created a couple of chances, with Alex failing to convert a header from a corner before Brad Friedel easily grabbed on to an effort from Joe Cole.

With fifteen minutes on the clock Stiliyan Petrov played a good ball to Milner who found himself in space just outside the box, striking well from distance and seeing his shot fly past Petr Cech’s outstretched arm but also past the post.

Seconds later Aston Villa may have felt they should have had a penalty, with Gaby Agbonlahor being impeded inside the box by John-Obi Mikel, but referee Howard Webb allowed play to continue, waving away Villa players shouts for a spot-kick.

With half an hour gone Chelsea began to take control of the game, though a lack of real pace and a number of misplaced passes meant that the Blues failed to find a way through the Villa defence, who dealt with Chelsea’s attacking moves comfortably.

With Carlo Ancelotti becoming increasing frustrated Chelsea stepped it up a gear, with Florent Malouda sending a dangerous ball into the box allowing Drogba to fire towards goal before Stephen Warnock slid in to make a crucial block, denying the Ivorian striker a semi-final opener.

As the half-time whistle blew Villa will have felt the better of the two sides, looking dominant in the opening minutes and creating the better of the chances throughout the half. But it wasn’t all doom and gloom for Chelsea, with Carlo Ancelotti’s side looking the more dangerous of the two in the closing minutes of the first 45.

Just after Howard Webb got the second-half got underway Villa had a great chance to get themselves in the lead, with Stewart Downing sending a corner into the middle of the box from the right-hand side, allowing Carew to get his head to it, but the Villa front man couldn’t hit the target, sending the ball narrowly wide of the left-hand post.

But it was Chelsea who’d take hold of the first ten minutes of the second-half. With the London side having 65% of the possession in the opening stages and coming close to getting a goal when Deco fired wide from just outside the area after a Chelsea corner was scrambled away from the Villa box.

With half an hour left to play Villa had another chance to put themselves in the lead when Agbonlahor took a quick throw in the final third which found Ashley Young, but the England-hopeful couldn’t convert his chance after breaking into the box, firing directly towards Cech who made an easy save.

Minutes later Chelsea made their first substitution of the tie, with Joe Cole coming off and being replaced by Salomon Kalou.

With 65 minutes gone Chelsea got themselves in front, when a poor clearance by Richard Dunne fell to John Terry outside of the box, who took a shot which looked to be going wide before Drogba intercepted and fired past Friedel and into the bottom corner to give his side a 1-0 lead.

Ten minutes later Chelsea made another substitution, this time Deco was the man to make way with former Bayern Munich midfielder Michael Ballack coming on to replace him.

Minutes later Carlo Ancelotti made his third and final substitution of the evening, taking off goal-scorer Drogba and replacing him with Anelka.

With just ten minutes to save the tie Martin O'Neil made his first change of the game, bringing off Carew and replacing him with England international Emile Heskey.

Villa will have felt they could have got much more from the game and had Howard Webb awarded them a penalty in the first-half things may have been completely different.

With 90 minutes almost up Chelsea extended their lead after Malouda fired a shot into the bottom corner from close range after substitute Ballack sent a brilliant cross into the box.

In extra time Frank Lampard further increased Chelsea's lead, firing in from deep inside the area after latching onto a well-placed ball by Anelka.

The win kept Chelsea's hopes of doing a domestic double alive, with the Blues progressing to the final to face either Spurs or Pompey.

Teams Line-Ups :

Aston Villa : Friedel, Cuellar, Collins, Dunne, Warnock, Petrov, Milner, Downing, Young, Carew (Heskey 82 '), Agbonlahor.

Chelsea: Cech, Ferreira, Terry, Alex, Zhirkov, Mikel, Joe Cole (Kalou 65 '), Lampard, Deco (Ballack 76'), Malouda, Drogba (Anelka 79 ').


Source : http://www.goal.com

Bentley, Pavlyuchenko and Gudjohnsen scored send Hotspur in the FA Cup semi-final after a 3-1 winners over Fulham

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 3
- Bentley 47,
- Pavlyuchenko 60,
- Gudjohnsen 66

FULHAM 1
- Zamora 17

**From 16 yards Zamora opener scores, who escaped his marker Dawson to neatly side-foot the ball past Gomes into the bottom left-hand corner. It was an open game in the first half hour.

Bentley steps to make series from the resulting free-kick on the left. He stepped up with his first touch since coming on as a substitute to dribble the ball right-footed into the crowded penalty area but nobody could get a touch and the ball flew into the far corner past Schwarzer.

At the second-half Bentley took a touch before delivering an excellent cross to the far post and Pavlyuchenko fired the ball left-footed past Schwarzer at his near post to give Spurs the lead, 2-1.

It is a marvellous move in the 65 th minute. Gudjohnsen spun midway inside the Fulham half and pass the ball to Crouch, who flicked it back to Modric, who played a wonderful pass back to Gudjohnsen before casually slotting the ball into the back of the net.

Team Line-ups :

Tottenham Hotspur: Gomes; Dawson, Assou-Ekotto (Huddlestone 46), Bassong, Bale, Corluka (Pavlyuchenko 53); Kranjcar (Bentley 46), Modric, Palacios, Crouch, Gudjohnsen

Fulham: Schwarzer; Konchesky, Hughes, Hangeland, Kelly (Dempsey 69), Etuhu, Duff, Murphy, Davies, Gera; Zamora

Lampard scores, Terry proved himself for the team

CHELSEA 2
- Lampard 35,
- Terry 67

STOKE CITY 0

**John Terry will grab the headlines for all the right reasons after scoring Chelsea's second goal to help them sink Stoke and reach the FA Cup semi-finals.The home skipper has been the subject of a host of allegations about his private life of late, but headed in a Frank Lampard corner to seal the win.


Early fire from Stoke was extinguished by Frank Lampard whose fierce drive took the slightest of deflections as it flew past Thomas Sorenson.From a Chelsea corner on the left, the ball is put into the penalty area, eventually dinked towards Frank Lampard on the edge of it and he takes advantage of being teed up by John Terry by drilling a shot through a thicket of legs, off a Stoke defender and into the back of the net. Frank Lampard in scoring with yet another a deflected shot sensation.

Stoke had to thank Andy Wilkinson in the 66th minute when he cleared off the line from Anelka. Drogba's cross found the France striker unmarked at the far post and his header was stopped by Wilkinson with Sorensen struggling.

But two minutes later Chelsea went 2-0 in front through captain Terry. He planted a firm header into the net from a corner by Florent Malouda and then ran to the corner flag pointing at his captain's armband in celebration.

Teams :

Chelsea: Hilario; Ferreira, Terry, Alex, Ivanovic; Lampard, Malouda, Obi Mikel; Anelka, Drogba, Kalou

Stoke City: Sorensen; Wilkinson, Huth, Collins, Faye; Whelan (Pugh 46), Whitehead, Delap, Sanli (Lawrence 60); Fuller, Sidibe (Kitson 61)

Terrific Carrew, send to Wembley and an FA Cup semi-final clash against Chelsea.

READING 2
- Long 27,
- Long 42

ASTON VILLA 4
- Young, A 47,
- Carew 51,
- Carew 57,
- Carew (pen) 90

**A thrilling FA Cup quarter-final at the Madejski Stadium between Reading and Aston Villa finished in favour of the Premier League side after a ruthless second-half comeback from the Villans saw them book their spot in the last four of the competition.

Reading were full of confidence and after a set of corners they breached the Premier League side's defence for the first time. From the first corner, Tabb volleyed at goal from Sigurdsson's delivery, but the ball hit Dunne and went out just wide for another. However, the second delivery was even better, Mills flicking on to Long who headed in from the back post to give his side the lead.

Sigurdsson intercepted a Villa passing move and initiated his side's break. The Icelander turned and produced a slide-rule through ball which sliced open the back-tracking Villa defence. Kebe ran on to the ball and cut it back across the six-yard box where Long again, finished off the move by passing the ball past a helpless Friedel.

The Villa manager must have said something inspirational at the break as his side came flying out of the traps and struck back instantly. Good delivery into the danger area was missing in the first half but Downing's pass into the box that lead to the goal had quality and Carew flicked it onto Cuellar who in turn prodded the ball onto Young, who hammered the ball into the net from the back-post.

Reading had no time to react when less than five minutes later, their lead was wiped out completely.

Downing breezed down the right, looked up and delivered a delicious left-foot curling cross that slapped off Carew's forehead and bulged into the net to make it two apiece.

Young drew his markers on the left before disguising a pass which got Warncok in behind and the left-back crossed into the centre of the box where Carew finished low and accurately into the right side of goal for his second of the game.

After a period in which they appeared completely shell-shocked, the Royals seemed to wake up with a quarter of the match to go and Sigurdsson nearly drew them level but for the head of Ashley Young who cleared his effort off the line.

Aston Villa had to hold on as the game wound to a close but all hopes of any Reading comeback were snuffed out completely when Milner was fouled in the box and a penalty was awarded, which Carew converted from the spot.

It was game over and brave Reading's FA Cup run was finally halted in a thrilling game.

Teams :

Reading: Federici; Ingimarsson, Griffin, Mills, Bertrand; Tabb, Howard (Gunnarsson 59), freedom, Sigurdsson; Long, Church (Rasiak 71)

Villa: Friedel; Collins, Dunne, Warnock, Cuellar; Petrov, Downing (Sidwell 90), Milner, Young; Heskey, Carew


Source : http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/85/england/2010/03/07/1822161/reading-2-4-aston-villa-john-carew-hat-trick-sends-villa-into-fa-

Kitson, Shawcross, Tuncay scored, send Stoke into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup

STOKE CITY 3
- Kitson 79,
- Shawcross 95,
- Tuncay 99

MANCHESTER CITY 1
- Bellamy 81

**Ryan Shawcross buried an extra-time winner to send Stoke into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup following a 3-1 fifth-round replay victory over Manchester City.

The big centre-half headed a Rory Delap long throw past Shay Given, just as he did in stoppage time eight days earlier in the Premier League, only this time his effort stood.

Manchester City were down to 10 men by the time Shawcross struck in the 95th minute, with Emmanuel Adebayor sent off for swinging a hand into Shawcross' face.

And Stoke sealed their place in the last eight for the first time in 38 years when substitute Sanli Tuncay collected Glenn Whelan's 99th minute pass and danced past two defenders before burying a left-foot finish.

Stoke made an unusually tentative start and Adebayor almost made them pay with a fierce 25-yard drive which forced a flying save from Thomas Sorensen.

And the visitors continued to dominate as Vincent Kompany, a powerful presence in the middle of the field, and Gareth Barry both failed to put away half-chances.

The recalled Craig Bellamy should have put Manchester City ahead in the 20th minute after Adebayor turned Dean Whitehead far too easily on the halfway line.

Adebayor then played in Bellamy, but the Wales international took too long to shoot and Sorensen dashed from goal to save.

Stoke finally started to show signs of warming to the task as a series of corners and Delap long throws ramped up some pressure.

Shawcross had a shot charged down close to goal and Delap's header was clutched under the crossbar by the previously redundant Given.

But a disappointing first half, which certainly didn't live up to expectations, fizzled out with some untidy play from both sides.

Stoke came out for the second half as if they had been given a rocket and the tempo finally began to resemble an FA Cup tie between two top tier teams.

But the visiting defence, with Joleon Lescott marshalling operations, held firm against the increasing menace of Ricardo Fuller and 55th minute substitute Tuncay.

Roberto Mancini introduced Shaun Wright-Phillips in an attempt to pep up his troops and it almost worked in the 67th minute when the winger's cross was headed over by Barry.

But it was another substitute, Stoke's forgotten man Dave Kitson, who broke the deadlock in the 78th minute.

The former Reading forward linked well with Tuncay before placing a low, left-foot shot beyond the stranded Given.

Stoke's lead lasted less than three minutes as Adebayor chested the ball into the path of Bellamy, who threaded his 12-yard shot through the eye of a needle and inside Sorensen's near post.

But Adebayor was given his marching orders a minute later and Stoke took full advantage of their extra man.

Teams:

Stoke City: Sorensen, Whitehead, Shawcross, Huth, Collins, Lawrence, Whelan, Diao, Delap, Sidibe, Fuller. Subs: Simonsen, Beattie, Kitson, Pugh, Amdy Faye, Sanli, Davies.

Manchester City: Given, Richards, Onuoha, Lescott, Bridge, Zabaleta, Ireland, Kompany, Barry, Bellamy, Adebayor. Subs: Taylor, Wright-Phillips, Santa Cruz, Garrido, Sylvinho, De Jong, Boyata.

Agbonlahor scored, Carew settled the game with two successful penalties

ASTON VILLA: 3
- Agbonlahor 42,
- Carew (pen) 81,
- Carew (pen) 89

CRYSTAL PALACE: 1
- Ambrose (pen) 73

**Gabriel Agbonlahor and John Carew notched the goals to enable Aston Villa to reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup for the first time since 2000 following a 3-1 win replay win over Crystal Palace.

High-flying Villa set themselves up for an away tie at Reading on March 7, but they made hard work of beating the battling Championship side.

Agbonlahor notched his 14th goal of the season in the 42nd minute only for Darren Ambrose to cancel out this lead with a 72nd minute penalty.

But Carew settled the game with two successful penalties in the 81st and 89th minutes.

Showing four changes from the side which hammered Burnley 5-2 in their previous game, Villa dominated long spells without being able to overwhelm the struggling Championship side until the closing stages.

Although without their skipper Stiliyan Petrov, who scored the late equaliser at Selhurst Park to earn the replay, Villa dominated the opening exchanges with his deputy Fabian Delph setting up most of the attacks.

But it wasn't until the 16th minute that Villa broke through the Palace defence.

Agbonlahor rounded Matt Lawrence only to see Julian Speroni make an easy save from the striker's weak shot.

Speroni was under fire and did well to keep out a high cross from Ashley Young and also a powerful drive from Carew as Villa strived to take the lead.

Palace had a let-off in the 30th minute when James Milner opened up the defence with a delightful throughball.

Stephen Warnock raced through unchallenged. He only had Speroni to beat but chose to square the ball into the path only to over-hit his pass to the relief of Palace.

But the London side could not survive indefinitely and three minutes before the break Villa deservedly took the lead when Agbonlahor scored with a glancing back-header from Ashley Young's left wing disputed corner.

Surprisingly Villa were forced back onto the defensive at the start of the second period with Ambrose testing Brad Guzan with a raking drive.

Villa continued to make hard work of progressing with Agbonlahor again failing in a one-on-one situation against Speroni.

The goalkeeper continued to have an inspired night with another fine save from Ashley Young to keep alive Palace's hopes of an equaliser, which arrived in the 72nd minute.

Alan Lee was brought down by Warnock as he was charging through and referee Martin Atkinson had no hesitation in awarding a penalty which Ambrose rammed home past Guzan.

But seven minutes later, Villa settled the game with the second penalty of the game.

Carew was brought down by Lawrence and picked himself up to fire his spot kick past Speroni.

In the 88th minute, Carew was again brought down by Lawrence and once again Villa's lanky striker converted his spot-kick.

Line-up:

Aston Villa: Guzan, Luke Young, Cuellar, Dunne, Warnock, Ashley Young, Milner, Delph, Downing, Carew, Agbonlahor Subs: Friedel, Sidwell, Delfouneso, Davies, Heskey, Beye, Collins

Crystal Palace: Speroni, Clyne, Davis, Lawrence, Butterfield, Carle, Derry, Ertl, Danns, Lee, Ambrose Subs: Manns, Hill, Scannell, Andrew, Djilali, Comley, N'Diaye


Source : http://www.astonvilla-mad.co.uk by Footymad

Brilliant Pavlyuchenko scored again

Tottenham Hotspur 4
- Pavlyuchenko 23,
- Jaaskelainen (og) 35,
- O'Brien, A (og) 47,
- Pavlyuchenko 87

Bolton Wanderers 0

**Roman Pavlyuchenko sent out a strong message to Harry Redknapp that he wants to stay in the Tottenham side after firing a brace to help his side ease their way into the FA Cup quarter-finals following a 4-0 victory over Bolton.

Tottenham made them pay for their missed opportunities and it was fans favourite Pavlyuchenko who scored the first goal on 23 minutes.

The home side doubled their lead on 34 minutes and it was a goal that Jaaskelainen will not be rushing to watch a replay of.

Tom Huddlestone's ball picked out Wilson Palacios who fired a shot towards goal and Jaaskelainen somehow managed to turn it into his own net.

The second half was only two minutes old when Spurs took a 3-0 lead following another defensive howler from Bolton. O'Brien slid in to meet Bale's left-wing cross at the near post but succeeded only in deflecting it past the helpless Jaaskelainen.

Pavlyuchenko sealed the victory for Spurs when he made it 4-0 with just minutes remaining. The former Spartak Moscow striker was picked out by Danny Rose and he kept his composure to once again beat Jaaskelainen from close range.

Teams :

Tottenham Hotspur: Gomes, Assou-Ekotto, Dawson, Bassong, Bale, Bentley, Huddlestone, Palacios, Modric, Pavlyuchenko, Defoe. Substitutes: Alnwick, Gudjohnsen, Kranjcar, Rose, Dervite, Kane, M'Poku.

Bolton Wanderers: Jaaskelainen, Ricketts, Knight, Andrew O'Brien, Samuel, Holden, Cohen, Muamba, Gardner, Taylor, Klasnic. Substitutes: Al Habsi, Robinson, Elmander, Riga, Kevin Davies, Shittu, Lee.

Crystal Palace 2-2 Aston Villa : Four goal the tight game

Crystal Palace 2
- Ertl 24,
- Ambrose 70

Aston Villa 2
- Collins 35,
- Petrov 87

**Stiliyan Petrov headed home the late equaliser for Aston Villa but Crystal Palace can be proud and the club's administrator delighted after a battling FA Cup performance.

A replay a week on Wednesday will pay off another chunk of Palace's £30 million debts and the way Neil Warnock's side scrapped no-one should write them off reaching the quarter-finals just yet.

How cruel football can be.

It looked as if Darren Ambrose had given Palace the cup shock they craved when he fired the strike of his life past goalkeeper Brad Friedel from more than 30 yards.

The Palace faithful sang 'We're going to Wembley' and manager Warnock was a picture of animation on the touchline. And they looked good value for the optimism as Villa struggled to conjure an attacking threat in a lacklustre second half.

But then came Petrov's winner three minutes from time which leaves Palace hoping they can cash in on another televised encounter to bring in another £250,000.

To say Palace were up against in this tie was an understatement.

The club went into administration a fortnight ago with those staggering debts. The players' futures are uncertain, manager Warnock does not know if he will be in a job from one week to the next and the canteen lady has not been paid for two months.

And for long periods in an entertaining, at times pulsating cup tie, they gave as good as they got. As good as Warnock had promised, in fact, when he predicted they would not go down without the mother of all scraps.

Ambrose up front was a constant threat. Neil Danns was also a menace and if Danny Butterfield could not conjure up the six-minute hat-trick which dispatched Wolves in the last round then he epitomised the buckets of sweat shed by the south London team.

But give Villa credit. Martin O'Neill paid Palace the respect of fielding his strongest side with Emile Heskey up front and Stewart Downing and James Milner in midfield.

And Villa dominated much of the possession.

But it was Palace who took the lead and when it came after 24 minutes it came from an unlikely source.

Austrian defender Johnny Ertl had never scored for Palace in two years at the club. But he might well never have had a better delivery come his way, a corner swung in by Ambrose which homed in on Ertl's bald pate.

A quick flick of the neck and the ball flew past goalkeeper Friedel and the cup upset appeared to be on, even if the goal did come against the run of play.

If Danns' crisp shot had also found its way past Friedel then Villa would have been in trouble.

As it was Villa composed themselves and announced their intention to scrap just as hard as their Coca-Cola Championship rivals.

When the equaliser came it had the mark of England quality. It was also a carbon-copy of the Palace goal.

This time it was Downing who threw in an inswinging delivery from the right and Villa defender James Collins rose above everyone to head home from inside the six-yard box.

It was no more than Villa deserved, although the last action of the first half saw Friedel scrambling away a 25-yard thunderbolt of a free-kick from Ambrose.

Villa should have taken note, especially when Ambrose lined up another in he 69th minute.

This one was further out, some 30 yards or more, but the strike was even better this time, arrow straight and it was past the despairing dive of Friedel in the blink of an eye.

What a wonderful strike. What a way to win a football match. Except it did not. Because Petrov swooped to get Villa out of jail. They barely deserved it.

Crystal Palace-Aston Villa

Teams :

Crystal Palace: Speroni, Clyne, Ertl, Davis, Hill, Ambrose, Derry, Danns, Carle, Lee (Calvin Andrew 90), Butterfield.

Aston Villa: Friedel, Luke Young, Dunne, Collins, Warnock, Ashley Young, Milner, Delph (Nathan Delfouneso 75), Petrov, Downing, Heskey (John Carew 46)


Source : http://soccernet.espn.go.com

Jussi Jaaskelainen saves a penalty

BOLTON WANDERERS 1
- Davies, K 34

TOTTENHAM HOTSPURS 1
- Defoe 61

**When Bolton Wanderers travel to White Hart Lane for an FA Cup 5th round replay neither of these sides will want, Tottenham are unlikely to hold out much hope of sneaking through on a penalty shoot-out.

Tom Huddlestone, drafted in to replace Jermain Defoe on spot-kick duties after the striker had missed six of his last 10 attempts, passed a simple effort straight at Jussi Jaaskelainen, spurning the chance to kill the tie after Defoe had equalised Kevin Davies’s opener.

Such is Tottenham’s luck at the Reebok Stadium. Spurs have won just once here - in the Carling Cup - since Bolton relocated here. That they do not enjoy their trips up the M61 was evidenced by a first half in which Owen Coyle’s side overpowered, overran their more illustrious guests.

Johan Elmander saw one effort blocked by Vedran Corluka in the opening exchanges, Zat Knight sliced wildly after Spurs failed to clear a Paul Robinson free kick. Elmander would go one better, though, ballooning an effort when Ricardo Gardner’s clever through ball had left him with just Heurelho Gomes to beat.

The Swedish striker, at £9 million Bolton’s record signing, became a cross for Coyle’s predecessor, Gary Megson, to bear, his very presence seemingly confirming his wastefulness, his failure to use what resources he had correctly.

But here, Elmander at least offered glimpses of what made him so coveted in his time at Toulouse. It was his charge, his one-two with the ever-excellent Chung-Yong Lee, which created Davies’s opening goal after a move comprising 17 passes, and it was he who was at the heart of Bolton’s surge to extend their lead after the break. Twice they went close, twice Elmander was at the heart of the moves.

The scare seemed to galvanise the visitors. Tottenham’s much-vaunted attacking quartet, conspicuous by their absence for much of the opening hour, suddenly clicked into gear. Twice in little more than 60 seconds Redknapp’s side hit the bar, first as Peter Crouch beat Jussi Jaaskelainen to Defoe’s chipped cross, then when Paul Robinson stumbled onto Wilson Palacios’s cut-back and contrived to clip the ball over Jaaskelainen.

The warning signs, certainly, were there. Spurs, so anaemic before the break, matched Bolton’s commitment, both sides pouring forward. David Bentley, for once foregoing his repertoire of unnecessary, pointless step-overs, launched a heat-seeker which only narrowly evaded Defoe. The striker, tacitly criticised by his manager before this game, looked pained at his failure to judge the flight of the pass. A moment later, he would not be so profligate.

Bale, impressive on the left, scampered down the touchline, eased past Gretar Steinsson, sauntered into the box and picked out Defoe, inexplicably unmarked on the penalty spot. One touch to set himself, little or no backlift, and a fearsome, fizzing, rising drive past Jaaskelainen. Spurs, in the ascendancy, had ample opportunity to settle the tie.

Jaaskelainen dived at full stretch to deny substitute Niko Kranjcar, Palacios rocketed a left-footed effort just over. Then Crouch, indulging in a little light ball-juggling, dancing towards goal, found Sam Ricketts’ outstretched arm, Phil Dowd pointed to the spot and Huddlestone, replacing Defoe, found himself with the best chance of all. The Finn, low to his right, pushed his weak effort away.

Teams :

Bolton Wanderers : Jussi Jaaskelainen, Paul Robinson, Samuel Ricketts, Zat Knight (Andrew O'Brien 63), Gretar Rafn Steinsson, Matthew Taylor (Tamir Cohen 88), Ricardo Gardner, Fabrice Muamba, Chung-yong Lee (Mark Davies 74), Kevin Davies, Johan Elmander

Tottenham Hotspur : Gomes, Ledley King,Michael Dawson, Gareth Bale, Vedran Corluka, David Bentley, Tom Huddlestone, Luka Modric (Niko Kranjcar 63), Wilson Palacios, Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe

Fulham 4-0 Notts County : Zamora's scored again

FULHAM 4
- Davies 22,
- Zamora 41,
- Duff 73,
- Okaka 79

NOTTS COUNTY 0

**Roy Hodgson's side raced into a two-goal lead before half-time at Craven Cottage thanks to strikes from Simon Davies and Bobby Zamora.

Damien Duff and Stefano Okaka added further goals in the closing stages of the fifth round tie to keep Fulham on course for a first FA Cup final appearance since 1975 when they lost to West Ham.

With a Europa League clash against Shakhtar Donetsk looming on Thursday, Hodgson could have opted to rest his key players, but the Cottagers boss fielded a strong line-up.

For Notts County, the lowest ranked team left in the competition, the chance to take on Premier League opposition was a welcome distraction from another tumultuous week which ended with the cash-strapped club being sold for one pound to Ray Trew and Sven-Goran Eriksson resigning as director of football.

However, it quickly became clear that Fulham weren't going to allow their unheralded visitors time to get comfortable.

Zamora fired wide after latching onto Chris Baird's pass, then County keeper Kasper Schmeichel, son of former Manchester United star Peter Schmeichel, made a fine stop to keep out David Elm's effort.

County threatened briefly when Ben Davies forced Mark Schwarzer to tip over the crossbar and, from the resulting corner, Lee Hughes should have done better than shoot straight at the Australian goalkeeper.

Any thoughts that County would spring a surprise were dashed in the 22nd minute when Danny Murphy chipped a pass to Davies on the edge of the area.

Wales midfielder Davies had his back to goal but turned quickly and drove his shot past Schmeichel's far corner for his first goal of the season.

Craig Westcarr tested Schwarzer moments later when he met Hughes's flick with a goalbound shot.

But former West Ham forward Zamora finished off a move that emphasised Fulham's extra quality as he collected Elm's backheel and lashed past Schmeichel in the 41st minute.

County threw caution to the wind after half-time in a bid to get back in the match and Davies flashed two efforts wide in quick succession.

With the visitors leaving more spaces at the back, Hodgson's side picked them off in the closing stages.

Republic of Ireland winger Duff turned in Zamora's cross in the 74th minute before Okaka, on loan from Roma, drove a powerful shot past Schmeichel three minutes after coming off the bench.

Teams :

FULHAM: Schwarzer, Baird, Hangeland, Hughes, Shorey, Duff(Riise 75), Murphy (Greening 69), Elm, Etuhu, Davies, Zamora(Okaka 75).

NOTTS COUNTY: Schmeichel, Thompson, Edwards, Hunt, Jackson, Westcarr (Hawley 84), Bishop, Ravenhill, Clapham (Rodgers 61), Davies, Hughes (Hamshaw 84).

Shaun Wright-Phillips & Ricardo Fuller scored views Capello

Manchester City 1
- Wright-Phillips 11

Stoke City 1
- Fuller 57

**England boss Fabio Capello watched one of the Premier League's most destructive attacking weapons wreak more havoc as Stoke salvaged an FA Cup fifth-round draw at Manchester City.

The chapter titled 'Long Throws' is probably not very extensive in the Italian soccer manual, but Capello and fellow countryman Roberto Mancini now understand what Rory Delap can do after his throw was powered home by Ricardo Fuller to give Tony Pulis' men a deserved replay.

Prior to that 57th-minute effort, Capello's trip to Eastlands looked more like being memorable for a defensive howler from England hopeful Ryan Shawcross, a goal for Shaun Wright-Phillips and a decent performance by man-of-the-moment Wayne Bridge.

With less than four months to England's opening World Cup game against the USA in Rustenburg and a fortnight until the squad is named for the friendly against Egypt - the last before a provisional squad is named in mid-May - any chance to impress Capello in person needs to be taken.

For Bridge, gaining selection is not so much the issue. Capello also needs to know the defender is willing to share a dressing room with one-time team-mate John Terry.

However, the Italian would have been impressed by Bridge's forceful bursts, the type that England would miss so badly if Ashley Cole's recovery from a broken ankle takes longer than the projected three months.

Bridge also made a brave block to deny Liam Lawrence at the other end, although he had turned his back on the Stoke man's fierce goalbound shot, so credit is only partially due.

At the moment, Wright-Phillips falls foul of Capello's insistence that he needs players who play.

This was only the little winger's third start in 12 matches since Mancini took charge.

That is not the return Wright-Phillips needs as he looks to exploit Theo Walcott's poor form and nick one of those right-sided midfield berths that David Beckham and Aaron Lennon are also out to claim.

Wright-Phillips' dribbling ability has never been in question, nor the likelihood that he will occasionally pop up with an explosive finish.

But too often he fails to do the nuts and bolts of his job, so he must have been particularly pleased with the scrappy manner of his first-half opener, even if Shawcross has nightmares about it.

Sent racing clear of the Stoke defence by Stephen Ireland, Wright-Phillips lifted the ball over the advancing Thomas Sorensen.

Shawcross galloped back and appeared to have taken control of the situation, only to first miss his kick completely, then, after tumbling over, headed a ball that would have bounced out for a corner straight into Wright-Phillips' path for the easiest of one-yard finishes.

Who knows what Capello made of it but it presumably did not involve making a mental note to reserve Shawcross a place in his 23-man World Cup squad, which has been suggested in some quarters.

In addition to their self-inflicted damage, Stoke lost Matthew Etherington and his replacement Lawrence to serious-looking injuries sustained in innocuous incidents before the break.
When Andy Wilkinson was forced off within 10 minutes of the restart, it seemed the visitors were destined to endure a miserable afternoon.

Then Delap hurled in one of his bombs and the whole contest changed.

Shay Given has received many plaudits over the course of his illustrious career. Yet he remains reluctant to come off his line to help his defenders out in the six-yard box.

That is exactly where Delap aimed his missiles and the Irishman remained rooted to his line as Fuller powered a header past him.

Stoke threatened to win the tie through Glenn Whelan and were fully deserving of their draw, even though Sorensen brilliantly tipped Barry's near-post header over and Wright-Phillips drove a shot into the side-netting before Shawcross turned away a Roque Santa Cruz effort that was going wide anyway.

Teams :

Manchester City: Given, Zabaleta, Toure, Lescott, Bridge, Wright-Phillips, Barry, De Jong, Petrov (Santa Cruz '62), Ireland (Vieira '72), Adebayor

Stoke City: Sorensen, Wilkinson (Colins '55), Huth, Shawcross, Higginbotham, Etherington (Lawrence '14) (Delap '45), Diao, Whelan, Sanli, Sidibe, Fuller.


Source : http://www.rte.ie

Michael Ballack goal inspiration to win : Chelsea 4-1 Cardiff City

**Holders Chelsea reached the FA Cup quarter-finals after with a 4-1 victory after Cardiff had briefly threatened to cause a massive shock.Didier Drogba put Chelsea in front in the second minute but Michael Chopra stunned the home side with an equaliser before half-time.

But second-half goals from Michael Ballack, Daniel Sturridge and substitute Salomon Kalou put Carlo Ancelotti's side into the last eight.

Michael Ballack goal that is the inspiration for the blue forces continue to attack the opponent without fatigue, until finally created 2 goals again

Chelsea got off to a great start when John Obi Mikel's long ball put Drogba in the clear and the Ivory Coast striker ran on to fire past the static David Marshall.

It was Drogba's fourth goal in three games since his return from the African Nations Cup and his 23rd of the season.

Cardiff almost equalised when Peter Whittingham's free-kick was sent towards the top corner by Anthony Gerrard.But with City ready to celebrate an equaliser, Hilario somehow managed to get across and tip the ball over the bar.

In the 25th minute, Drogba was unlucky with an overhead kick from six yards when a cross from Michael Ballack had found him ahead of his marker.

Fortunately for Marshall in the City goal, Drogba's effort went straight to him.Chelsea remained in control of the game with Cardiff restricted to rare counter-attacks.But one of them paid off in stunning fashion in the 34th minute when they equalised through Chopra.

The Cardiff striker shocked the home side with his 17th goal of the season.Chopra got clear of Alex to head Chris Burke's cross into the net beyond the helpless Hilario, to the delight of the 6,000 travelling City fans.The Cardiff equaliser had certainly livened the game up but Chelsea gradually managed to get on top once more.

Sturridge, who has scored in the last two rounds, was a yard wide with a 25-yard shot in the 43rd minute.Chelsea's passing began to go astray as the half wore on and Cardiff were able to end the first half on level terms.

Chelsea replaced the ineffective Joe Cole with Kalou at half-time.

Drogba, the only Chelsea player really on his game, found Marshall alert when he tried to send a 25-yard free-kick inside the near post just seconds after the restart.

But Chelsea were back in front in the 51st minute when Drogba's pass evaded Mark Kennedy to put Michael Ballack through on goal. The Germany captain kept his cool to volley the ball over Marshall and make it 2-1.

Chelsea defender Alex was unlucky to see a header cleared by the Cardiff rearguard on the hour as the home side pressed for a third goal.

The home side were again in control with Drogba at the heart of all their best moves.The Ivory Coast striker was unlucky not to get on the end of a through-ball from Paulo Ferreira while Sturridge shot well wide from 20 yards in the 67th minute.

Chelsea finally got a third in the 69th minute when a scrappy build-up allowed the ball to run loose to Sturridge, who slipped it beyond Marshall.

It was his fourth goal in the competition - and his last contribution before being replaced by Florent Malouda.

Cardiff continued to make sporadic forays into the Chelsea half and on one such attack, Kevin McNaughton was a yard wide with a 20-yard angled drive.

Whittingham then brought a fine save out of Hilario with a low drive from 25 yards as Chelsea rested on their two-goal lead.

However, Kalou made it 4-1 in the 86th minute when he superbly headed home a cross from Ferreira.The Ivory Coast striker twisted his body in mid-air to send the header over Marshall's reach and into the top corner of the net.

Malouda was way off target in the 90th minute when he tried his luck from the edge of the penalty area - but Chelsea had done enough to go through to the last eight.

Temas :

Cardiff : Marshall, McNaughton, Gyepes, Gerrard, Kennedy, Rae (Blake 74), Whittingham, Burke (McCormack 78), Wildig (Taiwo 90), Chopra, Bothroyd

Chelsea :Hilario, Carvalho, Ferreira, Alex, Lampard, J Cole (Kalou 46), Mikel, Ballack, Zhirkov, Drogba (Borini 88), Sturridge (Malouda 78)

Leeds United 1-3 Hotspur : A hattrick from Jermain Defoe

A hat-trick from Jermain Defoe ensured Spurs avoided an FA Cup exit at the hands of giant-killers Leeds United at Elland Road.

The Whites had eliminated Manchester United at Old Trafford in the previous round, and a last-minute penalty from Jermaine Beckford earned them a replay from the first leg of this tie at White Hart Lane.

However, a solid Tottenham performance - and three goals from a wasteful Defoe who could, and should have had five or six - held off a Leeds side who had their spells of pressure but were ultimately second best.

Having missed several earlier chances, including one excellent one-on-one with United goalkeeper Casper Ankergren, Defoe opened the scoring when his mishit shot from a David Bentley cross skewed into the top corner.

But the goal brought the home side to life and they pressed their Premier League opponents back immediately.

Their reward was a swift response in the shape of Luciano Becchio, who was on hand to turn home the rebound after Jermaine Beckford's toe-poked shot was well saved by Heurelho Gomes on the stroke of half-time.

Spurs continued to dominate in the second half and only a string of good saves from Ankergren and the wastefulness of Defoe up front kept the scores level.

The diminutive England man was unlucky to be flagged offside with about 20 minutes left after turning home Gareth Bale's cross from just past the last defender.

But it wasn't long until another chance came his way - Jermaine Jenas fed Bentley wide on the right and his low cross was met by Defoe on the edge of the six-yard box for a 2-1 lead.

During the final 15 minutes Leeds threatened only once, when a Jonathan Howson header went narrowly over.

But it was Spurs that looked the more likely to score again, and so it proved as, with men committed upfield, Defoe broke clear, rounded Ankergren and slotted home to seal victory.

Teams :

Leeds United: Ankergren, Bromby, Naylor, Michalik, Hughes (White '76), Howson, Doyle, Johnson (Crowe 86), Snodgrass, Beckford, Becchio (Grella 86)

Tottenham Hotspur: Gomes, Corluka, Dawson, Bassong, Bale, Bentley, Huddlestone, Jenas, Kranjcar, Crouch, Defoe.

Source : http://www.uknetguide.co.uk

Robinho | Maybe his last game for the club

Scunthorpe United 2
-Paul Hayes (29)
-Dedryck Boyata (og 69)

Manchester City 4
-Martin Petrov (3)
-Nedum Onuoha (45)
-Sylvinho (57)
-Robinho (84)
In action at Glanford Park on Monday (25/1/2010) morning, the City had received strict opposition from Scunthorpe. But Citizens finally able to show his class as an elite club of Scunthorpe who played in the FA Cup.

Man City failed to capitalize on the early advantage given to them however, and Scunthorpe started putting pressure on them and should have got back into the game on 15 minutes.

Despite Martin Petrov's third minute opener the home side hit back to equalise through Paul Hayes

City snatched the lead back just before the interval when a clever ball into the box by Stephen Ireland produced a good side-foot finish from defender Nedum Onuoha.

The pick of the bunch came from Sylvinho, who lashed in a 30-yard effort that effectively sealed City's victory in the 57th minute.

Cliff Byrne gave Scunthorpe hope when his shot was deflected in off Dedryck Boyata in the 69th minute.

Robinho signed off in what could be his last appearance for Manchester City with the goal that finally secured their place in the fifth round of the FA Cup as Roberto Mancini's side beat Scunthorpe United 4-2.

The Gunners followed the Red's and Red Devil in the FA Cup

Stoke City 3
- Fuller 2,
- Fuller 78,
- Whitehead 86

Arsenal 1
- Denilson 42


The Gunners went down 3-1 at the Britannia stadium in a fourth round tie, and Wenger conceded that his youthful side could not cope with Stoke's physical style.

But with crucial Premier League games against major rivals Aston Villa, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool in a 14-day spell coming up, Wenger clearly was concentrating on his club's title ambitions.

Wenger had no reproaches to make when the match was over. If Stoke's style is direct, it works mostly because the crosses are well-placed and the forwards effective.

But Stoke were the stronger side in the second half and so it was no surprise to see Wenger make a triple substitution midway through the half. Such boldness had won the Third Round tie at West Ham earlier this month.

Arsenal then threw on the big guns, with Andrey Arshavin, Eduardo and Aaron Ramsey replacing Emmanuel-Thomas, Theo Walcott and Francis Coquelin in the 70th minute.

The new faces made an initial difference, with quick passing moves, but Stoke responded with greater resilience, and were back in front after 78 minutes.

Mamady Sidibe surged down the right and fired over a cross that evaded Campbell and was headed home by a gleeful Fuller as the home support erupted.

Stoke sent on Tuncay and Salif Diao for Fuller and Delap, and grabbed their third after 85 minutes when Whitehead finished off more good work from wideman Matthew Etherington.

Anelka scored boost productivity

Preston North End 0

Chelsea 2
- Anelka 37,
- Sturridge 47
On a busy Saturday of FA Cup fixtures Preston versus Chelsea was an early game as the champions looked to find a way through to the fifth round before the rest of the fourth round games were played.

Chelsea had rested a few key players for this game and Preston looked to take advantage of that by taking the game to their opponents early on. This early attacking quickly settled down as the game became a battle that Chelsea seemed to be winning. The Blues dominated possession during the first half hour but created very few chances.

Nicolas Anelka's low drive put Chelsea ahead after 37 minutes and Daniel Sturridge slammed in a second just after the restart to ensure their comfortable passage into the next round.

Preston's big opportunity came and went shortly after Anelka gave Chelsea the lead, and Darren Carter will have nightmares about how he somehow failed to hit the target from point-blank range with keeper Hilario out of position.

And the Preston fans did themselves great credit on a day of disappointment by warmly applauding the England midfield man as he made his way to the tunnel.

Chelsea could, and should, have added to their lead as Sturridge twice came close and the ever-dangerous Anelka saw his effort well saved by Lonergan. Joe Cole, on for the injured Lampard, almost got in the act, but his shot was off target.

Teams Lineup:

Preston: Lonergan, Hart, Mawene, St, Ledger, Davidson, Sedgwick (Major 72 '), Chaplow, Jones, Carter (Parkin 59'), Wallace, Brown (Mellor 72 ').

Chelsea: Hilario, Paulo Ferreira, Alex, Terry, Zhirkov, Belletti (Malouda 19 '), Ballack, Lampard (Joe Cole 66'), Deco, Anelka, Sturridge.

Season not favor The Reds

Liverpool 1
- Bertrand (og) 45

Reading 2
- Sigurdsson (pen) 90,
- Long 100
Liverpool's disastrous season plunged to new depths as they suffered a humiliating FA Cup exit at Anfield to Reading.

The Reds lost Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres to injuries and were stunned by the Coca-Cola Championship side, who forced extra-time before substitute Shane Long headed the winner in this third round replay

Reading stunned Liverpool by dumping them out of the FA cup with a 2-1 victory over the Reds in their third round replay at Anfield.

Liverpool opened the scoring just before half-time as Steven Gerrard's cross deflected in off Ryan Bertrand. The Reds looked to be cruising, before Gylfi Sigurdsson equalised in the dying moments of normal time from the penalty spot.

Substitute Shane Long scored the winning goal in front of the Kop in the first half of extra time.

Teams

Liverpool: Diego Cavalieri, Jamie Carragher, Philipp Degen (Martin Skrtel 91), Daniel Agger, Emiliano Insua, Steven Gerrard (Ryan Babel 46), Alberto Aquilani, Yossi Benayoun, Lucas Leiva, Dirk Kuyt, Fernando Torres (David Ngog 29).

Reading: Adam Federici, Ingimarsson Ivan, Matthew Mills, Ryan Bertrand, Brynjar Gunnarsson, Jobi McAnuff, Kalifa Cisse (Brian Howard 59), Jem Karacan (Shane Long 81), Gylfi Sigurdsson, Grzegorz Rasiak (Jimmy's departure 65), Simon Church.

Chelsea without Drogba destroyed Watford

Chelsea 5 ------------- 0 Watford
- Sturridge 5,
- Eustace (og) 15,
- Malouda 22,
- Lampard 64,
- Sturridge 68

The likes of Ashley Cole, Florent Malouda and Alex replaced the absentees in a line-up clearly selected to deal with any possibilty of a shock at the first time of asking.

And the Blues didn't waste too long confirming their superiority - although doubtless boss Malky will be disappointed that an early lead was yielded from a set piece.

This was all too easy, with Watford never recovering from their fifth minute concession. Malouda's centre duly prompted panic just before the quarter-hour mark with the ball ricocheting from Joe Cole, Adrian Mariappa and Frank Lampard before dribbling in off John Eustace. Lampard found his own reward with a trademark dipping shot over Scott Loach just after the hour to ease the home side four goals ahead.

Teams:

Chelsea: Hilario, Ivanovic, Alex, Terry, Ashley Cole (Kakuta '74), Lampard, Belletti (Matic '65), Zhirkov, Joe Cole, Malouda, Sturridge (Borini '70).

Watford: Loach, Hodson, Mariappa, DeMerit, Doyley, Eustace, Cowie (Harley '80), Lansbury, Severin (Jenkins 46), Cleverley, Graham (Hrnderson '80).