Carling Cup ~ Newcastle v Chelsea - Dec 20

last SG · 2006-12-21T05:43:41+00:00

But they probably won't be putting out the youth team like Arsenal and man u... Maybe 3 or 4 may not play but they will be on the bench ready to come on if t...

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shot by martins bounce off the crossbar onto the line and out

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elsewhere in italy ibrahimovic got a second yellow on the stroke of halftime for needlessly kicking the ball away Rolling Eyes

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HT 0-0

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drogba scores 0-1 chelsea lead

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Full Time

0-1
Drogba 77'

Dead_Man_Inc SG

drogba save the day again..

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Newcastle 0-1 Chelsea

Didier Drogba came off the bench to fire Chelsea into the semi-finals of the Carling Cup with a late free-kick. Newcastle went close to taking the lead when an Obafemi Martins drive hit the underside of the bar and bounced down on to the line before being cleared. Andrei Shevchenko also hit the post for Chelsea but they needed Drogba's curler to break the deadlock on 79 minutes. Frank Lampard almost added a late second with a 40-yard shot against the post from a poor Shay Given clearance.

Newcastle, playing with only Martens up front, had their fair share of possession but looked short of ideas when it came to creating chances. That all changed after 25 minutes when Martins at last got a sniff of goal.

Receiving the ball from Nolberto Solano some 30 yards out, the Nigerian composed himself before unleashing a dipping drive that smashed against the bar and bounced down and then out before being cleared.

TV replays failed to clear up whether or not the ball had crossed the line but the reaction of Newcastle boss Glenn Roeder showed he knew how close his side had come to opening the scoring. They were not finished there either, with Nicky Butt unleashing a peach of a volley from the resulting corner that Hilario had to punch away.

That was by far the best spell of the match for the home side though and they were almost behind at half-time, Shevchenko's shot bouncing back off the far post after Essien had played him in.

Ballack's introduction on the hour mark seemed to give Chelsea another lift but it was the arrival of Drogba - to replace Shevchenko on 75 minutes - that was to prove decisive. Drogba played the ball short to Ballack to open up the angle and then curled in a precise shot that Given could only help into the top corner for his 17th goal of the season.

Newcastle attempted to respond but for all their effort they were still lacking inspiration in the final third.

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Tottenham 1-0 Southend

Defoe strikes in extra-time to finish Southend

Tottenham's tortured progress in this competition continued last night when Southend, like Port Vale before them, dragged the contest into extra time before being beaten. Penalties were only five minutes away when Jermain Defoe, until that moment almost anonymous and even then marginally offside, slid in to pull his side into the semi-finals. South-end had the guts, but Spurs got the glory.

It was their 11th consecutive win at White Hart Lane but if their home form is formidable the same cannot be said of Tottenham's football. It took the second-half introduction of Dimitar Berbatov to add life to their limp attack, and he was eventually involved in the winner. A lovely touch from the Bulgarian released Mido down the left, and his low cross was bundled in at the far post.

But Southend were convinced Defoe had been offside when he decided the game. "It's hard to swallow," said their manager Steve Tilson. "He's half a yard offside, but that's life. It's no good making excuses. It was a fantastic performance - we matched them for most of the match and I'm just devastated we never got to penalties."

NEW DATE SET FOR CARLING CLASH

Meanwhile, Liverpool's postponed Carling Cup quarter-final tie against Arsenal has been rearranged for January 9, just three days after the two clubs meet in the FA Cup third round at Anfield.

January 9 was actually the date for the first leg of one of the semi-finals but with both clubs having packed schedules early in the new year was the first available date.

Wycombe, Chelsea and Spurs are the other teams that are through to the semi-finals...

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