Sheva stunner leads Blues to victory
The stirker bagged his 15th goal of the season
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Monday, 19, Mar 2007 10:20
Chelsea have booked their place in the FA Cup semi-finals with a 2-1 win over rivals Tottenham at White Hart Lane.
Stunning strikes from Andriy Shevchenko and Shaun Wright-Phillips in the second half gave the Blues victory.
Robbie Keane set-up a grandstand finish with a penalty in the closing stages although the home side were unable to find the equaliser.
At the final whistle, a frustrated Spurs fan appeared to run onto the pitch and try to attack Frank Lampard before being dragged away by stewards.
Jose Mourinho's side will face Blackburn Rovers in the last four on Sunday April 15th at Old Trafford.
Mourinho brought in Shaun Wright-Phillips to replace Arjen Robben while Lassana Diarra and Jon Obi Mikel also started.
Spurs recalled Aaron Lennon, Dimitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane, who were on the bench for Saturday's win over Watford.
Like the first game at Stamford Bridge, Spurs started brightly with only a last-ditch tackle from Ashley Cole denying Keane when the striker was through on goal.
A minute later, a long-range shot from the in-form Michael Ballack fizzed wide of the post.
But the chances then dried up with Didier Drogba, frustrated by the lack of service, booked for throwing the ball to the ground after a tussle with Spurs centre-back Ricardo Rocha.
On 40 minutes, Frank Lampard volleyed over the bar following a corner in the final chance of the half.
Both sides remained unchanged after the break but Spurs switched to a 4-3-3 formation with Lennon pushing up behind the strikers.
The tactical change nearly worked on 51 minutes with Steed Malbranque's low shot well saved by goalkeeper Petr Cech.
But against the run of play, the Blues grabbed the lead on 55 minutes with a world-class finish from Shevchenko.
The Ukraine forward cut in from the right and curled an unstoppable shot into the top corner.
Six minutes later, the visitors sealed the tie after a sweeping move with Drogba finding Wright-Phillips whose sublime volley nestled in the bottom corner.
But Spurs continued to press and were rewarded on 79 minutes when Ricardo Carvalho brought down Berbatov in the box. Strike-partner Keane stepped up and stroked his spot-kick home to reduce Spurs' deficit.
But despite a series of long balls bombarding Chelsea's penalty area, the Blues' defence held strong to reach the semi-finals at the expense of their London rivals.