FA Cup: Chelsea 2-1 Everton

Gus Hiddink ended a remarkable temporary spell as Chelsea manager, by beating a less renowned but accomplished Everton side, but not without receiving one or two shocks along the way.

Louis Saha fired Everton ahead, by scoring the fastest goal in the history of the FA Cup, after only 25 seconds. It was a dream start for the Northerners, but Chelsea didn't panic and soon started to dominate. Their persistence was rewarded when Didier Drogba headed home from close range after 21 minutes to equal the scores.

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Despite having most of the possession, it was not until the 72nd minute that Chelsea went ahead, with a typical Frank Lampard goal. Although he seemed to stumble it made no difference as he powered home a fine shot, to signal that the end was nigh for the Toffees. In fact Chelsea should have been three up, when a spectacular goal by Florent Malouda, was deemed by the referee not to have crossed the line. Of course, referees don't have the advantage of television replays, and it would have been a difficult shot to call, as the ball bounced inside the goal line before bouncing out again. As it happened Chelsea's first two goals were sufficient, but there might have been an outcry if Everton had levelled the scores.

Despite their early advantage, Everton were finding it difficult to keep up with Chelsea, who were rewarded with the opportunistic Drogba goal. Despite there being three Everton defenders in close proximity he rose above them and the ball was being retrieved from the net. Accomplished Everton manager David Moyes, substituted Jacobsen for Hibbert at the break, but Chelsea continued to push forward. Anelka should have done better when presented with a chance of lobbing over the Toffees keeper.

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Although the Southerners were on top Everton still had a good chance of turning the tables, until Frank Lampard virtually put the game beyond dispute. There was a hapless bookmaker offering odds of 7-1 about Lampard scoring the next goal after the interval. What a nice little pickup that would have been, but no, I didn't!

All in all, it was a football match that was set alight, with Everton's fantastic record breaking goal. With an estimated 500 million spectators looking in worldwide, it needed to be good, and it was a thoroughly entertaining game without being technically brilliant.

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FA Cup: Chelsea 2-0 Everton
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FA Cup: Chelsea 2-0 Everton