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Wright-Phillips shines in Chelsea League Cup victory

Shaun Wright-Phillips scored one himself and forced an own-goal in injury time to give 10-man Chelsea a 2-1 win over Everton on Tuesday in the first leg of the English League Cup semi-finals.

Wright-Phillips, who put Chelsea ahead 1-0 in the first half, dueled in front of the net for a high ball with Joleon Lescott, who inadvertently knocked the ball into his own goal.

"It was all down to hard work and team spirit, that's how we train and we had to take it on the pitch," Wright-Phillips said. "The character, team spirit and everything we showed today when down to 10 men -- Everton are a hard team with good players."

Ayegbeni Yakubu equalized for Everton in the 64th minute with a powerful close-range volley into the top of the net, capitalizing on John Obi Mikel's expulsion in the 54th for a challenge on Phil Neville.

It was the first legitimate scoring chance for Everton, who rarely threatened Chelsea goalkeeper Henrique Hilario before Mikel was sent off.

Chelsea dominated the first half, using the quick midfield passing of captain Michael Ballack and the speed of Wright-Phillips and Joe Cole to continually test a disciplined Everton defense.

"We deserved to win," Chelsea manager Avram Grant said. "We created a lot of chances in the first half ... I saw that [Wright-Phillips] could cause them a lot of problems, because he is much quicker than them."

Still, Everton manager David Moyes said his side played well enough to earn a draw.

"We're disappointed. We think we missed an opportunity tonight," Moyes said, but added that he is hopeful for the second leg, scheduled for Jan. 23.

Wright-Phillips gave Chelsea the lead in the 26th minute, taking a pass from Florent Malouda in the area and calmly curling a shot inside the far post past Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard.

Chelsea had a chance to double their lead two minutes later on a counter attack. Wright-Phillips passed to Cole, who ran between two defenders but was fouled just outside the area.

Ballack's resulting free kick curled just wide.

Everton, playing their first semi-final since the 1995 FA Cup, tried to counter but struggled to sustain pressure on Chelsea until they had the extra man advantage.

James McFadden nearly gave Everton the lead in the 68th, driving past two defenders into the left side of the area, but his effort bounced off the far post.
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