Fri, Jan 12, 2007 page23

• Lowly Wycombe hold Chelsea's millionaires

  FIGHTING DISPLAY The English League Two side defied their league position as they battled back to gain a well-deserved draw against an injury-ravaged Chelsea squad

  • AP
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  A 77th-minute goal from Jermaine Easter salvaged a 1-1 draw for League Two side Wycombe against Chelsea in their first-leg semi-final of the English League Cup on Wednesday.

  Wayne Bridge -- playing winger instead of fullback due to squad injuries -- beat Ricardo Batista to a long ball from Chelsea striker Salomon Kalou just outside the area in the 36th minute before chipping it past the Portuguese goalkeeper to give the Blues a 1-0 lead.

  "We are in a good position to reach the final," Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said. "We have to decide things at home, so if you look at it as a cup semi-final -- there are no teams from different divisions and every team is from the same competition -- I think it's a good result away from home."

  

  Wycombe Wanderers' Johnny Dixon, top, rises above Chelsea's Michael Essien, bottom left, and Claude Makelele, bottom right, during their English League Cup semi-final first leg soccer match at Adams Park stadium in Wycombe, southern England, on Wednesday.

  PHOTO: AP

  The return leg will be at Stamford Bridge on Jan. 23.

  Entering the game without injured captain John Terry, goalkeepers Petr Cech and Carlo Cudicini, defenders Khalid Boulahrouz and Ricardo Carvalho, and forwards Joe Cole and Arjen Robben, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho started Michael Essien at center back and Bridge on the wing.

  Mourinho also rested strikers Didier Drogba -- England's leading goalscorer with 20 goals in all competitions -- and Andriy Shevchenko, while midfielder Frank Lampard came off the bench in the 67th.

  Wycombe matched its best result in a domestic cup competition -- a 2001 FA Cup semi-final loss to eventual champion Liverpool -- just by facing the 2005 champs.

  Chelsea arrived at Adams Park boasting a squad worth ?235 million (US$454 million) but watched as a Wycombe side worth ?80,000 created the first chance.

  Midfielder Kevin Betsy chested down a Matt Bloomfield flick-on to the right of the penalty area in the 19th, but goalkeeper Hilario's arm caught a piece of his shot to send the ball over the goal.

  Defender Tommy Doherty cleared a shot from Bridge off the line from 12m in the 32nd after Essien headed it back to the winger.

  Four minutes later, Bridge beat Batista to the Kalou long ball, with the head-on-head collision resulting in both players receiving medical attention. The game was delayed for five minutes.

  Wycombe had the first chance of the second half, as Matt Bloomfield cut through the middle of the Chelsea defense to collect a through ball from Tommy Mooney in the 51st, but the midfielder struck wide.

  Easter raced on to a Mooney header inside the right side of the area before deftly rolling it past goalkeeper Hilario inside the far post in the 77th for his competition-leading sixth goal.

  Wycombe had all the momentum through the final minutes, with midfielder Stefan Oakes sending a strike just over the bar.

  "I think anything is possible in football," said Wycombe manager Paul Lambert of his side's chances of winning at Chelsea.
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