Terry ends Shearer's dream

Chelsea 1 Newcastle 0

Chelsea ended his chances of ever winning a trophy for Newcastle after John Terry eased Chelsea to a 1-0 FA Cup quarter-final victory against Newcastle at Stamford Bridge .

Shearer, who will retire at the end of this season, knows his legacy on Tyneside will not include silverware

The striker, who overtook Jackie Milburn's record goals tally this season, has scored 202 times for his beloved Newcastle since signing from Blackburn for £15m (€21.7m) in July 1996, but there was never any real chance of him adding to that here in London.

Terry's fourth-minute goal was enough for Chelsea to continue their irrepressible march towards a Premiership and FA Cup 'double', even if, once again, they produced a performance lacking in fluidity and entertainment value.

To add to Newcastle's dismay, Robbie Elliot was harshly sent off for a late block on Shaun Wright-Phillips, his second booking of the game, but that hardly made a difference to the result.

Following the ignominy of Sunday's defeat at Fulham you always suspected Chelsea would approach this FA Cup tie in a robust and determined fashion, but it was only a quick start that effectively guaranteed their progress.

With just two minutes on the clock, Damien Duff flighted a corner from the left and Terry, who had dropped deep to escape his marker, pounced to shoot first-time through keeper Shay Given's legs.

The goal left Newcastle in a seemingly impossible position - few had given them any hope of victory before kick-off and Chelsea's early advantage added to the inevitability of defeat.

In fairness, Glenn Roeder's side recovered strongly to keep the ball for long periods and came close to equalising, after 17 minutes, when Bowyer's left-footed shot was saved by Carlo Cudinici and Terry raced in to steal the rebound off Shearer's toe before thumping it to safety.

It was an excellent chance, but, in what has become their traditional style, Chelsea did not bust a gut to add to their lead at the other end, giving the match a frustrating lack of tension and drama.

If anything, Chelsea looked lacklustre and out of sorts - a major surprise given their manager's reaction to defeat at Fulham, a few days earlier, and the fiery team meeting that ensued.

The squad were making all the right noises in the build-up to the game, vowing to return to form with a vengeance and expressing their determination to win the Double - and there was talk of revenge following last year's FA Cup exit against Newcastle at St James' Park, a rare defeat that has smarted for the best part of a year.

Ever-confident Mourinho promised fans in his programme notes, "We owe you a great victory", but it wasn't until the second-half that Chelsea showed the kind of urgency that matched their words, and even then there was a lack of conviction behind their performance.

Cole had two strong chances as Newcastle began to buckle, but the closest Chelsea came to making sure of victory was a Drogba shot after 59 minutes.

The Ivory Coast striker, chosen ahead of Hernan Crespo, snapped in a shot from a Lampard free-kick that Given did well to save - and the Republic of Ireland international also reacted superbly to keep out his follow-up effort.

There was a flurry of yellow cards as Craig Moore and Shola Ameobi were booked for kicking Cole on the floor, with Drogba and Geremi also upsetting referee Steve Bennett, but, in truth, the match never really caught light.

It was one of those nights at Stamford Bridge that sums up why Chelsea are so successful and also why they struggle to win popularity contests, despite their remarkable achievements over the last two years.

Mourinho's side always seem to do enough to win, but never add the kind of gloss that Rafa Benitez's Liverpool managed to paint against Birmingham in a 7-0 victory the previous night.

It's not a problem that bothers the club immensely, and the fact they have bounced back from a disappointing Premiership weekend by reaching the semi-final of the FA Cup is all that will concern Mourinho, as he watches the match video this morning.

For Alan Shearer, however, it wasn't the way he wanted to wave goodbye to the FA Cup, or to his last chance of silverware for Newcastle. Even if, for the rest of us, it always seemed so inevitable.

CHELSEA: Cudicini, Geremi, Ricardo Carvalho, Terry, Del Horno, Joe Cole (Essien 77), Makelele, Lampard, Duff (Wright-Phillips 68), Drogba, Gudjohnsen (Crespo 77).

NEWCASTLE: Given, Carr, Elliott, Ramage, Babayaro (Moore 52), Solano (Emre 70), Bowyer, Parker, Dyer, Ameobi, Shearer.

Referee: S Bennett (Kent).