Easter strike lifts Wycombe wonders

JERMAINE EASTER’S late strike embarrassed Chelsea and earned Wycombe a memorable draw in the first leg of their Carling Cup semi-final at Adams Park.

Easter, who has scored in every round of the cup this season, finished coolly past Hilario with 13 minutes remaining to reward the League Two side against the Premiership champions.

Paul Lambert’s minnows had started brightly but then fell behind to Wayne Bridge’s opener, yet the side who had beaten Fulham and Charlton in previous rounds remained in the game and battled towards parity.

Lambert’s men remain unbeaten at home since October and now have another cup hero after Roy Essandoh from the 2001 FA Cup run when they reached the same stage.

In contrast, Chelsea struggled to make chances and, despite being in the box seat to reach the final against Arsenal or Tottenham, were matched in every department on the night.

The League Two side created the first real opportunity, after 20 minutes, with a sweeping move after Easter chased a long ball down the left.

The striker even checked he was onside before crossing to the far post where Kevin Betsy was in space, but Hilario got just enough on the cross for the ball to clear the crossbar.

After surviving the early storm, Chelsea gathered a little momentum, with Bridge finding room in the area but getting crowded out and then Shaun Wright-Phillips and Mikel Jon Obi firing over the crossbar.

They were ahead in the 36th minute when Kalou showed the composure he had previously been lacking, turning on the halfway line and releasing Bridge with a fine reverse ball.

Bridge raced on and lobbed Ricardo Batista for his first strike of the season. Both goalkeeper and goalscorer required treatment for clattering into each other but were fine to carry on, Bridge with a facial cut.

Bridge could have doubled the lead in first-half injury time but Batista saved well after a corner had broken to the Chelsea player.

Wycombe refused to surrender, with Easter volleying well over as they tried to maintain their pace.

After the break, Mooney neatly played through Bloomfield but the midfielder sliced horribly wide.

Mooney was causing trouble in attack and his tackle on Claude Makelele led to both players being booked, with the Chelsea midfielder now set to miss the Premiership clash against Liverpool.

From the resulting set-piece, Mooney won a header at the far post but his effort lobbed onto the top of Hilario’s net.

Stefan Oakes had sight of goal with a free-kick after Kalou handballed on the edge of the area, while at the other end Sahar forced Batista into a save with a low drive.

But the hosts were level in the 77th minute after Mooney flicked on for Easter to chase, showing strength to hold off Essien and then steering past Hilario.

Oakes could have grabbed glory with three minutes remaining but his free-kick was off-target.

WYCOMBE: Batista, Martin, Antwi, Williamson, O’Halloran, Oakes, Bloomfield (Torres 75), Doherty, Betsy, Easter, Mooney (Dixon 88).

CHELSEA: Hilario, Geremi, Bridge (Lampard 67), Ferreira, Ashley Cole, Essien, Makelele, Mikel, Ballack, Kalou (Sinclair 90), Wright-Phillips (Sahar 61).

Tennents Scottish Cup, third round: Aberdeen 2 Hibernian 2.