Duberry blasts path for Chelsea

DEFENDER Michael Duberry and old campaigner Mark Hughes smashed Wimbledon's gutsy resistance and put Chelsea in the last four of the FA Cup for the second time in three seasons last night at Selhurst Park.

Now Glenn Hoddle's men go to Villa Park on March 31st on a revenge mission against Manchester United, the team who humiliated them 4-0 in the 1994 final.

A missed penalty and the woodwork kept their army of fans on tenterhooks after Jon Goodman cancelled out Dan Petrescu's wonderful opener.

And the Dons, who had battled through three previous home replays to get this far, had Ruud Gullit and co on the ropes in the second half.

But then Duberry, one of the outstanding finds of the season, shattered the Crazy Gang as he rose high onto John Spencer's 79th minute right wing cross from Dennis Wise's short corner. and drilled his header past Neil Sullivan.

Duberry spent part of this season on loan at Bournemouth and this was only the 20 year old centre back's second goal for the club, his other coming in the fifth round replay against Grimsby.

Five minutes later the weary Dutchman flew to the byline on the left and pulled the ball back for Mark Hughes, three times an FA Cup winner, to grab his eighth goal and maintain his record of scoring in every round.

There was no way back this time for Joe Kinnear's fighters as Hoddle maintained his record of a major semi final in each of his three seasons at the club.

But it was again hard going, as it had been in the three previous meetings this season with their less cultured south London neighbours.

With Gullit fit and firing on all cylinders after flu, Chelsea took a single goal lead which should have been trebled. Neil Sullivan had made a series of excellent saves from the Dutchman, John Spencer and Hughes when Petrescu forged the breakthrough in the 20th minute.

The Romanian's blistering run down the left carried him through onto Craig Burley's pass and though the angle looked impossible, he crashed his third goal since his move from Sheffield Wednesday.

With Chelsea fans filling three quarters of the stadium, the visitors poured forward and Petrescu again broke clear in the 23rd minute, Alan Kimble desperately wrestling him down to concede, the penalty. But Sullivan read Wise's mind perfectly, flinging himself to his left to push the spot1 1kick away.

Gullit broke away in the 34th, minute and looked to have quashed a resilient fight back by Wimbledon with a 25 yard right foot shot which beat Sullivan, but smacked against his left hand.

But Ekoku, drifting out wide right, curled in a lovely cross and Jon Goodman, with a stooping header, glanced the ball beyond Hitchock into the far corner, his fifth goal in six games since his comeback.

Hitchock made a full stretch save from Goodman's header after he hustled past Steve Clarke and Robbie Earle pulled a snap shot wide.

Vinnie Jones, gradually getting on top of a tiring Gullit, almost swung it the Dons way with a 74th minute overhead kick from Kimble's corner.

Kimble then nearly knocked himself out when he collided with a post as he beat Wise to Gullit's delicate cross.

But then came Duberry's magnificent header to end the Crazy Gang's resistance at last and set up a cracker of a semi final.