09/04/2000  Newcastle 1 Chelsea 2
 
Gustavo Poyet left the Toon Army doubled up in Wembley 
agony for the third season in a row as he struck a pair of 
killer blows to put Chelsea through to their sixth FA Cup 
Final.

Poyet's two goals keep boss Gianluca Vialli's 
multi-national heroes still fighting on three fronts for glory 
this season.

The powerful Uruguayan, left out of Chelsea's Champions 
League spectacular against Barcelona on Wednesday and one of 
five changes at Wembley in Vialli's ever-rolling rotation 
system, chipped a sparkling 16th minute opener.

Then, after the rare but splendidly deserved event of a Rob 
Lee equaliser midway through the second half, notched the 
winner with a towering header.

It was the Uruguay star's 15th goal of the campaign and 
just enough to edge Chelsea home in a genuine thriller.

But you had to feel for Bobby Robson's battling Magpies and 
their marvellous fans. They tried all they could to give 
themselves another crack at Cup Final glory next month after 
dismal defeats by Double-winning Arsenal and Manchester United 
in the last two years.

And for long spells, their belligerent, lung-bursting style 
was more than a match for Chelsea's more sophisticated 
technique.

Alan Shearer, to whom Wembley has been such a citadel in an 
England shirt but without reward now in six appearances for 
his club, was left with that sinking feeling again - but how 
he battled to try to turn it around.

It was his magnificent cross which gave Lee, the man 
humiliated by former Newcastle boss Ruud Gullit - who would 
not even award him a squad number at the start of the season - 
the chance to score his first goal nearly two years and tie up 
the match with 24 minutes to go.

And if Poyet's equally memorable winner - just six minutes 
later - had not arrived so soon afterwards it was perfectly 
possible to envisage Robson's resurgent side sweeping 
home.

Right to the death they kept coming and in stoppage time, 
Chelsea's wonderful goalkeeper Ed de Goey had to stretch out a 
leg to deny Kieron Dyer's low drive.

But in the end it was yet another Blue Day for both these 
sides who produced a vibrant contest, containing bags of 
combative muscle as well as skill yet only one booking, for 
Didier Deschamps, to shame last week's turgid semi-final 
between Aston Villa and Bolton.

On this evidence, Chelsea will be firm favourites to turn 
over John Gregory's Midlands side back at Wembley next month, 
but the neutrals in the 73,876 crowd would not have minded the 
Magpies having the chance instead.

Typical semi-final nerves surfaced in the opening minutes 
with Deschamps giving the ball away for Speed to test de 
Goey's solidarity from 25 yards and then Lee being caught in 
possession deep in his own half by George Weah.

The Liberian burst through on a return ball from Chris 
Sutton and when he slipped the ball through Given's legs 
Newcastle were relieved to see an offside flag raised.

But although Newcastle then took a grip and Nolberto Solano 
had to be denied by desperate tackles as he twice cut 
menacingly into the Chelsea box, Vialli's men collected 
themselves again to make the breakthrough 10 minutes 
later.

Street-wise skipper Dennis Wise's quick free-kick, after 
Shearer fouled him, found Poyet who laid off smartly to Weah 
and continued his run into the box where he superbly clipped 
the return ball over Shay Given's head and into the top 
corner.

It was a stunning blow for Newcastle who had produced more 
early energy than in the entirety of their two previous 
humiliating Wembley visits.

And although they lost one half of their fearsome aerial 
force when the much-injured Duncan Ferguson again had to call 
it a day - this time with seven minutes of the first half 
still to go - they kept winning the midfield possession and 
plugging their direct route towards the indefatigable 
Shearer.

Sutton, who with Weah dropped back dutifully to help repel 
the missiles that were being launched into Chelsea's box, 
splendidly robbed Shearer, his old Blackburn team-mate, when 
the England captain looked as if he was about to score.

And Frank Leboeuf made a marvellous intervention when 
Solano again skipped past Jon Harley down Chelsea's left.

But it was the nippy little Peruvian who wasted a golden 
equalising chance in the 42nd minute after Shearer, with his 
chest, again executed the perfect set-up from substitute 
Didier Domi's long ball in.

With time and space to spare Solano half-volleyed wildly 
over the bar from 14 yards.

But Newcastle had found enough encouragement to pick up the 
pace again at the start of the second half when de Goey 
performed wonders keeping out a thundering half-volley from 
the industrious Dyer after Shearer got his head to Warren 
Barton's cross.

Then the Dutch keeper plunged fearlessly at the feet Nikos 
Dabizas when the Greek centre-back tried to score at the 
second attempt even though it was later confirmed that Gary 
Speed's initial through ball had found him marginally 
offside.

But even de Goey was powerless to prevent Lee's magic 
moment in the 66th minute, with Shearer again the 
architect.

The England captain turned himself into a winger, skipping 
past Leboeuf from Barton's pass down the right and putting 
over a magnificent cross for Lee, arriving late, to bullet 
home with a thrust of his neck muscles, his first goal since 
May 1998 - against Chelsea.

Vialli had taken off £10million Sutton at half-time and 
replaced him with Tore Andre Flo, the midweek two-goal hero 
against Barcelona, but the Norwegian was not in position to 
stop Lee's thunderbolt.

But parity lasted just six minutes before Poyet completed 
his double with a header just as impressive, looping it beyond 
Given's despairing reach after Harley, given space by Weah's 
inviting knock-back, chipped the ball into the area.

And Chelsea had enough experience and guile not to let a 
precious advantage slip for a second time.