09/01/2002 Chelsea 2 Tottenham 1 Tottenham's sports psychologist really has his work cut out now. Spurs have not only Chelsea but also the immense weight of history to overcome if they are to reach the Worthington Cup final. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink's double strike ensured that Chelsea took a deserved lead in a stormy semi-final first leg tie at Stamford Bridge. It is now an incredible 12 years and 26 games since Spurs last beat Chelsea. At White Hart Lane, the record stretches even further back - to 1987, the year that boss Glenn Hoddle left as a player. Given that mountain to climb, psychologist John Syed could probably use Eileen Drewery's healing hands, let alone the return of Teddy Sheringham from suspension, to help him rouse the squad's morale. However, while the pre-match focus was on Chelsea's determination to pick John Terry and Jody Morris just hours after their court hearings on assault charges, the game itself was unfortunately marred by off-pitch incidents. In the wake of the depressing scenes at Cardiff last weekend, the last thing that the game needed was yet more incidents for the Football Association to investigate. But a bottle narrowly missed Les Ferdinand as he celebrated Spurs' equaliser in front of the home fans and coins appeared to be thrown towards Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink as he received treatment near the visiting supporters. At least the result was just about right. Chelsea should have earned a late penalty but had to be content with a 2-1 lead to take to White Hart Lane. While their former midfielder Gus Poyet captained the Tottenham side on his first return to Stamford Bridge since his summer move, the major surprise in the line-ups was the appearance of Morris. Terry had been an ever-present before being left on the bench last Saturday at Norwich following his arrest after a nightclub incident, but Morris' last start - and his only previous one this season - was in October. Since then, he has been out injured with an ankle problem, returning to full training only last week, without a reserve team appearance behind him and recently tipped for an early exit from the club. But he was back in central midfield and his side were ahead after just 10 minutes. Again, it was their lethal strike duo involved, with Eidur Gudjohnsen setting up Hasselbaink, who finished instinctively under the body of Kasey Keller. The Spurs keeper parried Hasselbaink's fiercely-struck free-kick but Chelsea's aim was otherwise woeful, with Morris threatening the upper tier of the stands on two occasions. Tottenham gradually came back into the reckoning as they flooded the midfield with Les Ferdinand up front on his own and Sergei Rebrov surely being further unsettled by being left on the bench. Simon Davies did take every opportunity to surge forward but Spurs, with Steffen Freund stretchered off and replaced by Tim Sherwood, fizzed crosses across the penalty area without ever capitalising on them. Unsurprisingly enough, Morris, who had chased about with much effort but little reward in the first half, had run out of steam by the interval and was duly replaced by Albert Ferrer. That necessitated a change in formation to a back three and while Hasselbaink came close from a tight angle, it was Chelsea's new-look defence who immediately came under siege. Ferdinand broke clear of the offside trap only to be denied, with almost alarming ease, by Cudicini, who swooped at his feet to pluck the ball to safety. Ferdinand was clearly riled. And he duly made amends when he was offered another opening just a couple of minutes later. Terry was at fault in putting his team under such pressure that Spurs regained possession and Tim Sherwood set up Ferdinand, who this time managed to finish - albeit with Cudicini deflecting the ball on its way in. On came Slavisa Jokanovic for Gianfranco Zola, which conjured the images of stable-doors and horses bolting, while a further change was needed when Gudjohnsen went off with a head wound. The net effect, however, was for Chelsea to seize the lead, albeit from a predictable source. Ledley King was unfortunate to concede a free-kick when he was deemed to have handled the ball 30 yards out but Hasselbaink thundered his dead-ball effort into the far corner, leaving Keller rooted to the spot. Tottenham did receive a lifeline when referee Alan Wiley incredibly failed to spot that Mikael Forssell - who tried to stay up - had been tripped in the penalty area by keeper Keller with seven minutes left. But Chelsea had established a lead and for all their inconsistency in the league, they have a cup record to be proud of.