29/10/2003  Chelsea 4 Notts County 2
 
Chelsea booked their place in the fourth round of the Carling Cup but were pushed all the way by cash-strapped Notts County in a pulsating encounter at Stamford Bridge.

The Second Division club, who are under administration and must raise £3million before December 8, were given the ideal opportunity to draw further attention to their predicament with a high-profile tie against the Barclaycard Premiership giants.

And County - struggling near the foot of the table - did not disappoint, producing a magnificent display full of passion and attacking flair which belied their lowly Nationwide Division Two status.

They threatened for long periods and went desperately close to claiming the opener only to be denied by Glen Johnson's heart-stopping work in defence and when their equaliser came through Tony Barras it was richly deserved.

But Chelsea, who fielded a powerful side including Damien Duff, Eidur Gudjohnsen and Jesper Gronkjaer, always possessed too much firepower for their opponents as Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink's stunning 14th minute strike showed.

Skipper Hasselbaink was in superb form as he combined superbly with the equally impressive Duff to terrorise the County defence and his goal was straight out of the top drawer, complementing a strike from Gudjohnsen who also scored a penalty.

Substitute Mark Stallard hauled the visitors back into the game with an opportunist 85th minute goal - debutant Chelsea Marco Ambrosio suffered a torrid evening - but Joe Cole came off the bench late on to put the result beyond doubt.

Claudio Ranieri promised to select a strong team and he was good to his word, while County picked the same team which accounted for Brentford 2-0 on the weekend.

They included highly-rated striker Stallard among the substitutes with dead ball specialist Darren Caskey filling his usual spot on the right side of midfield.

And Caskey was given an early opportunity to showcase his talents when defender Celestine Babayaro fouled just outside the area but the County ace fired his free-kick straight into the wall.

Gudjohnsen tested 'keeper Steve Mildenhall with a tame shot following some good work from Hasselbaink, but County went back on the offensive with Caskey going close in the eighth minute with another free-kick.

Mildenhall pulled off a fantastic save following Hasselbaink's header and Chelsea had Johnson to thank moments later when he cleared Nick Fenton's effort off the line and then blocked a Paul Heffernan shot which was destined for the back of the net.

And just to rub salt into County's wounds, Ranieri's men took the lead in the 14th minute when Duff fed Hasselbaink who unleashed a stunning 30-yard drive which screamed past the reach of Mildenhall.

Ambrosio had to bundle a Clive Platt header off the line following Caskey's inswinging free-kick and Hasselbaink then went close at the other end following excellent approach work from the rampant Duff.

Caskey's pinpoint accuracy in deadball situations continued to cause problems and in the 27th minute County scored the goal they so richly deserved, the midfielder floating in a corner to the far post where Barras nodded home.

Chelsea hit back nine minutes later, however, Johnson crossing for Gudjohnsen to head past Mildenhall with County's defence seemingly rooted to the spot.

Simon Baldry had a penalty shout turned down by referee Rob Styles in the 62nd minute as County entered a purple patch but once again Chelsea hit back when the visitors where threatening to score.

Billy Dearden's side were caught on the counter as Johnson fired a long ball to Gronkjaer and Mildenhall body-checked the onrushing attacker, receiving a yellow card and conceding a penalty which Gudjohnsen smashed home.

County slashed the deficit to a single goal in the 85th minute following a dreadful blunder from Ambrosio who failed to catch a loose ball and Stallard bundled home.

But Chelsea restored their advantage when Stanic's shot was blocked into the path of Cole, who had also come off the bench, and the former West Ham star coolly picked his spot to effectively guarantee the result.