The Hindu : Sport / Football : Ronaldo penalty puts Man U through

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Wednesday, Mar 21, 2007
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Ronaldo penalty puts Man U through

Bad tempered atmosphere for both replays

PHOTO: AFP

MARKSMEN: Shaun Wright-Phillips (right), who netted Chelsea's second goal gets away from Tottenham Hotspur's goal-scorer Robbie Keane.

London: Chelsea won 2-1 at Tottenham and Manchester United edged Middlesbrough 1-0 on Monday to reach the FA Cup semifinals and move a step closer to the dream final when it returns to Wembley.

Boro defender Jonathan Woodgate rescued Middlesbrough in the first half at Old Trafford. His vital interception in his own area thwarted a chance after Ronaldo expertly controlled the ball and tried to find Alan Smith in front of goal.

Ryan Giggs put Wayne Rooney clear in the 42nd minute, but Boro goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer raced off his line to grab the ball at his feet as the striker tried to go round him.

Stuart Downing wasted a chance for Boro early in the second half when Mark Viduka beat United defender Nemanja Vidic and set up the winger, who fired over the bar from close range.

Rooney had another chance when he got clear of the Boro defence, but Schwarzer denied him again before the goal came in the 76th minute.

Woodgate caught Ronaldo's trailing leg as the Portuguese striker broke into the area and the winger fired the penalty powerfully past Schwarzer, much to the anger of the Boro management. Heated words were exchanged between the coaching staff of both teams, even though the penalty seemed to be valid.

Morrison red-carded

Boro finished with 10 men when James Morrison was shown the red card in the final minute for bringing down Ronaldo. Second-half goals by Andriy Shevchenko and Shaun Wright-Phillips put Chelsea ahead in a quarterfinal replay at White Hart Lane before Robbie Keane replied for Spurs from the penalty spot.

Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack had two early chances at White Hart Lane, one shot flashing just wide of the post and the other saved by goalkeeper Paul Robinson.

Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech blocked a firm shot from Pascal Chimbonda in the 49th minute after the Blues failed to clear a corner.

With Spurs appearing to take control, Chelsea scored in the 54th minute.

There seemed no real danger when Shevchenko chased a ball from Shaun Wright-Phillips down the right. But he turned inside Steed Malbranque and then curled a rising, angled, left-footed shot that swung inside the far post.

It was 2-0 seven minutes later when Chelsea put together a patient move from the back before Ashley Cole drove a long pass forward. Didier Drogba chested the ball towards Wright-Phillips, who drove a low, left-footed angled 20-meter shot past Robinson into the far corner.

Spurs got back into the game when Ricardo Carvalho brought down Dimitar Berbatov in the 79th minute and Robbie Keane scored from the penalty spot.

There was trouble at the end however, as an enraged Spurs fan managed to run onto the field and tried to punch Frank Lampard, before being taken away by security personnel.

The results: FA Cup quarterfinal replays: Manchester United 1 (Ronaldo-pen) bt Middlesbrough 0; Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Keane-pen) lost to Chelsea 2 (Shevchenko, Wright-Phillips); — AP

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