Newcastle:- Chelsea striker Didier Drogba broke Newcastle's hearts again as his superb late goal clinched a 1-0 League Cup quarter-final win on yesterday (Dec 21, 2006).

Drogba had come off the bench to score the winner against Newcastle in the Premiership last week and he repeated the trick at St James' Park.

Glenn Roeder's side had dominated the majority of a scrappy encounter but they were punished for failing to make that pressure count when Drogba, on as a second half substitute, struck with a fine free-kick with just 11 minutes to play.

The Ivory Coast star has scored the decisive goal in each of Chelsea's last three matches to take his total for the season to 17.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho made five changes to the side that won at Everton on Sunday, with Drogba, Frank Lampard, and Michael Ballack among those rested.

With injury-ravaged Newcastle fielding a patchwork team it was no surprise that neither side were able to find any momentum in the early stages.

Chelsea had made hard work of their 1-0 win against Newcastle last week and they fared little better early on this time, with home keeper Shay Given hardly tested in the first half.

That defeat at StamfordBridge was Newcastle's only loss in their last 10 matches and Roeder's side were first to shake off their torpor.

Nolberto Solano's pass found Obafemi Martins around 30 yards from goal and the Nigerian striker unleashed a fierce strike that cannoned off the crossbar and bounced onto the line.

The assistant referee ruled that the ball had not crossed the line but television replays were unable to show clearly if he had got the decision right or not.

Nicky Butt forced Hilario to fist away his dipping volley moments later as Newcastle took control.

Hilario was equal to former Chelsea midfielder Scott Parker's long range effort in the 37th minute as Newcastle kept Mourinho's side pinned back.

It took 45 minutes before Chelsea mounted a dangerous attack and then they came within inches of taking a lead they would barely have deserved.

Michael Essien slipped a pass through to Andriy Shevchenko and the Ukrainian drove in a low shot that hit the far post before deflecting to safety.

Chelsea were unbeaten in their last six matches, but St James' Park is not a happy venue for them after losing four of their last five visits.

It took a brave stop from Hilario to keep them on level terms after 60 minutes as he plunged at Kieron Dyer's feet to block the midfielder's shot.

Another disappointing display from Shevchenko ended with the former AC Milan star hauled off with 17 minutes to go.

Shevchenko's replacement was Drogba and, just moments after his arrival, the powerful forward broke the deadlock.

Butt fouled Arjen Robben on the left edge of the penalty area in the 79th minute and Drogba stepped up to curl the free-kick into the far corner of Given's goal.

Lampard was close to adding a second in stoppage time as his chipped effort hit a post, but Drogba had already done all the damage.