Coventry, on the back foot for the entire second half following George Boateng’s bizarre dismissal, were hanging on by their fingertips to a place in the fifth round of the FA Cup for the third season running when Leicester, who had spurned half a dozen clear chances to draw level, won a corner with two minutes to play. There will be some enforced changes to Chelsea’s line-up, though: Albert Ferrer is suspended and Celestine Babayaro is on international duty with Nigeria.Oxford’s on-loan goalkeeper Paul Gerrard is unavailable, the midfielder Joey Beauchamp is suspended while the giant centre-forward Kevin Francis is injured.. There’s no problem, I have a four-year contract here.”The Frenchman may not be in the starting line-up at the Manor Ground for tonight FA Cup third-round tie against Oxford United, given his recent injury problems and the form of Michael Duberry. “It’s true that I said I would leave Chelsea one day and that it is better to go after winning – it’s easier, you are appreciated more and you leave the supporters with a good memory of you But that’s all. MARCEL DESAILLY has given Chelsea a boost by declaring that he has no intention of leaving at the end of the season. The French World Cup winner had been quoted last week that he could spring a “surprise” in May by leaving to seek another challenge if the Blues won the title.
However, on his return to London, the defender insisted that his comments had been taken out of context.”It’s been a lot of noise over nothing,” he maintained. Sending off: Sheffield Utd: Quinn.Man of the match: Murray.Attendance: 7,489..

Substitutes not used: Walker, Davis (gk).Referee: A Wiley (Stafford).Bookings: Notts County: Murray. “Overall they have to be very proud of what they’ve achieved,” Hollins said. “Now we’ve got to get stuck in and hopefully get out of this league.”Meanwhile Derby, whose last visit to the Vetch had been for a Third Division fixture, were setting their heights on seeing the Twin Towers before they are demolished. They will need to show greater commitment to the cause, but there is every chance of Smith ensuring that.Goal: Harper (81) 0-1.Swansea City (4-4-2): Freestone; Jones, Bound, O’Leary (Bird 82), Howard; Roberts, Cusack, Lacey, Coates (Appleby, 68); Watkin, Alsop. Substitutes not used: Price, Jenkins, Jones (gk).Derby County (3-4-1-2): Poom; Prior, Carbonari, Schnoor; Laursen, Carsley, Bohinen (Kozluk, 82), Dorigo; Baiano (Elliott, 62); Burton (Harper, 44), Sturridge. Substitutes not used: Hunt, Hoult (gk).Referee: G Barber (Tring).Bookings: Swansea: Watkin, Alsop, Cusack. Derby: Schnoor, Sturridge.Man of the match: Cusack.Attendance: 11,383..

AS THE oldest club in the football league, Notts County tend to do things at their own pace, so while the other 15 FA Cup fixtures this weekend were fourth-round ties, Nottingham was trapped in a third-round time-warp. It was nine minutes from time before Horacio Carbonari produced one touch of class to elude his man and place a cross on the unmarked Harper’s head.Matthew Bound’s header wide was the last act of defiance from the dying Swans, whose proud and impressive manager John Hollins has transformed them from the ugly ducklings placed just above the bottom of the Third Division last May.Now Hollins and the club’s reconstituted board, with a new pounds 25m stadium to fund, may find it difficult to resist the offers that will undoubtedly come in for players like the wide midfielder Stuart Roberts. The former Hibernian striker belatedly gave the home goalkeeper Roger Freestone some work to do, though nothing initially that compared to Mart Poom’s two stops from Swansea’s Nick Cusack. After Deon Burton and goalkeeper Mart Poom had been left lying injured following the home side’s first attack, Spencer Prior, the captain, was one of too few players ready to meet dragon’s fire with fire.Burton, still suffering, was withdrawn before half-time, allowing Kevin Harper an opportunity to prove that his worth is more than the pounds 300,000 Smith paid for him earlier in the season.

Had we not improved, there was a major danger that we would have gone out.”As ever, that was an honest assessment. Swansea had created the only chances in the first 45 minutes, as well as looking the more determined side: a dreadful indictment of men on Premiership salaries. Jim Smith has been closer, desperately so when Portsmouth lost to Liverpool on penalties in the semi-finals in 1992, and he would be a popular choice to lead out one of the teams at Wembley on 22 May.
After 30 years in management, he may have mellowed – “Jim Smith, The Tea-Cup Throwing Years” will be only part one of the autobiography – but courses are still on offer in (very) basic English to his cosmopolitan playing staff on requisite occasions, of which half-time on Saturday was one “I can still turn the air blue when I have to,” Smith said. THE ROAD to Wembley is lined with the corpses of teams who did not deserve to perish. Derby County finally tossed aside Swansea’s and left South Wales believing they can improve on a poor Cup record of recent years

Two quarter-finals are the best they have achieved. Substitutes not used: Gray, Cooper, Wilbraham.Referee: N Barry (Scunthorpe).Bookings: Stockport: Woodthorpe, McIness. Sending off: Stockport: Cook.Man of the match: Carbone.Attendance: 20,984..