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Holders Chelsea ignore Terry absence to reach last eight

LONDON - FA Cup holders Chelsea shrugged off the absence of captain John Terry to cruise into the quarter-finals with a 4-1 win over Championship side Cardiff in the fifth round on Saturday.

With Terry granted time off to fly to Dubai to be with his wife as he deals with allegations of an affair, Ashley Cole sidelined after ankle surgery and Petr Cech and Nicolas Anelka rested, Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti sent out a slightly unfamiliar line-up at Stamford Bridge.

The Italian’s team was still strong enough to kill off Cardiff. In the second minute, Didier Drogba ran onto Jon Obi Mikel’s long pass and fired past Cardiff goalkeeper David Marshall for his 23rd goal of the season.

Cardiff forward Michael Chopra stunned the hosts when he punished poor marking to head the equaliser from Chris Burke’s 34th minute cross.

But Chelsea finally subdued Dave Jones’s side and regained the lead the 51st minute thanks to Michael Ballack’s cool finish from Drogba’s pass.

Young striker Daniel Sturridge added the third goal when he fired through Marshall’s legs in the 69th minute and Salomon Kalou, heading in Paolo Ferreira’s cross, completed the rout with four minutes left.

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