Reading 0 - 1 Chelsea

Reading 0-1 Chelsea

Updated: December 3, 2003, 5:17 PM ET

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink pounced in the second half to steer Chelsea into the quarter-finals of the Carling Cup courtesy of a 1-0 win, but Claudio Ranieri's star-studded side made hard work of First Division Reading.

• Ranieri hails Hahnemann

Hasselbaink capitalised on some excellent work from Frank Lampard and Hernan Crespo to claim his ninth goal of the season but Chelsea were guilty of missing a hatful of chances.

Argentina striker Crespo was the main culprit and, although he dazzled on occasions with his devilish footwork and mazy runs into the box, he should have finished the match with at least one goal under his belt.

Lampard, Joe Cole and Marcel Desailly also went close, with the Blues skipper completing a full 90 minutes after spending more than two months on the sidelines with a hip injury.

Ranieri fielded five of the side which defeated Manchester United on Sunday - Lampard, Joe Cole, Geremi, Crespo and John Terry started - but it was not all one-way traffic.

Reading boss Steve Coppell said in his programme notes that his players would not be in awe of the collection of household names lining up against them at the Madejski Stadium, and so it proved.

They could have bagged the opener had Nicky Forster and Bas Savage showed a little more composure in front of goal and they dominated long periods of the second half, despite Hasselbaink's goal.

Ivar Ingimarsson went desperately close with 12 minutes to go and was left to curse Lampard's quicksilver reactions as the England midfielder cleared off the line with Chelsea's debutant keeper Neil Sullivan beaten.

The opening was one-sided, though, as Chelsea launched the first meaningful attack when Hasselbaink combined with Lampard, but the former Leeds striker squandered the opportunity while moments later Jesper Gronkjaer forced Marcus Hahnemann into a fine save.

A slick ball from Andy Hughes played in Forster only for the Reading marksman to blaze his shot over the crossbar, but the visitors' superiority was already beginning to tell with Lampard and Desailly both going close.

Desailly had the goal at his mercy but managed to head over the bar while Cole was also guilty of wasting a fine chance after gathering up Geremi's pass and pushing his shot wide of the left post.

Reading went close in the 18th minute when Savage met Nicky Shorey's cross only for the midfielder to nod inches wide as Chelsea's defence suffered a temporary lapse of concentration.

Crespo should have put Ranieri's side ahead in the 24th minute following Gronkjaer's jet-heeled dash down the left but his snatched shot missed the target with just Hahnemann to beat.

Chelsea then appeared to go off the boil as Reading began to scrap it out on equal terms but the visitors' fans were woken up by the sight of Crespo weaving along the outside of the area only for his final shot to hit a post and rebound across the goalline.

The Argentinian then went from the sublime to the ridiculous by firing off-target when he should have done much better as the visitors finished the half with a flourish.

Chelsea threatened shortly after the restart when Crespo split the Reading defence with a pinpoint pass but Hasselbaink dithered, allowing the defence time to reorganise and scramble to safety.

Coppell's side continued to hamper their top flight opponents, however, and Hasselbaink's booking for dissent was a clear sign of Chelsea's growing frustration.

But the Dutchman took his revenge in the 57th minute when Chelsea finally broke the deadlock. Lampard did the damage with a tremendous long ball which found Crespo before the former Inter Milan striker squared to Hasselbaink and he made no mistake.

Reading substitute Scott Murray forced Neil Sullivan into an athletic save as the home side failed to let the goal dampen their spirits and they enjoyed something of a purple patch as the Blues cooled off once again.

Ingimarsson saw his 78th-minute header cleared off the line by Lampard as the Royals pressed ahead in search of the equaliser but despite battering away at Chelsea's defence, they were unable to break through.

Ranieri hails Hahnemann

Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri paid tribute to Marcus Hahnemann after watching the Reading goalkeeper make several superb saves.

'I thought Reading's keeper did a fantastic job tonight,' declared Ranieri.

'He saved four or five great chances and kept them in the game. Crespo was particularly unlucky, but hopefully he will be able to score in training tomorrow.

'Their keeper meant it was an exciting game because it was still open until the end.

'It was a good match which the crowd will have enjoyed. Both teams worked hard and there were plenty of chances. I'm pleased with the way we performed.'

Ranieri made no apology for the clutch of household names he fielded after starting with five of the side which defeated Manchester United.

'I will always put out a strong team which can take care of every match,' he said.

'My squad is full of good champions and they deserved to play. We want to win every competition and we treat all our opponents with respect.'

Chelsea will now meet Barclaycard Premiership strugglers Aston Villa in the quarter-finals, but Ranieri insisted: 'There isn't an easy match at this stage of the competition, every game is difficult.

'All that matters is that we play well.'

Reading boss Steve Coppell was impressed with the spirit shown by his side after watching them resist until the end, but admitted his defence was at fault for Hasselbaink's second-half winner.

'I was half hoping they would play the reserves, but when I did see their line-up I thought it would be a great experience for my lads,' he said.

'They have spent many millions on their squad so I'm pleased we weren't passive.

'We were aggressive, positive and played a full part in the match and that was good. We didn't get frightened, we created a couple of chances and we kept going forward.

'But it was a shame the way they scored - it was all down to a miscommunication between my central defenders and Crespo managed to find some space.

'Even then my boys refused to lay down and die.'