Chelsea fines Morris

Cole strikes for Blackburn; Wycombe holds Fulham

LONDON (AP) -- Andy Cole scored his first goal in Blackburn Rovers colors on Tuesday as Graeme Souness' team took a big step towards its first League Cup final with a 2-1 win at division one Sheffield Wednesday.

Craig Hignett and former Newcastle and Manchester United striker Cole gave Rovers a two goal lead at half time before Zimbabwean forward Efan Ekoku replied for Wednesday in the second half at Hillsborough.

Wednesday, struggling near the foot of division one, had chances to make it 2-2 but American goalkeeper Brad Friedel made an acrobatic one-handed save to keep out Ekoku's header.

The two teams meet again in two weeks time and will meet the winner of the other semifinal between Chelsea and Tottenham. The Blues and Spurs meet in the first leg on Wednesday.

In FA Cup third action on Tuesday, Middlesbrough was held 0-0 by Wimbledon and must replay so that Manchester United doesn't yet know who will be its fourth round opponent.

Division two Wycombe Wanderers, which reached the semifinal last season, almost pulled off another shock when it led Premier League Fulham 2-1 with three minutes to go with a penalty by Steve Brown and another strike by Jermain McSporran.

But French midfielder Steve Marlet snatched an equalizer to go with a strike by Sylvain Legwinski early in the second half.

In Scotland, defending champion Celtic cruised into the fourth round of the Scottish Cup with a 5-0 win at division two Alloa with goals by Bobo Balde, Morten Wieghorst, Shaun Maloney, Bobby Petta and Momo Sylla.

Chelsea fines Morris over fight in nightclub

LONDON -- Chelsea fined Jody Morris two weeks' wages Tuesday, a day after the midfielder was charged over an alleged fight in a London nightclub.

"Jody Morris has been fined two weeks wages for being on licensed premises two days before a game even though he was not fit," Chelsea managing director Colin Hutchinson was quoted as saying on the English Premier League club's Web site.

"Chelsea will wait until the outcome of the legal proceedings before making any further comment."

Morris, 23, was arrested and charged with common assault and affray in connection with an incident at the nightclub Thursday after going by appointment to Belgravia police station in central London on Monday evening.

On Friday Chelsea and England under-21 defender John Terry, 21, and Wimbledon's Desmond Byrne, 20, were arrested and charged with assault and affray after allegedly assaulting a receptionist at the Wellington Club in London's Knightsbridge district.

All three have been released and are due to appear Wednesday morning at Horseferry Magistrates Court in London.

Kinkladze free to leave Derby

DERBY, England (Reuters) -- Derby County have told Georgian midfielder Georgi Kinkladze he can leave the struggling English Premier League club if he wishes.

"If Giorgi wants to leave the club, then I am prepared to sell him," manager Colin Todd said on the club's official Web site Tuesday.

Todd's comments follow media reports that 28-year-old Kinkladze is available for 1.5 million pounds (US$2.16 million).

The former Manchester City and Ajax Amsterdam playmaker, who has been at Derby since November 1999, has started only four matches this season.

Laursen set to sign for Leicester

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -- Danish defender Jacob Laursen will join English Premier League side Leicester City on a two-and-a half-year contract, Danish media reported Tuesday.

It will be Laursen's second spell in England. The 30-year-old played for Derby County for over four years before joining FC Copenhagen.

"The two clubs have agreed so I expect a deal to fall into place," FC Copenhagen director Niels-Christian Holmstroem told tabloid Ekstra Bladet.

According to Ekstra Bladet, Leicester, currently bottom of the Premier League, will pay 550,000 pounds for the former Danish international.

Related information
Stories
Cardiff could face FA penalty for crowd trouble UK: Van Nistelrooy shoots way into team folkore
Multimedia
Visit Video Plus for the latest audio and video
Search our site	Watch CNN/SI 24 hours a day
	Sports Illustrated and CNN have combined to form a 24 hour sports news and information channel. To receive CNN/SI at your home call your cable operator or DirecTV.

Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.