Frank Lampard returns with a brace

Chelsea 3-1 Huddersfield soccernet

Second-half goals from Frank Lampard and Salomon Kalou eased Chelsea into the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 3-1 win after Huddersfield had briefly threatened to cause an upset at Stamford Bridge.

Michael Collins stunned Chelsea when he put Town level seconds before half-time to cancel out Lampard's opener in the 18th minute.

But Town could not build on that and Chelsea's quality eventually told as the holders comfortably made it into the last eight of the competition.

The return of Chelsea's inspirational captain John Terry gave their much-changed side some semblance of familiarity.

Lampard was the only survivor from the side that started against Liverpool in the Barclays Premier League last Sunday as coach Avram Grant rested some of his stars ahead of their Champions League clash with Olympiacos in Greece on Tuesday night.

Chelsea should have been in front as early as the sixth minute when Kalou, one of four players back from African Nations Cup duty, crossed for Scott Sinclair to try to curl the ball beyond Matthew Glennon in the Town goal.

Sinclair would have been successful if it had not been for the quick-thinking Robbie Williams, whose clearance demonstrated Town had the determination to handle that kind of pressure.

Predictably, it was all Chelsea in the early stages of the contest and Steve Sidwell should have done better with an 18-yard drive in the 15th minute but he sent his effort high over the crossbar.

The opener arrived in the 18th minute and it was Lampard's 100th goal for the club.

Sinclair's low cross from the right wing eluded the retreating Town defence and the ball fell invitingly for the England midfielder to drill a low right-foot shot into the bottom corner.

Another Sinclair cross moments later almost brought Chelsea a second but Chris Brandon nipped in to take the ball off Kalou's right foot at the last second.

The FA Cup holders were far quicker on the ball than their lowly opponents and there was no respite for the often over-run Terriers.

Huddersfield managed a rare foray into Chelsea's half in the 31st minute but Brandon was unable to latch onto Luke Beckett's pass before Chelsea goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini arrived to snuff out the danger.

Chelsea continued to dominate though and Sinclair was unlucky to see his 18-yard drive charged down by Robert Page in the 36th minute.

A speculative cross by former Chelsea player Frank Sinclair was deflected for a Town corner a minute later and it required Terry to clear a shot from Phil Jevons off the goal-line.

It was the closest Town had been to a goal and moments later Nathan Clarke sent a 25-yard drive just wide of Cudicini's right-hand post.

Normal service resumed immediately with a shot from Lampard deflected for a corner at the opposite end.

Town were beginning to gain some territory as the half-time whistle approached but an equaliser looked distinctly unlikely.

However, Huddersfield stunned the Premier League title chasers with an leveller just seconds before half-time when Collins collected a pass from James Berrett and slipped the ball under Cudicini.

It was clear from Chelsea's lacklustre start to the second half Town's goal had shaken the hosts.

Brandon was unlucky to see his shot deflected to safety when Beckett nodded the ball into his path on the edge of the penalty area in the 51st minute.

Moments later Beckett had Tal Ben-Haim and Cudicini in two minds as he chased a long ball into the Chelsea penalty area.

Chelsea had a goal rightly ruled out for offside in the 55th minute when Terry's shot was stabbed home by Kalou, who was standing almost on the Town goal-line.

But Chelsea went back in front on the hour when Lampard scored his second of the game.

The England midfielder began and finished the move - playing a neat one-two with Kalou before firing home at the second attempt after his first effort had been partially saved by Glennon.

A fantastic run and dribble by Claudio Pizarro looked to have earned Chelsea a third in the 64th minute but when Glennon saved his shot and Sinclair slipped home the rebound, the winger was adjudged offside.

Chelsea were now in control of the game and Kalou burst through the Town defence in the 70th minute to slip the ball under Glennon for their third.

Chelsea were now content to see out the game knowing they had done the job required.

Town still tried to haul themselves back into the game but Brandon failed to hit the target with an 18-yard free-kick seconds before the end of normal time.

Avram Grant insists ton-up marksman Frank Lampard will stay at Stamford Bridge after the Chelsea midfielder's double helped the holders secure a place in the last eight of the FA Cup.

Lampard has yet to sign an extension to his current contract and has postponed further talks until the summer, but coach Grant is convinced he will stay.

'The club wants him and he says he wants to stay at the club,' said Grant.

'Everybody agreed they will negotiate in the summer. It is not my area, I am not the man who does the negotiating.

'I want him in the club and I think he will stay at Chelsea. I don't see any other scenario.

'I don't think there are many midfielders who can score so many goals.

'What is more important is that he's a player who knows how to give assists as well as score goals. He is a very good player.

'He deserves to score 100 goals and more, maybe he will score 200, I don't know.'

Victory over Huddersfield gave Chelsea a lift at the beginning of what Grant believes is one of the most important weeks of the season for them.

They now travel to Greece to play Olympiacos in the last 16 of the Champions League before facing Tottenham in the final of the Carling Cup at Wembley next Sunday.

Grant added: 'We are in all the competitions. We won today and we are in the last eight of the FA Cup.

'The most important months have been December and January. We missed so many players but with just 14 or 15 players we stayed in all competitions.

'This is a big week because we did a fantastic job in those two months. It is a big week, I cannot say it is the biggest one, but it is important.'

Grant was particularly pleased with the return of captain John Terry. The defender played his first game since December after recovering from a fractured foot two weeks ahead of schedule and looked back to his best.

'He's fantastic,' said Grant. 'I didn't plan for him to play 90 minutes, only 70. But he was looking so good I left him on the pitch. I am very happy to see him back.'

Huddersfield manager Andy Ritchie felt his side had been lifted by their shock equaliser just before half-time but paid the price for 'annoying' Chelsea.

Ritchie said: 'The goal gave us a real lift at half-time and I thought we came out in the second half and looked very dangerous in the first 15 minutes.

'I think we annoyed them and they managed to take the game on. We knew it was going to be a massive task but the lads have not disgraced themselves.

'We had some good play in the second half, we kept the ball at times. They move the ball so quickly and we knew it would be hard for our lads to maintain the effort. But I thought we did.

'Lampard is top notch. He has drive and vision and he moves the ball so quickly.

'But Chelsea pass the ball at a pace. It moves your players around and that's what produces the holes in your defence. Frank was super today. He is always going to score goals.

'We were a little bit in awe of them and I think some of our tackles could have been a bit stronger physically.'

Chelsea boss Avram Grant:
"We are in all the competitions. We won today and we are in the last eight of the FA Cup.

"We missed so many players but we stayed in all competitions.

"I didn't plan for John Terry to play 90 minutes, only 70. But he was looking so good I left him on the pitch. I am very happy to see him back."

Huddersfield boss Andy Ritchie:
"It was always going to be a massive task but the lads have not disgraced themselves. We had some good play in the second half.

"They move the ball so quickly and we knew it would be hard for our lads to maintain the effort. But we did.

"We were a little bit in awe of them and I think some of our tackles could have been a bit stronger physically."

Chelsea: Cudicini, Ferreira, Ben-Haim, Terry, Bridge, Sidwell (Shevchenko 75), Obi, Lampard (Essien 81), Kalou, Pizarro (Anelka 85), Sinclair.
Subs Not Used: Hilario, Carvalho.

Goals: Lampard 18, 60, Kalou 70.

Huddersfield: Glennon, Sinclair, Clarke, Page, Williams, Collins, Brandon, Holdsworth, Berrett (Schofield 85), Beckett (Booth 80), Jevons (Kamara 73).
Subs Not Used: Eastwood, Mirfin. Goals: Collins 45.

Att: 41,324

Ref: Mark Clattenburg (Tyne & Wear).

BBC Sport man of the match: Chelsea's Frank Lampard