Notts County 2 Chelsea 4Chelsea booked their place in the fourth round of the League Cup but were pushed all the way by cash-strapped Notts County at Stamford Bridge last night.

Chelsea skipper Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was in superb form and his goal in the 14th minute was straight out of the top drawer, a stunning 30-yard drive complementing a strike from Eidur Gudjohnsen.

In the 27th minute County scored the goal they so richly deserved through a Tony Barras header. Chelsea hit back nine minutes later, however, Glen Johnson crossing for Gudjohnsen to head past Steve Mildenhall.

Billy Dearden's side were again caught on the counter in the 65th minute as Johnson fired a long ball to Jesper Gronkjaer and Mildenhall body-checked the attacker, receiving a yellow card and conceding a penalty which Gudjohnsen smashed home.

County slashed the deficit to a single goal in the 85th minute with an opportunistic effort following a dreadful blunder from debutant Marco Ambrosio who failed to catch a loose ball and substitute Mark Stallard bundled home.

But Chelsea restored their advantage two minutes later when Mario Stanic's shot was blocked into the path of Joe Cole, who had also come off the bench, and the former West Ham star coolly picked his spot to effectively guarantee the result.

CHELSEA: Ambrosio, Johnson, Melchiot, Huth, Babayaro, Gronkjaer (Cole 70), Geremi, Veron, Duff, Gudjohnsen, Hasselbaink (Stanic 45). Subs Not Used: Sullivan, Lampard, Bridge. Booked: Veron. Goals: Hasselbaink 14, Gudjohnsen 36, 65 pen, Cole 87.

NOTTS COUNTY: Mildenhall, Fenton, Barras, Richardson (Nicholson 80), Baraclough, Riley (Bolland 86), Jenkins, Caskey, Baldry, Heffernan (Stallard 65), Platt. Subs Not Used: Hackworth, Garden. Booked: Mildenhall, Baldry. Goals: Barras 27, Stallard 85.

Referee: R Styles (Hampshire).