Chelsea 2 - Scunthorpe 0: Costa and Loftus-Cheek send the Blues through in the FA Cup

Chelsea laid their Bradford City demons to rest as they beat Scunthorpe United in the third-round of the FA Cup.

 

Ruben-Loftus Cheek scored his first Chelsea goal

 

The Iron hammered away at the Blues in the second half with a spirited performance after Diego Costa had given the home side the lead after 13 minutes.

Promising England youngster Ruben Loftus-Cheek swept home his first senior goal after 68 minutes to book Chelsea's place in the fourth-round.

But it was another uncomfortable afternoon at Stamford Bridge for the reigning Premier League champions - giving interim boss Guus Hiddink plenty to ponder ahead of Wednesday night's game at home to West Brom.

 

Diego Costa opened for the scoring for Chelsea at Stamford Bridge

 

The League One side screamed for a penalty after an hour, when Ramires made contact with Kevin van Veen inside the area but referee Craig Pawson shook his head - much to the despair of the travelling fans packed into the Shed End.

Hiddink named a strong Chelsea team with only four changes to the Blues team that thumped Crystal Palace 3-0 last weekend. 

Perhaps someone had given Hiddink a nudge about what happened to Chelsea against League One opposition in the FA Cup.

 

Craig Pawson waved away Scunthorpe's claims for a penalty after a foul on Kevin van Keen

 

The Blues started strong and eased early nerves when Costa beat Scunthorpe's defenders to a cross from skipper for the day, Branislav Ivanovic, and did enough to convert the ball past Luke Daniels.

The second half wore on, with the Iron growing in confidence, but their hopes were shattered when Loftus-Cheek smartly converted Cesar Azpilicueta's cutback to make it 2-0.

Jordan Clarke hit the outside of the post with a thunderous drive from distance in the final minutes but Chelsea held on to progress to the next round.

Chelsea: Begovic; Ivanovic, Zouma, Cahill, Azpilicueta; Ramires, Fabregas; Willian, Oscar, Pedro; Diego Costa.

Subs: Courtois, Terry, Baba Rahman, Mikel, Loftus-Cheek, Kenedy, Traore

Scunthorpe: Daniels, Clarke, Mirfin, Wallace, Laird, Dawson, Ness, Bishop, Williams, Madden, van Veen

Subs: Anyon, Wiseman, Canavan, McAllister, King, Adelakun, Wootton.