Chelsea Experience Brief Flicker Of Satisfaction After Winning FA Cup Once More

Chelsea players today spoke of their mild pleasure at winning one of the lesser trophies on their agenda for the umpteenth time, after a 2-1 win triumph yesterday over likeable losers Everton.

Goal hero Frank Lampard, whose second-half strike was greeted with approving applause from the small number of Chelsea fans who hadn't left to beat the traffic, said: 'It's hard to describe what it feels like to win this trophy.' After consideration, he added: 'Well, actually it's fairly easy: it's pretty much the same as when we won it two years ago. But still, it's magical to run out at Wembley. Mind you, thinking about it, we're here a lot.'

Asked what was going through his head as he struck the winner past despairing Yankee Tim Howard, Lampard confessed: 'I was mostly thinking what a nice day it was, the weather and that.'

'Very warm for May,' Lampard added. 'I know it's the tail-end of May but even so.'

Winning captain John Terry told the press that it was 'pretty nice' to win the famous trophy, which last headed to Stamford Bridge back in 2007. 'Yeah, no, I'm definitely quite happy about it,' said Terry. 'I mean, more happy than if we'd lost, anyway. You know. If you're going to be there, you might as well win.' Terry went on to reveal that the players had not undergone the traditional FA Cup celebration of drinking champagne from the cup because it 'seemed like a lot of effort' and 'two or three of the lads wasn't really thirsty, in all honesty'.

Manager Guus Hiddink ranked the victory over David Moyes's workmanlike side as 'up there in the top sixty, maybe sixty-five things in my career'.

Club officials confirmed that there would not be an open-top bus ride to honour the 2007 and 2009 FA Cup winners, but informed fans that 'if anyone wants to see the cup, Alex and Ricardo (Carvalho) are thinking of going for a bit of a drive with it tomorrow'.