Didier Drogba struck late to clinch a 2-1 victory for Chelsea over Arsenal in the FA Cup semifinal at Wembley on Saturday. The Ivory Coast striker pounced on Frank Lampard's lofted pass with six minutes remaining to give Chelsea its first FA Cup success over Arsenal since 1947. Arsenal had taken an 18th minute lead through Theo Walcott's deflected volley but Florent Malouda's near post shot leveled the scores before halftime. Arsenal had the better of the second-half chances before some hesitation by second-choice goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski let in Drogba who slotted home from a tight angle. Manchester United and Everton will meet in the second semifinal on Sunday to decide which team meets Chelsea in the May 30 final. In the Premier League, Sunderland and Stoke both boosted their chances of avoiding relegation with 1-0 wins. Stoke beat visiting Blackburn through a 75th-minute goal by Liam Lawrence to move nine points clear of the relegation zone and push Rovers deeper into trouble, while Djibril Cisse scored just before halftime to give Sunderland victory against Hull. While Stoke, which is in its first topflight season since 1985, now looks to be safe from the drop, Sunderland is still in danger despite moving above Blackburn and Hull into 15th place. The northeastern club has 35 points, one more than the teams it leapfrogged and four more than 18th-place Middlesbrough, which stayed in the relegation zone after a 0-0 draw with Fulham. “We had to win,” Sunderland manager Ricky Sbragia said. “I didn't care how we played. It was important we didn't lose today and we got the goal at the right time.” Portsmouth is also effectively safe after Nwankwo Kanu scored to earn a 1-0 win over Bolton. Aston Villa missed the chance to consolidate its hold on fifth place after Diego Tristan hit an 85th-minute equalizer to earn West Ham a 1-1 draw at Villa Park. Wolverhampton Wanderers became the first club this season to clinch promotion to the Premier League after a 1-0 win over visiting Queens Park Rangers, while Charlton - which was only demoted from the topflight in - was relegated again, this time to League One, following its 2-2 draw with Blackpool. Leicester won 2-0 at Southend to ensure that its first season in English football's third tier will end with promotion back to the League Championship. Matt Fryatt scored his 30th and 31st goals of the season to help the Foxes clinch the League One title.
