IT'S Chelsea! Team-of-the-moment Colchester United will play the Premiership champions in the fifth round of the FA Cup.Jose Mourinho's men thrashed Everton 4-1 in last night's fourth- round replay at Stamford Bridge, under the watchful eye of Colchester boss Phil Parkinson.

By Carl Marston

IT'S Chelsea! Team-of-the-moment Colchester United will play the Premiership champions in the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Jose Mourinho's men thrashed Everton 4-1 in last night's fourth- round replay at Stamford Bridge, under the watchful eye of Colchester boss Phil Parkinson.

The U's will therefore enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Chelsea for a cup tie that will be televised live on Sky Sports on Sunday, February 19 (kick-off 4pm).

Parkinson watched the U's Reserves play at Millwall yesterday afternoon, before travelling across London to cast his eye over his side's next opponents in the FA Cup.

He said last night: “It's the tie that everyone wanted. I'm delighted that we've got Chelsea.

“It will be a terrific day out for the club, and especially our supporters. Everyone will be talking about it, although we have two important league games [against Huddersfield and Walsall] between now and then.

“It's the best tie that we could have had. Travel-wise it's easier for our fans to get to London than Merseyside, and financially it's the better option.

“Of course we are looking to earn as much money as possible from this Cup run. It will be a great day,” added Parkinson.

It promises to be one of the biggest games in Colchester's history, perhaps on a par with when Dick Graham's Colchester side of 1970-71 shocked the country by beating mighty Leeds United 3-2 in an FA Cup fifth-round tie at a jam-packed Layer Road.

United will have an allocation of about 6,000 tickets. Season ticket holders, Colchester United Supporters Association members and those with six or more Match Credits can claim their tickets from now until next Tuesday evening, before the remainder go on general sale from Wednesday.

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