CHELSEA hit 10-man Macclesfield for six after the Silkmen had scored a shock first-half equaliser at Stamford Bridge. A hat trick from Frank Lampard and goals from Shaun Wright-Phillips, Mikel Jon Obi and Ricardo Carvalho earned Chelsea a place in the next round.

But Town, who cancelled out Lampard's opener with a John Murphy goal, were rocked by goalkeeper Tommy Lee's controversial dismissal for bringing down Andriy Shevchenko just seconds after the restart and they never recovered.

Jose Mourinho, for all his talk about a depleted squad, still managed to rest four of his major stars and Macclesfield's hopes of causing one of the greatest upsets in FA Cup history were given little credence prior to the kick-off.

But in the torrential rain which fell on Stamford Bridge, Paul Ince's side had little to concern themselves about in the opening 12 minutes. Chelsea's unfamiliar diamond-shaped midfield, of which only captain Lampard was a regular, did not possess the cut-and-thrust normally supplied by the likes of Michael Essien and Michael Ballack.

It was 13 minutes before the Premiership champions managed a shot on goal and then they twice came close to opening the scoring in a matter of seconds. Shevchenko forced Macclesfield keeper Lee into a save when Jordan Hadfield had failed to control a loose ball in the penalty area and then Salomon Kalou shot just wide from 18 yards. Their attempts were a portent of what was to follow, though, as Chelsea took the lead in the 16th minute through Lampard.

Kalou outstripped Carl Regan for pace on the left flank and when WrightPhillips failed to fire home his cross, the ball fell perfectly for Lampard to slot home his 10th of the season.

In the 22nd minute Chelsea had a second goal ruled out for offside when Carvalho forced home the rebound after Lee had pushed out a free-kick from Shevchenko. In the 32nd minute Macclesfield managed to put Chelsea under pressure for the first time.

Martin Bullock collected a loose ball inside the Chelsea half and attacked the retreating Geremi before moving inside and letting fly with a 20-yard shot which went wide of Hilario's lefthand upright.

Macclesfield were far from overawed by the occasion though and while they were lacking in the kind of quality and class Chelsea are used to facing in the top flight every week, they epitomised the aggressive approach that was so often the trademark of manager Paul Ince during his playing days.

The League Two side had come into the game on the back of eight wins and two draws under Ince and they deservedly grabbed a shock equaliser five minutes before the interval. Carvalho was the guilty culprit for the champions when he made a hash of an attempted clearance to leave Murphy clear on goal. The big Macclesfield striker made no mistake with his finish as he sent his shot through the legs of the diving Hilario.

But the joy of the travelling Macclesfield army turned out to be short lived as Lampard restored Chelsea's lead within a minute. Alan Navarro failed to control the ball in midfield and when Lampard took possession, he sent a 20-yard drive underneath Lee to put the Premiership champions back in front.

Macclesfield's dreams of a cup upset disappeared when goalkeeper Lee was harshly sent off by referee Lee Mason for colliding with Shevchenko. The Ukrainian forward had been put through by Wright-Phillips but lost his footing and was already falling when he fell over the onrushing Lee.

Town, with no reserve keeper on the bench, replaced striker Matt McNeil with James Jennings while defender and captain David Morley went in goal. Their plight was worsened seconds later when Lampard converted the spot-kick to complete his hat-trick.

It was a cruel blow for the League Two side who had briefly looked capable of giving Chelsea a game of it towards the end of the opening half. But down to 10 men, without a regular keeper, and trailing by two goals, it was now more of a case of damage limitation for Ince's men.

Yet Morley showed his prowess in the 54th minute when he saved superbly to deny Shevchenko as he burst into the penalty area in a bid to finish off a clever pass from Kalou. In the 63rd minute though Macclesfield showed their fighting spirit was still evident as goalscorer Murphy forced Hilario to tip his shot over the bar. At the opposite end, the Silkmen continued to live dangerously and a Wright-Phillips cross was headed wide by Kalou with Morley stranded.

Wright-Phillips made it worse for the minnows when he converted a Lampard cross in the 66th minute.

Town were then reduced to nine men when Miles was forced to leave the action through injury and Chelsea hit a fifth in the 81st minute through Mikel's 20-yard drive . . . his first goal for the club.

But the scoring was completed four minutes from time by defender Carvalho who drove home the rebound after Morley had spilled a cross from Wright-Phillips into his the Portuguese player's path.