Chelsea have been drawn away to Manchester City in one of the semi-finals of the (delayed) FA Cup from last season, with the tie due to take place on Halloween.

In the other cup semi, Arsenal have a seemingly easier home tie against Brighton.

At stake, a place in the final at Wembley on December 5.

The Blues’ vocal fans who travelled in midweek to Birmingham for the quarter-final were treated to a 4-0 away win, although it took more than an hour for the first goal to fly in after manager Emma Hayes made eight changes to the regular team, to give squad players a chance to perform.

It looked like being a frustrating night after Erin Cuthbert was felled in the Birmingham City area after 17 minutes, and Beth England sent the penalty kick flying over the bar.

In the second half, Sam Kerr came on and added some punch and urgency to the attack. But it was youngster Jorja Fox who made the difference, sending in an inviting looping long-range cross from the right touchline for Kerr to head home and break the deadlock.

That freed up the tension, and it was 2-0 nine minutes later, the initial shot from Millie Bright bouncing off the bar and flying in off sub Fran Kirby. Kirby got a second two minutes later, with another sub, Pernille Harder, adding the fourth goal well into stoppage time.

What will have encouraged Hayes was the interplay between Jess Carter and Aniek Nouwen in a rejigged back line, and the passion, determination and inventiveness of Fox on the right wing.

But there will also be some frustration that a revamped line-up couldn’t break down Birmingham’s defence for so long.

Keeper Zecira Musovic’s clean sheet was another bonus.

Just a shame that the FA Cup game clashed with Chelsea men’s European game against Juventus, which will have limited the audience on the FA Player.

Next up for Chelsea (who played the Birmingham match in yellow shirts and black shorts) is a home fixture in the WSL against Brighton early on Saturday morning.