BLACKBURN Rovers Academy will attempt to end a season to be proud of on Saturday when they welcome newly crowned FA Youth Cup winners Chelsea to Brockhall (11am).

Rovers qualified for the top group in the final stage in the Under-18 Premier League after finishing fourth behind current leaders Manchester City, Everton and Liverpool in the North Division.

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Billy Barr’s side also reached the semi-finals of the FA Youth Cup where they went down over two legs to Chelsea, who became the second club to win the trophy for three consecutive seasons when they completed a 4-2 aggregate victory over City last Wednesday.

But City bounced back to beat Rovers 2-0 at home on Saturday to move a step closer to winning the U18 Premier League final stage title and sealing their place in next season’s UEFA Youth League.

Jadon Sancho opened the scoring in the 18th minute after getting the better of the returning Matty Makinson.

While Mason Fawns, Joel Steer and Stefan Mols saw half-chances come and go, Rovers had goalkeeper Ben Ascroft to thank for keeping the score down with a string of fine saves.

But the 17-year-old was finally beaten for the second time right at the end of the match by Sancho.

Rovers boss Barr said: “It just goes to show the inconsistencies of U18s football. We were poor and it is all the more disappointing considering how well we played on Wednesday (against West Ham United).

“But we couldn’t match it on Saturday, our quality was lacking, we didn’t create many chances, and when we had possession we gave it away cheaply.

“We finish the season at home to Chelsea. We started this play-off group with a win and hope to end it with one as well.”