RYAN Nelsen admitted he and his Blackburn Rovers team-mates were left "gutted" by yesterday's heartbreaking FA Cup semi-final defeat.

Rovers' Wembley dreams were dashed after Michael Ballack scored a winner in the second period of extra-time to seal a 2-1 victory for Chelsea in a dramatic tie at Old Trafford.

The Blues, who are on course for an unprecedented quadruple, drew first blood when Frank Lampard stole in to score on 17 minutes.

But Blackburn came out a different side after the interval and, following intense pressure on the Chelsea goal, grabbed a deserved leveller through forgotten man Jason Roberts.

Morten Gamst Pedersen then missed a terrific chance to send Rovers to Wembley with seven minutes remaining, steering his header agonisingly wide.

That miss was to prove costly, as Ballack tucked away Chelsea's winner in the 109th minute to leave Rovers - and their fantastic travelling support - devastated.

"The dressing room is gutted," said Nelsen. "We're all bitterly disappointed, to tell you the truth.

"We were so close and we worked ever so hard. We could not have put in any more effort out there.

"We were in the ascendancy when Robbo scored. In all honesty, there was only two outcomes in my head.

"Either we were going to win or it was going to penalties.

"I still thought that until pretty much when they scored their goal.

"The ball just fell for them and he (Ballack) put it away well. I suppose Chelsea deserve the credit."

Pedersen's back-post header proved to be Blackburn's best chance of snatching a late winner, and the Norwegian was almost inconsolable afterwards.

"It was a cross and I tried to head the ball in the goal and it went wide. It's as simple as that," said Pedersen.

"I tried to place the ball, I tried to direct it inside the post, but it went wide. I will have to practice more.

"Overall, I think we did well today. We are really happy. Chelsea are a good side and they punished us.

"But we are all pleased about the way we played.

"We worked hard, we tried everything, but there's nothing we can do now, we have to get this out of our heads and look forward to the league, and fight for a European spot."

Nelsen added: "I've seen Morten put those away quite often, so he'll be disappointed.

"But saying that, he was fantastic and he did a lot of running and a lot of work.

"It's not just down to one person. We let a couple in the back go.

"But that's life. We have just got pick ourselves up."

Despite the defeat, Nelsen insists Rovers could not have given any more and believes the players showed tremendous character to force their way back into the tie.

He said: "We played incredibly well, especially in the second-half.

"I think it shows a lot about our character, the way we came back into it.

"But fair do's to Chelsea, they got the goal.

"We never made it easy and I'm sure they are pretty relieved after that."

The Kiwi also thanked Rovers' 24,000-strong travelling army for their magnificent support.

He added: "The supporters were incredible. In the second-half, when we were on attacking that goal, the fans behind were incredible.

"They were our 12th man and they really did the town proud."