BLACKBURN Rovers' youth team players suffered more semi-final heartache at the hands of Aston Villa as the under 17s bowed out of the national play-offs.

It was Villa who ended Rovers' interest in the FA Youth Cup at the semi-final stage earlier this month and the Midlanders took the honours again when the two sides met in this re-match at Brockhall on Sunday.

The tie appeared to be heading for extra-time when 10-man Villa suddenly grabbed a dramatic late winner to snatch a 2-1 victory and a place in the final against Everton.

"We'll never have a better chance of beating them than we did on Sunday," said Rovers' Academy director, Bobby Downes.

"It was a great opportunity for us but we couldn't take advantage.

"We went a goal behind early on but then got back into it and we were competing well.

"Villa then had a man sent off with 15 minutes to go and we felt we'd have an excellent chance if we could take the tie into extra time.

"But they scored in the last minute and that killed us off. It was very disappointing."

Villa seized the initiative when they scored against the run of play early in the first half.

However, Rovers soon hit back courtesy of central defender Craig Barr, who scrambled the ball over the line after a corner had created panic in the Villa defence.

As the half wore on, Rovers forced a number of corners but Keith Barker and his strike-partner, Joe Garner, failed to make the most of several presentable chances.

The mercury rose on and off the pitch after the break as the referee brandished a spate of yellow cards.

Finally, Villa lost their cool and Craig Gardner was dismissed for a second booking with a quarter of an hour still remaining.

At that point, Rovers scented victory and as they looked to press home their numerical advantage, Garner skilfully created an excellent opening for himself but crucially delayed his shot and the chance went begging.

Villa, to their credit, refused to buckle in the closing stages and their steely resolve was eventually rewarded in the dying seconds with a winner and a ticket to the under 17s final.

"We should have finished them off when we had the chance," said Downes.

"But I suppose when we get chance to reflect, it hasn't been a bad season. We've got to the semi-finals in this competition and the semi-finals of the FA Youth Cup."

Meanwhile, Rovers' Under 19s finished second in their league following a 2-0 win against Leeds United in their final game.

However, only the top team goes through to the end of season play-offs and that honour went to Manchester City.

In the meantime, Andrew Taylor and Keith Barker have both been called into the England Under 18 squad for two games against Sweden this week.

Barker received his first ever call up while Taylor has been named in a squad before but didn't get the chance to play.

The first of the two games takes place tonight in West Riding. The second has been scheduled for Thursday night at the home of York City.