On an afternoon when we needed to emulate some of the strong performances seen over the course of the season, our development squad duly delivered, even if there were a couple of scares along the way.

After a difficult start to the game where Blackburn had us pegged back in our own half, Henry Lawrence was on hand to finish off two Harvey Vale passes, ending the half positively with a brace, one from either side of the box.

Blackburn returned to the field up for the fight, and a strike from distance just three minutes after the whistle pulled them back into the game.

Unharmed, Chelsea continued to play our football and another Vale pass gave Fiabema the platform to score our third and increase his season’s tally to seven.

The hosts would score again however but just like before, the resurgence didn’t last long. Vale soon got his own name on the scoresheet, 17 minutes from time bringing an end to a frantic second half and locking in a second-placed finish.

Starting XI

For the final time this season Andy Myers was in the dugout to take charge of a PL2 game. From last week’s outing, also against Blackburn, the boss named changes to the starting team. Levi Colwill overcame a knock to return to the back three, as did Lewis Bate who lined up in his usual midfield role. In goal, Ethan Wady dropped to the bench and Lucas Bergstrom was between the sticks.

Tough start

Kicking off the Chelsea weekend on Friday afternoon, our development squad were looking to finish the season strongly away from home.

A fast start from Blackburn would cast some early doubt over a positive end though. Sam Burns was first to try his luck after a long kick forward. Luckily Lucas Bergstrom was equal to the effort low to his left and it was a huge let off for the Blues.

Moving into gear

The hosts were making things hard for Chelsea inside the first 20 minutes. Sustained spells of the ball in the opposition half were rare. But when we did eventually venture over the halfway line, the chances went begging.

Dujon Sterling was involved but Myles Peart-Harris was on the right and swung an inviting cross into the box for George Nunn to finish, but poor connection would let him down. The loose ball then fell to Henry Lawrence and he was crowded out as he fired off target.

Lawrence at the double

The half-time approach made for much better viewing from the dugout and after growing into the game there was at last a Blue breakthrough with Lawrence the man on target.

In defence Sam McClelland started the move, winning the ball back and passing to Lewis Bate. Bate then found Peart-Harris further forward who moved play wide for Sterling and he returned the favour for the attacker. His cross dropped nicely for Harvey Vale who did very well to find Lawrence on the outside and he slotted home for the opening goal of the game.

Captain Lawrence wasn’t done there though and after switching to right wing-back, following an injury to McClelland, the 19-year-old doubled our lead on the stroke of half-time.

Vale was involved again, he charged forward and dug out a cross for Lawrence to send into the back of the net. It was a perfect end to the half for Chelsea after a sticky start.

Bright Blackburn restart

Much like in the first half, Blackburn started well after the whistle and this time they found a goal within minutes of the restart. Sam Durrant tried his luck from range and Bergstrom couldn’t stop the ball from reaching the top corner. 1-2.

Blue Advantage restored

The home goal didn’t damage us too much, but the game started to get scrappy and that was evident in the build-up for our third.

Levi Colwill was pressing in the final third and won the ball back. Quick thinking from Vale saw him thread a pass through the Blackburn defence for substitute Bryan Fiabema to do the rest, slotting home with a cool finish from just inside the box.

Hosts back in it but Vale hits back

We looked comfortable in possession but a rare lapse in concentration allowed Blackburn to find a way back into the game. A simple ball forward caught our defence sleeping and Sam Burns was able to poke beyond Bergstrom to make the scores 2-3.

Almost immediately after the restart we hit back and this time our main provider, Vale, was the man to find the net. A tussle in midfield saw the 17-year-old pick up possession and drive towards the box. A low strike with his left foot was out of reach for Jordan Eastham and he recorded his first PL2 goal of the season.

Deep into injury time Nunn was required to keep our two-goal lead in place, following the ball right until the line to head clear from under the crossbar. With that piece of defending the curtain fell on this year’s PL2 campaign.

Chelsea Lucas Bergstrom; Xavier Mbuyamba, Sam McClelland (Bryan Fiabema 43), Levi Colwill (Bashir Humphreys 79); Dujon Sterling, Lewis Bate (Declan Frith 85), George McEachran, Henry Lawrence (c); Myles Peart-Harris, Harvey Vale; George NunnUnused subs Ethan Wady, Charlie WebsterScorers Lawrence 37, 45; Fiabema 55; Vale 73

Blackburn Jordan Eastham, Samuel Barnes, Lenni Cirino (Jon Nolan 63), Jake Garrett, Dan Pike, Connor McBride, Jared Harlock, Isaac Whitehall, Jalil Saadi (Louie Annesley 67), Sam Durrant (Zak Gilsenan 74), Sam BurnsUnused subs Antonis Stergiakis, George GentBooked Saadi 61Scorers Durrant 48; Burns 71