Sorry Rovers knocked out

Blackburn crashed out of the UEFA Cup in the first round to Larissa after giving themselves too much to do at Ewood Park, winning 2-1 on the night but losing 3-2 on aggregate.

Trailing 2-0 after the first leg in Greece, a well-taken strike from Silva Cleyton after 17 minutes left Rovers needing four to progress.

Matt Derbyshire scored a retaken penalty in first-half injury-time after David Dunn was felled and Stephen Warnock fired a fine second on the volley from David Bentley's cross six minutes after the break - but it was too little, much too late.

Striker Benni McCarthy and winger Morten Gamst Pedersen had both had to content themselves with a place on the bench for Rovers, as Roque Santa Cruz claimed the sole striker's berth in Mark Hughes' team.

But an uphill task became a mountainous challenge after 17 minutes when the home defence failed to deal with a cross from the left which eventually ricocheted off Marco Foerster into the path of Cleyton, who sidestepped the defender to finish clinically from 10 yards.

The towering Chris Samba almost got the score Rovers so desperately needed, but he headed Bentley's free-kick just over from six yards when he should have hit the target.

Blackburn were looking shaky in defence and Nektarios Alexandrou's volley was deflected just wide as the Greeks sought a killer second.

The livewire Dunn then won a penalty when he was tripped by Kotsolis and Derbyshire scored at the second attempt after the keeper saved, but he was asked to retake and duly dispatched it in the left-hand corner to give Rovers a glimmer of hope in first-half injury-time.

Rovers hopes were raised further six minutes into the second half when Bentley jinked down the right and delivered a perfect cross for Warnock to volley home crisply at the far post.

Bentley almost created a third with another cross moments later but Derbyshire could only put his shot over the bar from close range, and Santa Cruz almost fashioned a third out of nothing from 25 yards, but his effort was straight at Kotsolis.