Stalemate ends Blackburn and Villa hopes

Blackburn Rovers and Aston Villa both missed out on the end-of-season play-offs in Division 2 after a goalless draw at Ewood Park.

Rovers started the evening a point ahead of West Ham United and needed to match their result at West Bromwich Albion, while Villa knew that if they won and the Hammers did not, they would qualify.

West Ham's 4-0 win ended Villa's hopes but a victory would still have been enough for Blackburn.

But Willem Tomlinson hitting the post with a 25-yard free-kick was as close as they got, as it was the Hammers who set up a semi-final with Wolverhampton Wanderers.

See: Blackburn report | Aston Villa report

See: PL2 tables