A young Blackburn Rovers reserve squad finished off their season's hard work in the sunshine and the heat of Egypt as Iain Brunskill's side were invited to play two matches against the Egyptian under 20s last week.

Egypt plays host to the FIFA Under 20 World Cup this Autumn and as part of their preparation for the event, Blackburn Rovers were honoured to be invited over to play two games.

After two days of training, acclimatising to the hot conditions, Rovers made the older Egyptian's work hard in their first match. After a goalless first half the hosts scored two goals in the space of ten minutes in the second period, and although Nick Blackman pulled a goal back late on Rovers couldn't find the equaliser.

It was an early start for the 18-man squad the following day as the players and coaching staff visited the Pyramids at Giza followed by a trip to theTutankhamun Museum before a warm down session in the afternoon in the pool.

In their second game Egypt had the luxury of putting out a different eleven from the previous match, the young Rovers matching their more experienced opponents all the way.

But the heat took its toll in the final throes of the game as Rovers conceded late goals in the 88th and 94th minute, a real sickener to end on the losing side.

"It a great experience for the lads," said Reserve team boss Iain Brunskill. "We were looked after very well, and it was a great education for the lads as they came up against different styles of football as well.

"We finished both games with six first year academy lads, it was a real worthwhile trip, and it rounded off the year quite well as the lads have done well this season."

The Reserve squad was: Jake Kean, Andreas Arestidou, Phil Jones, Michael Hall, Johnny Flynn, Gavin Gunning, Jason Lowe, Alex Marrow, Julio Santa Cruz, Nick Blackman, Andy Haworth, Marcus Marshall, Callum O'Connor, Michael Potts, Gearoid Morrissey, Josh Morris, Jordan Bowen, Grant Hanley.