Mathis Eboue gave us an early lead with a low, driven finish into the far corner, but Sander Alamaa equalised shortly afterwards, making it 1-1 at half-time.

In the second half, we began in similar fashion with Ibrahim Rabbaj putting us back in front with his second touch after coming off the bench.

Unfortunately, Flora responded quickly again, this time through Marten Kukkonen. They later took the lead from the penalty spot through Alamaa, ending our European aspirations this term.

An action-packed first 15

Flora enjoyed a fast start in the reverse fixture, but today it was Chelsea who set the tone immediately, going ahead within two minutes. Yisa Alao lofted the ball up to Ezenwata who nodded it into the path of Eboue.

The Blues winger initially stood up his marker before dropping a shoulder, going down the line and rifling his shot against the post and into the bottom corner.

Our lead didn’t last long as Alamaa, who scored a brace in the first leg, pickpocketed Alfie Osborne and went through on goal to equalise.

Pushing for the next goal

We enjoyed the better chances of the first half and neared our second of the afternoon when Ezenwata played a driven pass across the face of goal. Eboue met it first but miskicked his shot, and the ball subsequently fell to Alao, whose effort was snuffed out by Andero Tatrik.

At the interval, the score remained level both on the afternoon and on aggregate.

Rabbaj was introduced in the second half, replacing Osborne, and made an instant impact. Eboue proved a threat again down the left wing and cut back towards the penalty spot, where Rabbaj was waiting to tuck home with only his second touch.

Unfortunately, Flora got back on level terms eight minutes later through Kukkonen.

In the 69th minute, Grimwade picked up the ball on the edge of the box surrounded; he wriggled in and out, dodging at least three Flora defenders, before aiming for the top corner - but his effort sailed just over.

Bowing out

Flora Tallinn won a penalty with 12 minutes remaining, which was converted by Alamaa to put the visitors in front. Eboue tried to provide the response, when he cut inside and went for the spectacular, but his strike was off target.

Andrew Pennie was played through with limited minutes left on the clock, his shot was hard and low but denied by Flora. There were five minutes of additional time and we pushed for an equaliser, but we couldn’t find the all-important goal.

What it means...

This defeat spells the end of our involvement in this season's UEFA Youth League.

What comes next?

Cobham Next Gen visit London rivals Tottenham Hotspur this Sunday at the Lamex Stadium. The game gets underway at 1pm GMT and supporters can watch the match live with a CFC+ subscription.

The teams

Chelsea (4-3-3): Freddy Bernal; Yisa Alao, Olutayo Subuloye (c), Alfie Osborne (Ibrahim Rabbaj 46), Calvin Diakite (Jacob Hall 87); Heze Grimwade (Jashayde Greenwood 80), Reggie Watson, Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli; Sol Gordon (Riley Ebho 81), Chizaram Ezenwata, Mathis Eboue (Andrew Pennie 81)
Unused subs: Toby Bell, Gabriel Sambou, Isago Silva, Josh Henry
Scorers: Eboue 2, Rabbaj 47
Booked: Ezenwata 36, Alao 38, Watson 59
Manager: Harry Hudson

Flora Tallinn (4-1-4-1): Andero Tatrik; Patrick Pihlak (Risto Raudsalu 88), Ronald Sammul, Joosep Palts (c) Nikita Kalmokov (Karel Isok 46); Jaron Silm (Eerik Paltser 68); Denis Zotov (Ron Neltsas 69), Marten Kukkonen, Remo Valdmets, Sander Alamaa; Karl-Tristen Lorenz (Uku Korjus 77)
Unused subs: Ron Sebastian Miss, Mark Kukk , Jaan Erik Poldma, Rocco Oja
Scorers: Alamaa 17, 78, Kukkonen 54
Booked: Zotov 4, Lorenz 60, Neltsas 72, Raudsalu 90+3
Manager: Alstaar Andris