Crewe 1-1 Blackpool: Five things we learned

Poor finishing is not a one-off

For the umpteenth time this season Gary Bowyer's men were wasteful with their finishing. Pool wasted four or five good chances in the opening 45 minutes yet only went into the interval 1-0 up. Against a side as good as Crewe, they were always going to come up against some pressure and that turned out to be the case. Had the Tangerines managed to find a second then a two-goal cushion would have proved priceless. Eventually Pool are going to find their scoring boots and give a side a real thrashing, but the fact that this is happening time after time suggests it's a real problem.

Jamille Matt needs to get up to speed

Matt failed to make much of an impact when brought off the bench early in the second half. The man he replaced, Kyle Vassell, had linked up well with his strike partner Armand Gnanduillet and the duo caused Crewe a real headache in the first half. While Vassell tired and was hauled off, Matt failed to strike up a similar connection with Gnanduillet. Perhaps they are just too similar to play together, or perhaps he's still not match fit. If that's the case, he will need to get back to 100% soon if he wants to win his place back in the starting line-up.

Lyness is a capable replacement

Blackpool fans will have been understandably concerned to see their number one 'keeper Sam Slocombe relying on Clark Robertson to take goal kicks, and even more concerned when he was substituted at half time. But Lyness is a capable pair of hands and can be relied upon. Lyness made a good save in the second half but could have done little to stop Ryan Lowe's glancing header.

Mark Yeates can count himself unlucky

When Mark Yeates played as well as he did on Saturday, it doesn't make much sense why he's been stuck on the bench for the majority of the season. Blackpool play a 4-4-2 which is screaming out for natural wingers, and Yeates is certainly one of them. His trickery and deliveries provided a real problem for Crewe and he linked up well with Andy Taylor down the left flank. If Bowyer gives the Irishman a run of games in the side then I'm confident he will repay him.

Pool should play to their strengths

It's well known that Crewe can play extremely attractive football but can often struggle to deal with more physical sides. That proved to be exactly the case on Saturday when Armand Gnanduillet gave the Crewe defence a real battering. Blackpool are more than capable of playing some good football of their own, but when you come up against a side that struggles to defend then it makes sense to get the ball in the box at every opportunity. In Blackpool's position they can't afford to overplay it.