Blackpool's hard work now paying off says Allsop

Blackpool's exhaustive work on defending at the training ground is starting to pay off, according to goalkeeper Ryan Allsop.
Ryan AllsopRyan Allsop
Ryan Allsop

The Seasiders kept their second consecutive clean sheet on the road on Saturday to draw with neighbours Fleetwood Town.

Manager Gary Bowyer made a point of the need to improve his side’s defending following the home defeats to Wigan Athletic and Portsmouth, and Allsop now believes Pool are beginning to see the benefits of their labours.

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The Seasiders number one said: “We’d been working on our defence in the build-up to Saturday and you could see how well we defended set-pieces.

“I think it was Will (Aimson) in the second half who made an unbelievable header at the back post to stop their man getting a chance at goal.

“The hard work in training seems to have paid off. It was a difficult game, especially in the second half with the wind right in our face.

“It got a bit scrappy but I felt that was down to the conditions.

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“We couldn’t play the way we wanted to play because of the weather but in the end I think it’s a good point, and on another day we maybe could have nicked it.”

Blackpool, who face Blackburn Rovers at Bloomfield Road tonight, had the better of a cagey opening half on Saturday and managed to create a couple of half-chances.

Fleetwood had the upper hand in the second period but failed to test Allsop in the Blackpool goal.

“It was brilliant (not to have a save to make),” Allsop added. “The lads in front of me have been tremendous, so I can’t speak highly enough of them.

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“To not give Fleetwood a real sniff is brilliant and something that we like to pride ourselves on. We like to defend from the front and to be solid and that showed here.

“The conditions at Plymouth away were pretty similar when we played there earlier in the season. So like I said, it was a lot more difficult in the second half and with the way we like to play we weren’t able to hit the full-backs as an outball. It was a bit more riskier because of the conditions and we had to manage that.

“We ended up going a bit more direct. Sometimes that comes into play and you have to manage it.”

Pool were forced to end the game with an unfamiliar back four after Colin Daniel and Curtis Tilt were forced off with injuries.

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When asked for his thoughts on Blackpool’s ever-changing backline, Allsop replied: “It’s been okay but obviously it’s not been ideal.

“As you can see with Will (Aimson) coming in a few games ago, you’ve also got Kelvin (Mellor) playing a bit at centre half too.

“So we’ve got the quality in the side to be able to do that and it gives other people a chance to come in, make a claim and to keep their place in the team.

“People are very capable of coming in and doing a great job.”