Bacup Borough 0 AFC Blackpool 2

Jacob Gregory had the first chance of the game when he drove into the box but his effort was saved and moments later the AFC captain fired over from Sam Smedley’s pass.

Nathan Whalley found space on the edge of the box, eight minutes in, but that was also saved by the man in between the sticks.

Jacob Gregory’s freekick in the second half was the next effort to be saved and despite the ball falling to the feet of Josh Winder, he was unable to get enough purchase on his shot which was eventually cleared.

With 15 minutes left to play, Liam Birchall found the back of the net, with a deserved stroke of luck.

The full-back wriggled his way past the opposition on the right-hand side before whipping a cross into the box, catching the goalkeeper by surprise, the ball rippled in the back of the goal, making it 1-0 to the away side.

After the restart, the Mechanics could’ve doubled their lead, as Gregory was played in behind, but his effort was saved.

And despite Bacup’s best attempt to equalise, Blackpool did well defensively and were awarded another opportunity in added time.

Luis Cantello made a tackle in his own half before galloping away in true Grand National fashion, beating five or six men, eventually drawing a foul in the penalty area with the referee awarding a spot-kick for the Mechanics.

A fantastic bit of play from the young midfielder, whose burst of pace and energy at the end of the game took the whole Bacup team by surprise.

With Ben Duffield back in the squad, the experienced forward stepped up to take the penalty and slotted the ball into the bottom right corner, doubling AFC’s lead.