A response was needed, a response is what we got: Blackpool back to their old selves in Blackburn Rovers draw

There needed to be a reaction from Tuesday night and we got it.

In fairness, the Seasiders usually always respond to setbacks, which is what made the manner of the miserable derby defeat so surprising given it came just three days after the heavy loss against Nottingham Forest.

But Neil Critchley’s side were back to their best at Ewood Park where they were unfortunate to only come away with a point.

A draw against a Blackburn Rovers side who are still in contention for the play-offs shouldn’t be sniffed at given the opponent, but Blackpool effectively nullified the hosts and the game was there to be won.

Nevertheless, that should take nothing away from Blackpool’s excellent performance, which included all the traits we’ve become accustomed to seeing this season - intent, purpose, tactical astuteness and bags of character.

Almost from the off you could tell the Seasiders were fired up and out to prove a point, perhaps stung by some of the criticism that came their way this week.

The visitors, cheered on by 3,678 Pool fans, squandered two golden chances in quick succession inside the opening eight minutes to take an early lead.

CJ Hamilton created the first one off his own back, pressing high up the field and forcing a mistake out of a Blackburn defender.

He did all the hard work by creating the opportunity in the first place, but he was unable to finish it off - seeing his low shot saved by the legs of Thomas Kaminski as he went through on goal with only the goalkeeper to beat.

The resulting corner bobbled its way around the Blackburn box, which wouldn’t be the first time this happened, and fell to Jordan Thorniley, who shifted the ball into a shooting position only to fire just wide.

Pool and Thorniley in particular would be made to regret this miss only two minutes later when a rather basic punt down the field from Kaminski caught out the centre-back and reached Sam Gallagher, who managed to loft the ball beyond the onrushing Chris Maxwell to give Blackburn a lead out of nothing.

To Thorniley’s credit, he didn’t let the mistake affect him and went on to have a fine game on his return to the team in place of Richard Keogh, who was rested having only just returned from injury.

That was the main theme of Critchley’s team selection, which saw Pool’s head coach make five changes from the Preston defeat.

Keshi Anderson was also given a rest, having been in a similar boat to Keogh. Dan Grimshaw missed out for obvious reasons while Ethan Robson and Josh Bowler - the most surprising of all - dropped down to the bench.

In many respects Bowler can have few complaints. He’s not been at his best in recent weeks and just because he’s been one of Blackpool’s better performers this season doesn’t mean he should be immune from being dropped.

Nevertheless, given Blackpool’s inability to create chances at Deepdale, it was still a shock to see Critchley drop the man we all know can create something out of nothing at any given time.

But it allowed Hamilton the chance to shift over to the right wing, where his off-the-ball work was excellent, while Charlie Kirk was given a deserved opportunity to show what he can do over on the left.

The Charlton Athletic loanee did well again, bringing quality on the ball and, perhaps most significantly, from set-pieces, which is something Pool have been crying out for this season.

Set-pieces, and corners in particular, looked like Blackburn’s only real threat, as Sam Rothwell’s vicious deliveries caused Maxwell plenty of problems inside his six-yard box.

But from open play, the Seasiders were on top and they ought to have been given the opportunity to equalise when they were denied a blatant penalty.

Shayne Lavery, whose workrate was simply incredible alongside Gary Madine, was clearly scythed down as he raced into the Blackburn box. Referee Matthew Donohue, who had a poor game for both sides, didn’t even acknowledge the appeals.

Much like the first-half, Pool came out of the blocks absolutely firing after half-time but this time they maintained it, dominating for the vast majority of the 45 minutes.

They only had to wait three minutes for the leveller their play deserved, coming through the unlikely source of Marvin Ekpiteta - who now has four for the season.

Quite frankly, it was a horrendously ugly goal - but who cares? Ekpiteta managed to find a way to force it over the line after a goalmouth scramble and the travelling tangerine contingent went absolutely barmy.

Pool were well in the ascendancy at this point but they had to wait until stoppage-time to carve out any presentable openings to win the game.

Ironically, it came after Critchley opted to withdraw the tiring Lavery and introduce defender Richard Keogh and revert to five at the back - seen by many as a negative change.

Yet it enabled the Seasiders to wrangle control of the ball again, reacting to Blackburn’s own tactical switches which had freed up John Buckley in threatening pockets of space.

Callum Connolly, who added the metal in midfield which was badly missing in midweek, almost caught out Kaminski with an ambitious, swerving long-range effort.

But that came after the big one, when Bowler - coming off the bench - clipped the outside of the post after being set up by fellow substitute Anderson.

Had it crept in rather than ricochet out for a corner, it would have been a fitting end to a vastly improved display from the Seasiders.

But first and foremost a response was needed - and a response is exactly what we got.