Blackpool 0-0 Bolton Wanderers: Seasiders progress to EFL Trophy semis on penalties after goalless draw at Bloomfield Road

Neither team were able to find the back of the net during the 90 minutes as the game finished 0-0- with spot kicks required to separate the two at Bloomfield Road.

In the shootout, it was the Seasiders who held their nerve, as Zac Ashworth missed the deciding penalty to give Neil Critchley’s side a 5-4 win.

Richard O’Donnell was called into action after only two minutes, with the Blackpool keeper standing tall to deny Cameron Jerome after a great flick through from Jon Bodvarsson. It wasn’t long until the 35-year-old was required again, this time stopping an attempt from George Thomason- with the majority of the early action coming in front of the Seasiders goal.

Chances down the other end were scarce, but Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel did have the ball in the back of the net; only to be quickly denied by the linesman’s flag for offside.

The visitors continued to keep O’Donnell busy, while Callum Connolly saw his name added to the book for dragging down Bodvarsson as he broke up the field, with cover from a teammate ensuring it was nothing more than a yellow.

Following the restart, Blackpool had the ball in the back of the net again, but this time the ref blew up for a foul on Joel Coleman in the Wanderers goal. Clear chances proved to be rare at the start of the second half, with Bolton also struggling to find a way through.

An effort from Matthew Pennington went just wide of the post ahead of the hour, after a shot from Karamoko Dembele had been blocked, as the Seasiders started to apply more pressure onto their opponents.

Both Kylian Kouassi and CJ Hamilton provided a positive impact off the bench for Critchley’s side, with the latter of the two curling an effort off target after Coleman found himself in no man’s land.

Heading into the closing stages, O’Donnell made another important save- denying substitute Dion Charles from close-range. With normal time not separating the two teams, penalties were required to decide the winner.

Both teams saw two of their first five spot kicks saved, which took the shootout to sudden death. After seeing Pennington finish Blackpool’s seventh attempt, Ashworth couldn’t do the same, as the Seasiders progressed.

Blackpool FC: Richard O’Donnell, Matthew Pennington, Olly Casey, Callum Connolly, Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel, Ollie Norburn, Matty Virtue, Andy Lyons, Sonny Carey (69’), Karamoko Dembele, Shayne Lavery (69’).

Substitutions: Dan Grimshaw, James Husband, CJ Hamilton (69’), Kylian Kouassi (69’), Tashan Oakley-Boothe, Josh Miles, Jack Moore.