Blackpool continued to put pressure on the teams above them pushing for the play-offs as they claimed a 3-0 victory over Reading.

Following a tight first half, the Seasiders took charge of the contest shortly after the break, and never looked back.

Sonny Carey continued his good run of form with a brace, with his two goals coming either side of a goal from Olly Casey.

Steve Bruce’s side are now just two points off the seventh-place Royals in the League One table, while they have overtaken Leyton Orient to move into ninth.

Meanwhile, Huddersfield Town dropped points in their game away to Lincoln City, but do have a game in hand on the Fylde Coast outfit, along with Reading, the O’s, and Bolton Wanderers- who are now in sixth after beating Wigan Athletic.

The first clear opportunity of the contest at Bloomfield Road came Blackpool’s way. A break down the left side resulted in a shooting opportunity for Carey, which prompted a strong save from Joel Pereira at his front post.

On the back of two goals in his last two outings, Niall Ennis would’ve headed into the match in a confident mood, but was unable to sort out his feet to convert a huge opportunity in the box following a good ball from Rob Apter from the right.

While the Seasiders had the clearer chances throughout the opening 45 minutes, it was the Royals who seemed to have more control with the ball at their feet for the majority of the half.

Following the restart, Carey called Pereira into action once again, with the Royals goalkeeper pushing away a side-footed attempt from the edge of the box.

The midfielder wouldn’t be denied on his next attempt, which came a couple of minutes later.

A flick from Ennis moved the ball into the path of Ashley Fletcher - who slotted a nicely weighted pass through for Carey to finish into the far corner from a tight angle.

No sooner had the celebrations for the first goal had finished, they were reignited for a second.

Reading were unable to deal with a cross into the box, with Casey pouncing on the ball to slot past Pereira.

Carey came close to claiming another for his personal tally, but saw his effort saved, before Fletcher was also denied on the rebound.

Off the bench, Tom Bloxham came close as well, with the 21-year-old forcing Pereira into action at his front post.

The January arrival had another golden opportunity to add his name to the scoresheet in the closing stages. After seeing his initial attempt saved after a powerful run into the box, the ex-Shrewsbury Town man placed the rebound over the crossbar.

A third goal did come the Seasiders’ way in stoppage time, as Carey tapped home from close-range to sign off an impressive night at Bloomfield Road.

Blackpool FC: Harry Tyrer, Odel Offiah, Olly Casey, James Husband, Hayden Coulson, Rob Apter (64’), Lee Evans (86’), Albie Morgan, Sonny Carey, Niall Ennis (64’) , Ashley Fletcher (76’).

Substitutes: Richard O’Donnell, Jordan Gabriel (86), Matthew Pennington, Tom Bloxham (64’), Jake Beesley, Sammy Silvera (64’), CJ Hamilton (76’).