Blackpool boss delivers verdict on Middlesbrough loanee after first start - with praise also shared for Everton man
Blackpool handed Sammy Silvera his first start for the club on Tuesday night - as the Seasiders endured a 0-0 stalemate with Rotherham United.
The winger made the move to Bloomfield Road last month on loan from Middlesbrough last month, after a spell with Portsmouth in the Championship was cut short, with things not working out between the two parties.
Silvera’s first four outings in Tangerine came from the bench, during which time he scored one goal and provided an assist.
The midweek game provided the Australian international with the chance to feature in Steve Bruce’s starting XI, with Rob Apter dropping down to the bench and CJ Hamilton moving over to the right wing to open the space on the left.
During the first half, the 24-year-old enjoyed some of Blackpool’s brighter moments, in what was a match of limited chances.
Cameron Humphreys was on hand to make an important block to deny Silvera after only 10 minutes, while a shot from distance later in the half went just wide of the post.
“In the first half in particular, I thought he was our biggest threat, but he’s not played a lot, and the same goes for Niall too,” Bruce after the game.
“Unfortunately, the longer the game went on, the more Sammy tired, which we knew he would.
“The 90 minutes would’ve done him good. We’ve seen bits and pieces of him, and what a good footballer the kid is. He’s had an impact, he’s scored a goal and made a goal.
“He arguably had our biggest chance in the first half, and a wonderful block from their guy stopped us from taking the lead.”
Meanwhile, another loanee played an important role in ensuring that the Seasiders secured a point, with Everton’s Harry Tyrer enjoying one of his better nights on the Fylde Coast.
Since making the move to League One last summer, the 23-year-old has struggled at times, but more recently has looked stronger on the whole.
Against Rotherham, Tyrer was on hand with eight saves in total as he kept his eighth clean sheet of the campaign.
“It wasn’t a game full of chances in either box, but he pulled off a couple of good saves and we needed him to do that,” he added.
“There were two in particular, with one being a great strike. Both were outside of the box, I didn’t think they created much either, it was on those games.”