Blackpool endured an opening weekend to forget as they suffered a 2-1 defeat to Crawley Town at Broadfield Stadium.

Rushian Hepburn-Murphy and Junior Quitirna, with help from a Matthew Pennington deflection, were both on the scoresheet for the Red Devils, as the bookies’ relegation favourites gave a good account of themselves on their League One return.

Meanwhile, off the bench, Ashley Fletcher claimed a consolation on his competitive debut in Tangerine, deflecting in a clearance from goalkeeper Jojo Wallacott.

The ex-Watford man was introduced in the 71st minute alongside Jake Beesley, with the pair replacing Jordan Rhodes and Kyle Joseph - who were unable to trouble the home side.

Meanwhile, Elliot Embleton was brought on after an hour following his return to the club last week, while Rob Apter featured in the final 10 minutes.

Discussing the timing of his substitutes involving the strikers, Blackpool boss Neil Critchley said: “It’s easy when you’re 2-0 to go ‘there’s so much wrong, let’s change it’ - it doesn’t work like that.

“The performance was fine, you can’t just change because the scoreline is against you. You have to do the right thing for the team, and I felt we did that.

“When you’re chasing the game, you’re loath to take Jordan Rhodes off because he’s a goalscorer but it was the right thing to do because we needed something different.

“We want a bit of energy because the game was dying a little bit, and they (Fletcher and Beesley) provided a different test to the defenders.

“Crawley pressed aggressively, man for man, so it’s not easy to get the ball into the striker with good quality, but I felt the subs made a big difference. Sometimes the two that start line the success up for the players who come on later on.

“Jordan and Kyle were very good in pre-season but it didn’t quite happen for them today - that can happen sometimes.”