Blackpool boss Neil Critchley gives verdict on Seasiders' second half dip in Stevenage defeat

A deflected shot from Jake Forster-Caskey inside the final 10 minutes secured a 1-0 win for Boro in a game of few chances, as Steve Evans’ side claimed what could be a vital three points in the race for the play-off spots come the end of the season.

The Seasiders had started the game brightly, with Albie Morgan having a shot deflected wide and Ollie Norburn testing Craig MacGillivray between the sticks, but after the break they struggled to break down their opponents and were the team under pressure at times.

Reflecting on the game, Blackpool boss Neil Critchley said: "We were good in the first 25 minutes, and built some momentum in the game. We were the ones pushing forward; we just didn’t maintain it, but we competed, so to lose in the manner we did is difficult to take.

"We didn’t keep the ball well enough at the top end of the pitch in the second half. Our supply into the strikers wasn’t great and when we did get moments to play- we gave the ball away too cheaply. We wanted to build more pressure and territory, so that was the one aspect of the game that was disappointing.

“Sometimes when you get caught up in a certain type of game you need to have that calmness to recognise when you can bring the ball down and make two or three passes, but we didn’t quite do that well enough.”

"We kept putting the ball on the centre back’s head, and you know it’s just going to keep coming back. When we created one or two moments, our quality let us down. We should’ve walked away with a 0-0 but due to the incompetence of the officials we didn’t.”