Blackpool boss Neil Critchley insists fatigue is not a reason for dropped points

The Seasiders were pegged back in stoppage-time on Saturday to draw 2-2 with Plymouth Argyle.

It was the third time Blackpool suffered a late setback on home turf last month, after Crewe Alexandra and AFC Wimbledon also equalised at the death.

“I’m very frustrated,” Critchley told The Gazette. “The Plymouth player (Joe Edwards) has run from a long way back and there are plenty of bodies in the box, so we had the men in there to deal with the cross.

“You’re hopeful because it’s a right-back on his left foot and if you’re lucky he skies it over the bar.

“Unfortunately for us, he’s found too much space and tucked it away in the bottom corner. It was a great finish from him, to be fair.

“It is frustrating but we’re in a good position in the league, we’ve got plenty of games to go and we’ve got a little break now which will benefit us massively. It wasn’t meant to be but we go again at Swindon on Friday.”

Asked if he thought the late blow was a case of Blackpool’s hectic schedule catching up with them, Critchley replied: “I don’t think so. Plymouth had a free week to prepare and they came out a little bit sharper than us, but tactically they stopped us doing what we wanted to do.

“They were well prepared. You could see what they wanted to do and they caused us problems.

“It wasn’t physical. If you look at how we played in the second half, our intensity and our ability to keep going was fantastic.

“When you’re 2-1 up, people then say you’re defending deep but we weren’t. It’s just a natural thing to do.

“We should have finished that game and made it 3-1. The players gave it everything. Physically we were good.”

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