Port Vale knocked Blackpool out of the EFL Cup.

Blackpool were knocked out of the EFL Cup following a first round 1-0 defeat to Port Vale at Bloomfield Road.

A second half header from Mo Faal proved to be the difference between the two teams - in a game of limited chances.

The result marks another match to forget for the Seasiders, who head into Saturday’s League One meeting with Huddersfield Town on the back of three consecutive defeats in all competitions.

Last ditch recovering challenges were required from both sides during the opening exchanges. Olly Casey did well to clean up a messy situation for Blackpool to stop a shooting opportunity, while ex-Seasiders loanee Ben Heneghan made a superb challenge to stop Tom Bloxham from running through.

From there, the action was very limited, with the clearest chance before the half hour mark being a blocked Jordan Brown shot in the box.

Things didn’t improve much further after that either. A foul on the edge of the box ahead of the break gave Lee Evans a sight of goal, but his attempt was hit over the bar.

Following the restart, Brown forced Marko Marosi into the first save of the evening, with a shot from distance requiring quick reactions from the 31-year-old.

Down the other end, a chop inside from Jayden Stockley left Michael Ihiekwe on the floor, but the Port Vale striker couldn’t keep his eventual effort down.

Heneghan also came close for the visitors, with the defender having a shot blocked in front of the face of goal.

Off the bench, Niall Ennis added a bit more threat to the Blackpool attack - and came close with a shot into the side-netting after being played through by Emil Hansson.

While the Seasiders strike wasn’t far off, a Port Vale substitute was able to find the back of the net, with Faal heading home from a header in the 75th minute.

The closest Bruce’s side came to pulling one back was through Evans, who hit his second effort of the night over the crossbar.

Blackpool FC: Bailey Peacock-Farrell, Jordan Brown, Olly Casey, Michael Ihiekwe, Hayden Coulson, CJ Hamilton (60’), George Honeyman, Lee Evans, Emil Hansson (72’), Tom Bloxham (60’), Dale Taylor (60’).

Substitutes: Franco Ravizzoli, Andy Lyons, Niall Ennis (60’), Ashley Fletcher (60’), Malcolm Ebiowei (60’), Zac Ashworth, Kylian Kouassi, Ryan Finnigan (72’), Spencer Knight.

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