Blackpool's challenging Championship campaign ends on a positive with Norwich City win

Morgan Rogers’ sumptuous first-half dink proved to be the difference between the two sides in this dead rubber of a game at Carrow Road.

The Canaries couldn’t qualify for the play-offs while Blackpool’s relegation to League One was confirmed last week following the agonising 3-2 defeat to Millwall.

Stephen Dobbie’s side certainly didn’t play like they had nothing to play for though and could easily have won this by a greater margin had they been more ruthless with their chances.

Nevertheless, the visitors held on for a third clean sheet in five, which just proves what a difference Dobbie has made since coming in as interim boss - winning three of the six games he took charge of.

Blackpool were without Keshi Anderson and Jerry Yates, with neither man named in Dobbie’s squad.

Dobbie made four changes from last week’s outing against Millwall, with Josh Bowler among those to come in from the start.

Callum Connolly, Jordan Thorniley and Sonny Carey also returned to the starting line up.

Jordan Gabriel was not involved after his season was ended early last week, the defender requiring surgery after suffering a knee injury against Millwall. James Husband also dropped to the bench.

Charlie Goode, Liam Bridcutt, Kevin Stewart, Ian Poveda, Shayne Lavery, Jake Beesley and Gary Madine remain sidelined through injury, while Luke Garbutt, Dom Thompson and Kenny Dougall were all left out.

Dobbie suggested during the build-up he could hand some minutes to the likes of Alex Lankshear, Rob Apter and Brad Holmes and all three were named among the substitutes.

Norwich used the occasion to pay tribute to departing striker Teemu Pukki, who was playing his last game for the club.

The hosts created an opening for the prolific striker inside the first 20 seconds, but thankfully the returning Thorniley was there to make an important block.

That’s as much action as we saw during the early stages though in what was a sleepy opening, albeit Onel Hernandez did drag a shot wide of the Blackpool goal after cutting in from the left.

Max Aarons created another opening for Pukki, who was left in an alarming amount of space inside the box, but the striker - perhaps not knowing how much time he had - could only stab wide.

Christos Tzolis then curled narrowly wide from 25 yards out as Norwich continued to dominate the opening exchanges.

Amazingly, Blackpool took the lead against the run of play with their first attack after 16 minutes.

It was a sumptuous effort too, Morgan Rogers scoring his first for the goal with a delightful little chip over the onrushing keeper after being slipped in by Josh Bowler.

The Seasiders could have been pegged back immediately but Dan Grimshaw had other ideas, making a miraculous stop to deny Pukki from only a few yards out after Max Aarons’ initial effort had been blocked.

Saying that, Dobbie’s men could have doubled their lead seconds later with another big chance out of nowhere, as CJ Hamilton raced onto a straight long ball down the centre of the pitch only for keeper Angus Gunn to sprint off his line and deny him.

His opposite number Grimshaw was being kept busy at the other end, making another important stop to tip Gabriel Sara’s goalbound effort around the post.

Rogers was denied a second seven minutes before the interval when defender Andrew Omobamidele made a miraculous recovery to block his effort after the Man City loanee had got in behind Norwich’s backline.

Rogers, who was causing the hosts all sorts of problems, then teed up Lewis Fiorini who whisked a powerful long-range effort just wide, with Gunn scampering across his goal.

Blackpool were fortunate not to be pegged back in first-half stoppage time when Pukki sprung the offside trap, only to fire over via the aid of a deflection.

The two sides exchanged good chances at the start of the second-half, as Gunn saved well with his legs to deny Bowler while Pukki wasted another golden chance to sign off with a goal by drilling wide.

The dangerous Hernandez thought he had levelled matters shortly afterwards when he fired a rocket towards the far corner from the edge of the box but it missed the Blackpool goal by a matter of inches.

The Seasiders weren’t happy to just sit on their lead though and created a couple of openings to further their lead, with Bowler being denied by the keeper again before Lewis Fiorini curled just over from the resulting corner.

CJ Hamilton was the next man to go close as Gunn got a strong hand to push his rising shot over the bar after the winger had weaved his way past a couple of challenges.

With 20 minutes remaining, Dobbie handed Rob Apter an opportunity to stake a claim as part of a double change, as Shayne Lavery also made his long-awaited return from injury having not featured since February.

With nine minutes remaining, the Blackpool players joined in with the applause as a tearful Pukki departed the field for the last time as a Norwich player.

The Seasiders made a change of their own as 20-year-old defender Alex Lankshear made his senior debut off the bench, replacing Jordan Thorniley.

His development squad teammate Apter almost put the game to bed seven minutes from time when he was denied by a smart Gunn stop.

Norwich’s final chance fell to substitute Jonathan Rowe in the fourth minute of five added on, but he couldn’t control his rising shot which flew a good three or four yards over Grimshaw’s bar.

TEAMS

Norwich: Gunn, Aarons, Omobamidele, Sara, Tzolis (Rowe), Sorensen, Nunez (Idah), Giannoulis (McCallum), Gibbs, Hernandez, Pukki

Subs not used: Krul, Hayden, Hills, Kamara

Blackpool: Grimshaw, Connolly (Husband), Nelson, Thorniley (Lankshear), Lyons, Fiorini, Carey (Lavery), Patino, Bowler, Hamilton (Apter), Rogers

Subs not used: Maxwell, Trybull, Holmes

Referee: James Bell