Bristol Rovers 1-2 Blackpool: Seasiders claim rare away win thanks to two impressive strikes at the Memorial Stadium

Blackpool produced a 2-1 victory over Bristol Rovers to claim a rare three points on the road. 

The Seasiders raced into a two-goal lead inside the opening 20 minutes through impressive finishes from CJ Hamilton and Karamoko Dembele, before Chris Martin pulled one back for the home side. 

Neil Critchley’s side had to work hard to get over the line, but were just about able to see off the pressure from their hosts at the Memorial Stadium. 

It proved to be a dream start for Blackpool, with their opening goal coming in the fourth minute. Jordan Rhodes did well to hold the ball up and play a pass through to Kyle Joseph down the left side. From there, the striker found Hamilton as he arrived into the box, leaving the wing-back with plenty of space to lift an effort over multiple players to find the top corner. 

Down the other end, a big save was required from Richard O’Donnell, who was in the starting XI as a replacement for the injured Dan Grimshaw. The fixture marked the 35-year-old’s league debut for the Seasiders, and he did well to stop a close-range attempt from Luke Thomas. 

Ahead of the 20-minute mark, Critchley’s side doubled their lead. Joseph once again proved to be a handful for the Pirates defence, with the 22-year-old rolling the ball to the edge of the box for Dembele to smash past Matt Cox. 

The home side quickly reduced the deficit, as a flick from Martin looped in to make it 2-1. Meanwhile, Luke McCormick had a couple of opportunities to pull Matt Taylor’s side level before the break, with a challenge from Hamilton and a save from O’Donnell denying him. 

Half-time probably came at the right time for Blackpool, but the pressure from Bristol Rovers continued after the restart. The Seasiders also had chances of their own, with a back-post header from James Husband hitting the side netting, while an effort from Albie Morgan was stopped at the front post by Cox. 

The home side felt they should’ve had a late penalty, but ultimately Blackpool were able to hold on to a rare three points away from Bloomfield Road, as they continued their strong run of results at the start of 2024.