Brett Ormerod column: Blackpool-Preston North End derby day was worth the long wait

It was like a carnival. From start to finish, it was a fantastic atmosphere. It was a fantastic win, well deserved too.

It’s been 11 years since the last derby and it was certainly worth the wait.

I thought it was a really good game in general. I enjoyed it and, as I say, the atmosphere was absolutely brilliant.

Blackpool were the better team in the first half and deserved to go in 1-0 ahead.

It was a bit of a strange goal that gave them the lead, I think it took everyone in the ground by surprise.

I don’t know if Keshi Anderson miskicked it or not, you’ll have to ask him I suppose, but it didn’t seem to be going in at first and there was a delayed reaction from everybody when it finally crept in at the near post.

You could tell there were some fans wondering if it had gone in or not.

It was a great build-up though. James Husband made a great run down the left-hand side, got his head up and pulled it back to Anderson who finished it off.

In the second half, Preston came out strongly and, for 10 to 15 minutes, had Blackpool on the back foot.

They missed a big chance during that spell as well through Ben Whiteman.

If that had gone in, as it should have done, then who knows how the game would have panned out?

Blackpool recovered from that, and as soon as they got the second goal, it seemed to knock the wind out of Preston and Blackpool kicked on and saw it out relatively easily.

I was absolutely buzzing for Gary Madine to get his goal.

It was a fantastic goal. It was great footwork from Jerry Yates, who has such quick feet which makes it hard for defenders.

Once he got in the box, Preston’s defenders couldn’t get too near him in case they fouled him, but he played a really smart ball into Madine who finished it off nicely.

For all the injuries he’s had, that must have been a fantastic moment for Gary. That will do wonders for his confidence.

It’s hard when you’ve been injured and been out for a long time, especially when you were doing so well before you got the knock.

He was in the side and was building a fantastic partnership with Yates up until the injury.

Once that goal went in though, it seemed to knock the stuffing out of Preston and Blackpool relaxed a bit more and got back to how they were playing in the first half. They never looked like losing the lead after that.

As I say, I really enjoyed the game. It was competitive and I felt it had a bit of everything.

Blackpool are on a roll at the minute and the table makes for great reading.

They started the season slowly and grew into it, but at the moment they’re up and running again and they’re a very difficult team to play against.

The confidence is growing week on week, so hopefully that will stand them in good stead for the games coming up until Christmas and beyond.

It’s a trip to Bramall Lane this weekend to face a Sheffield United side that were relegated from the Premier League last time out.

They had a bad start but they’re finding their feet now and beat Barnsley away on Sunday.

I was a bit surprised by the start they had because their squad for this level is so strong, but perhaps it was just a hangover from their relegation.

Let’s face it, they were well and truly relegated weren’t they? They were gone just after Christmas realistically.

Sometimes that knocks the confidence of the players, but they’ve still got a really strong squad and it can often take teams a bit of time to find their feet when they come down.

They seem to be building up a bit of steam at the moment, so it will be a very difficult game for Blackpool.

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