Bristol Rovers 2-1 Blackpool: Seasiders made to pay for wasteful finishing as they begin the New Year with a defeat

The Seasiders got off to the perfect start, taking the lead after just eight minutes thanks to Gary Madine’s well-taken strike.

But the Gas, who barely posed a threat all half, hit back with two goals in as many minutes to leave Pool shell-shocked.

Emergency loan keeper made a superb penalty save for the second time this week to deny Brandon Hanlan in an action-packed start to the second-half.

Blackpool were largely in control of the final stages but they squandered a number of clear-cut chances to suffer back-to-back defeats in League One.

The main takeaway from Neil Critchley’s team selection was the dropping of Sullay Kaikai, who was left out of the Pool squad altogether.

It followed the winger’s disappointing display in the midweek defeat to Shrewsbury Town, proving anonymous throughout before conceding a needless penalty that decided the game.

Jerry Yates was the man to take his place in the side, the forward partnering Gary Madine in attack as the Seasiders reverted to 4-4-2.

Elsewhere, there were like-for-like replacements at right-back and in central midfield, with Ollie Turton coming in for Jordan Gabriel and Grant Ward in for Ethan Robson.

CJ Hamilton missed out with a hamstring injury, while Chris Maxwell and Matty Virtue were both unavailable due to their recovery from Covid-19.

The likes of Teddy Howe, Jordan Thorniley, Daniel Gretarsson, MJ Williams and Oliver Sarkic were all left out of the 18-man squad.

Bristol Rovers, who hadn’t played in 21 days due to having three games called off for Covid-related reasons, made the brighter start in a match-up of the league’s lowest scoring sides.

Zain Westbrooke whipped in a useful cross from the right which looked to be heading in the direction of Sam Nicholson at the far post, but Ollie Turton did well to nip across and clear.

Keshi Anderson wasted Blackpool’s first opening, lashing well over having received the ball on the edge of the box from a short corner.

Fellow midfielder Grant Ward showed a lot more quality when he swung in a superb cross that led to Blackpool taking an early lead.

With just eight minutes on the clock, Ward curled in from the right, Gary Madine meeting it perfectly to guide the ball home high into the roof of the net.

The striker, scoring his sixth goal of the campaign in all competitions, was also on the scoresheet in this encounter last season.

Blackpool remained on top and looked to press ahead in search for a second, with Anderson and Jerry Yates almost combining to find a way through Bristol Rovers’ deep defence.

Dan Kemp was the next man to go close, the West Ham loanee creating some space for himself after dispossessing a Bristol Rovers defender before seeing a powerful goalbound shot well blocked.

With Critchley’s touchline instructions ringing in their ears, the Seasiders kept their foot on the pedal, Jerry Yates coming close to a second, dragging a shot narrowly wide of the far post.

The Blackpool boss wanted to see a reaction from the Shrewsbury defeat and he got one, his players playing some lovely one and two-touch football and playing with a far more noticeable intensity.

It remained one-way traffic in the opening period, with the hosts struggling to deal with Pool at times - Kenny Dougall seeing a shot blocked from Yates’ pullback.

As long as Pool remained in the ascendancy, the need to get that all-important second goal grew, with the home side likely to improve sooner rather than later.

The visitors were happy to sit back a little bit at times and soak up some pressure before hitting the Gas on the break.

That’s the avenue that almost resulted in Blackpool doubling their lead, with Anderson being unleashed down the left before chipping the ball over the onrushing goalkeeper only for his cross to sail over the heads of Madine and Yates in the six-yard box.

The Seasiders’ dominance was completely futile as the home side turned the game on its head with two goals in as many minutes.

Blackpool had previously never looked in danger, but Rovers levelled with their first serious attempt on goal following a costly and uncharacteristic Dan Ballard mistake.

The Arsenal loanee gave the ball away in a really poor area, allowing Sam Nicholson to slip in Brandon Hanlan who finished well beyond Sam Walker.

Still reeling from being pegged back, Pool somehow found themselves going behind when the Gas scored a second just a minute or so later.

The men in tangerine failed to clear their lines from a cross in from the left, allowing Hanlan to turn provider, nodding down into the path of Nicholson who rifled a well-struck volley into the top corner.

Blackpool made a miserable start to the second half, conceding a much disputed penalty barely a minute in.

Ward was the man to be harshly penalised having handled the ball with no intention following a Rovers corner.

Critchley was beside himself on the touchline, remonstrating that the corner shouldn’t even have been given in the first place.

Walker, who saved a penalty on his debut at Shrewsbury in midweek, saved once again to rescue the Seasiders, getting down to his right to deny Hanlan his second goal.

The Seasiders completely lost their heads at this point, with the home side going close on three occasions in as many minutes.

It began barely 60 seconds after the penalty miss, Hanlan somehow managing to skew wide of the far post. Walker then pushed away Westbrooke’s deflected strike before Nicholson rounded the loan keeper before missing the empty net.

While Pool were reeling, they still managed to squander a good chance of their own with Anderson being denied from close range after combining well with Yates.

Nevertheless, Critchley’s men remained on the backfoot and they almost went 3-1 behind on the hour mark when Luke Leahy’s glancing header clipped the top of the crossbar.

The two sides traded strong penalty appeals within a minute of each other, Garbutt escaping despite appearing to bring Luke McCormick to the ground in the Blackpool box before the hosts survived a similar shout at the other end, this time Madine being the man hauled to the floor.

Both looked to be nailed-on penalties but the referee allowed play to continue on both occasions.

To Blackpool’s credit, they stuck in there and began to pose more of an attacking threat, Madine agonisingly close to levelling with a deflected effort which whistled just wide of the post.

The momentum swung back into Blackpool’s favour in the final 20 minutes as they pressed and pressed to get back into the game.

Anderson, enduring a frustrating afternoon, lofted a cross up to Yates who saw his header headed over the bar by Alfie Kilgour.

The midfielder was in a wasteful mood once again a moment later when he skewed a shot well wide when playing in Ollie Turton to his right would have been the better option.

With time running out, Critchley opted to roll the dice 12 minutes from time by introducing Demetri Mitchell, Ben Woodburn and Bez Lubala from the bench.

Mitchell, who looked promising off the bench against Shrewsbury on Tuesday night, went close two minutes from time when his free header was pushed away from goal by the Rovers keeper.

Fellow substitute Lubala also went close, seeing a long-range effort well saved in the first minute of three added on.

The Seasiders still found time to produce one final chance, with the ball falling nicely for Lubala six yards out. But with the goal at his mercy, Lubala somehow managed to blaze over.

TEAMS

Bristol Rovers: Van Stappershoef, Leahy, Ehmer, Upson, Westbrooke, Nicholson, McCormick, Kilgour, Baldwin, Oztumer, Hanlan

Subs not used: Armstrong, Little, Hargreaves, Harries, Rodman, Barrett, Koiki

Blackpool: Walker, Turton, Ekpiteta, Ballard, Garbutt (Husband), Dougall, Ward (Robson), Kemp (Mitchell), Anderson (Woodburn), Yates (Lubala), Madine

Subs not used: Sims, Gabriel

Referee: Ollie Yates

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