Cambridge United 4-4 Blackpool: Seasiders squander three-goal lead as former striker comes back to haunt them

James Husband claimed a first half brace from two Lee Evans corners, while Kyle Joseph and Dom Ballard added their names to the scoresheet either side of the break to give the visitors a 4-1 lead.

Around the hour mark, the U’s started to stage a comeback, with Danny Andrew and Brandon Njoku both beating Richard O’Donnell, before ex-Seasiders striker Shayne Lavery struck his second of the afternoon to level things.

After starting the League One season with back-to-back defeats under sacked head coach Neil Critchley, Keogh’s side do have their first point on the board, but will be left frustrated after having all three in their grasp.

Blackpool made a bright start to the game, with a Joseph through ball leading to an early save for Vicente Reyes from a Ballard effort.

The deadlock was broken soon after in favour of the visitors. An Evans corner found Husband unmarked at the back post, leaving the Seasiders skipper with a free header to score.

Cambridge pulled themselves level ahead of the half hour mark, with the ex-Blackpool striker finishing from close-range after the ball was played across the face of O’Donnell’s goal.

The Northern Ireland striker had already given his former club an earlier warning, but his celebrations were cut short by the linesman’s flag for offside.

It didn’t take long for the Seasiders to reclaim the lead, with Husband heading home an identical corner routine from Evans.

From the restart, Keogh’s side added another. After winning the ball back in midfield, Joseph ran clean through on goal, before lifting the ball over Reyes with a cool finish.

Blackpool quickly extended their lead further at the start of the second half.

Joseph once again opened up the Cambridge defence with a through ball, with Ballard able to finish past Reyes on this occasion.

Garry Monk’s side were soon able to narrow the gap after being awarded a free kick on the edge of the box. Andrew stepped up, and curled a shot past O’Donnell on the keeper’s right side.

Sullay Kaikai had an opportunity to pull another back after a poor clearance from CJ Hamilton, but fired well over the bar.

Blackpool failed to pay attention to the warning from their former winger, and soon found themselves conceding two quick fire goals.

Substitute Njoku added his name to the scoresheet shortly after coming on, before Lavery claimed his second of the afternoon to make it 4-4 after a defensive mess from the visitors.

Josh Stokes had a chance to win the game on his Cambridge debut, but fired a shot straight at O’Donnell in stoppage time.

Blackpool FC: Richard O’Donnell, Olly Casey, Elkan Baggott, James Husband, CJ Hamilton, Lee Evans, Ollie Norburn (85’), Hayden Coulson (85’), Kyle Joseph (85’), Ashley Fletcher (73’), Dom Ballard (61’).

Substitutes: Mackenzie Chapman, Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel (85’), Matthew Pennington, Sonny Carey (85’), Elliot Embleton (73’), Rob Apter (85’), Jordan Rhodes (61’).