Encouraging signs, soft goals and the Josh Bowler conundrum: Key talking points from Blackpool's FA Cup defeat to Southampton

Blackpool pushed their Premier League opponents all the way and had Nathan Jones’ men on the ropes for the final 20 minutes or so. By the time six minutes of stoppage time went up the home fans were holding out for the final whistle.

There was very little between the two teams, other than one or two little moments of quality from the top flight Saints.

The only real regret McCarthy will have is how soft Southampton’s opener was.

Blackpool had kept their opponents at arm’s length for the majority of the opening exchanges but once Romain Perraud scored the first of his two goals, it allowed the Saints to settle and get into their stride.

It came from a needless free-kick to begin with, as CJ Hamilton hauled down his man after Samuel Edozie had got the wrong side of him.

But in the absence of free-kick specialist James Ward-Prowse, Perraud still had plenty of work to do to beat Chris Maxwell from 22 yards out or so.

But Maxwell’s wall failed to do its job, as Perraud’s swerving effort was inexplicably allowed to fire through the sea of bodies, wrongfooting the Blackpool keeper and resulting in the ball nestling in the bottom corner.

While McCarthy was understandably pleased with how his side performed in his first game in charge, he didn’t sugarcoat his frustration at the manner of Southampton’s goals – the first in particular.

“I thought we played well, we were organised. I was pleased with the shape of the team,” he said at full-time.

“They were two atrocious goals we conceded, mind. I’m sure Nathan thinks the same about the goal they conceded as well.”

Southampton’s second goal, by comparison, was well worked as Perraud exchanged a quick one-two before firing home beyond Maxwell.

Again, I can see why McCarthy was frustrated with the way the left-back was allowed to waltz into their box unopposed, but it was the opening goal that will really stick in his craw.

That’s because, one or two bits and pieces aside, the Premier League side created very little in terms of clear-cut opportunities.

Promising signs

Blackpool looked far more organised in their 3-5-2 shape and you could tell the game plan was far more defined than it ever had been under Michael Appleton.

Of course there’s still plenty of work to do and McCarthy, of his own admittal, is still getting to know the strengths and weaknesses of the squad he’s only just inherited.

But even this early in, you can tell Blackpool will be a lot harder to beat and with McCarthy at the helm, you can guarantee the side will display plenty of hearts and guts, which bodes well for the final 19 games of the Championship campaign.

To be fair, a lack of effort or endeavour under Appleton was never really a problem. I can’t recall a game where he ‘lost the dressing room’, for example, the Seasiders just lacked structure and were far too easy to score against.

That won’t change overnight, but we saw enough glimpses in this fourth round tie to provide optimism for the next few weeks and months.

Big chance

Had Ian Poveda equalised with his golden opportunity, when he inexplicably attempted to chip former Manchester City goalkeeper Willy Caballero rather than take the ball around him, who knows what might have happened?

The Leeds loanee even had a second bite at the cherry as the ball rebounded straight to him, but after taking a touch to settle himself he somehow managed to blaze wide.

To Poveda’s credit, he did play well and was heavily involved for Blackpool’s goal back as he unselfishly allowed the ball to roll across him for Charlie Patino to steer home.

From that point onwards, it was one-way traffic, with Blackpool in the ascendancy until the sixth and final minute of stoppage time.

Unfortunately they couldn’t find that all-important equaliser to take the game to a replay, but perhaps that might not be such a bad thing in the long run.

Other aspects to be encouraged about were the performances of debutants Charlie Goode and Tom Trybull, who were both excellent. Andy Lyons was also impressive on just his second start in tangerine.

Bowler conundrum

A cause for concern, however, might be the lack of confidence the returning Josh Bowler is showing, as he looked a shadow of the player we all witnessed last season during the first-half.

He did improve during the second period, playing the key pass that freed Jerry Yates down the right to tee up the goal back.

But he struggled in an admittedly alien central midfielder’s role, which left him having to chase back and get stuck in, which is far from being his forte.

If Blackpool are to persist with this 3-5-2 system under McCarthy, which makes wingers redundant unless they’re playing slightly further back as wing-backs, it’s difficult to see where Bowler gets into this team.

Perhaps he can fulfil the role performed by Poveda, who played just off Yates in the front two? But the pair of them linked up well, so it would be unwise to break up that partnership so early.

I’m certainly not writing Bowler off by any stretch, but it does look like his nightmare spell in Greece has unsurprisingly done more harm than good. Hopefully a run of games during a hectic February schedule will do the trick.