Blackpool were defeated by Exeter City at St James Park.

Blackpool suffered a 4-1 defeat to Exeter City in their first away outing of the 2025/26 campaign.

On the back of a loss to Stevenage at Bloomfield Road last week, Steve Bruce’s side quickly found themselves behind in Devon, with Reece Cole and Jack Fitzwater both finding the back of the net in the opening exchanges.

Ashley Fletcher pulled one back for the visitors just after the 20-minute mark, before the Grecians’ advantage was strengthened by Jayden Wareham and substitute Sonny Cox after the break.

The registration issue that meant Dale Taylor was unable to make his Seasiders debut, following his arrival from Nottingham Forest, proved to be only the start of a frustrating long distance trip from the Fylde Coast.

Blackpool found themselves open after only four minutes, as their defensive woes from the opening weekend continued.

A number of players were dragged out of position towards the right, meaning when the ball was eventually played to Cole in the middle, the Grecians skipper had plenty of time before slotting a shot past Bailey Peacock-Farrell.

Exeter’s second goal of the afternoon came 10 minutes later. A corner towards the back post was met by Fitzwater, who saw his header towards the face of goal pushed in by the Seasiders keeper.

Gary Caldwell’s side almost quickly added another one, with Wareham putting a shot wide at the front post after bursting into the box with ease.

They were quickly left to rue that missed opportunity as Blackpool pulled one back. A free kick into the danger zone from Lee Evans was met in the middle by Fletcher, who powered a header past Joe Whitworth.

The Grecians almost re-extended their lead again on a couple of occasions, with Peacock-Farrell denying both Jack McMillan and Jack Aitchison.

Meanwhile, just before half time, the Birmingham City loanee had to react quickly to stop a deflected shot from Ilmari Niskanen.

A third goal for Exeter did eventually come on the hour mark. A header from Fitzwater across the face of goal was met by Wareham for an easy finish, with complaints for offside waved away.

Off the bench, Cox had a few chances to add his name to the scoresheet as well before his eventual goal, but was unable to hit the target with his two attempts as the pressure continued to mount on Bruce’s side.

The substitute eventually got a reward for his resilience, with Exeter’s fourth coming in the 90th minute.

Blackpool FC: Bailey Peacock-Farrell, Andy Lyons (61’), Olly Casey, Michael Ihiekwe, Hayden Coulson (73’), George Honeyman, Lee Evans (61’), Jordan Brown, Emil Hansson (73’), Niall Ennis, Ashley Fletcher.

Substitutes: Franco Ravizzoli, Zac Ashworth, Ryan Finnigan (61’), Malcolm Ebiowei (73’), CJ Hamilton (73’), Tom Bloxham (61’).

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