'Further proof that Blackpool are a tough nut to crack nowadays': Matt Scrafton's verdict on the Seasiders hard-earned draw at Accrington Stanley

That’s not to say this was a drab snoozefest though, because as 0-0s go this was one of the better ones.

The swirling wind and rain was always going to make free-flowing football impossible, but at times it was an end-to-end, 100mph affair played out between two highly competitive outfits who will be looking to stake a claim at the right end of the division come May.

Blackpool were certainly the happier of the two sides come the final whistle, despite creating the clearest opportunity of the encounter.

Jerry Yates was the man involved, curling a first-time effort onto the foot of the post during a first-half in which Blackpool probably just about edged.

But John Coleman’s side were in the ascendancy for much of the second-half and wasted three or four good openings to snatch the victory, former Seasider Dion Charles the main culprit.

The Seasiders held firm though, thanks to some battling qualities that outsiders with little knowledge of Pool might not have known they possess.

But for the regular watchers, they won’t have been surprised by the nature in which Neil Critchley’s side dug in to grind out another point and another clean sheet, their ninth from their last 12 outings.

Blackpool, as goalkeeper and captain Chris Maxwell said after Saturday’s game, are pretty horrible to play against at the moment.

The word “pragmatic” probably doesn’t do it justice, but Blackpool have demonstrated in recent weeks that they’re able to turn their hand to pretty much anything.

If a game requires them to sit deep and use their pace on the counter, they’ve got the attacking players to carry it out. If they need to scrap and fight, they can roll their sleeves up and do exactly that, as witnessed on Saturday.

It was clear from the outset that this game probably wasn’t going to be a classic. The dark, gloomy storm clouds had already gathered over the East Lancashire hills during the warm-up, which was dimly lit by the Crown Ground floodlights, a dready foreshadowing of what was about to follow.

The game started as a bit of a middle battle, with challenges flying in all over the place. Accrington edged it to begin with, creating the first opening of the game with former Seasider Michael Nottingham – who only made the move to Accrington at the beginning of the season – heading straight at Maxwell in the Blackpool goal following a deep corner.

The home side ought to have taken the lead a couple of minutes later when Sean McConville found himself through on goal, only to delay before being thwarted by Maxwell, who was quick off his line to snatch the ball off the toes of the Accrington man who had dithered for a second too long.

Slowly but surely Pool began to grow into the game, getting into some threatening positions in the final third. But too often their final ball let them down, with passes either being intercepted or going astray.

That came much to the frustration of CJ Hamilton, who looked primed and ready to take the game to his marker over on the right flank only to lack the necessary service.

However, on the one occasion the winger did break free down the right, Hamilton pulled the ball back into the path of Yates who saw his first-time effort crash off the foot of the Accrington post.

Pool, now sensing an opportunity to grasp dominance, threatened again following a swift counter-attack, which began with Keshi Anderson surging through the middle of the park.

The midfielder opted to play in Gary Madine to his left when Jerry Yates to his right looked the better option, the attack eventually breaking down when Madine opted to cut inside from the left before shooting straight at Accrington keeper Nathan Baxter.

The second-half began in even scrappier fashion than the first, although it did eventually open up and become more of an engaging affair. That, you would hope, would work to the benefit of the Seasiders, but that’s not how things transpired.

Pool’s one and only chance of the second period came after they had survived some passionate penalty appeals from the home side following a hefty challenge right on the 18-yard line.

Breaking at speed, Pool looked to immediately capitalise with Hamilton slipping in Yates whose heavy touch allowed Baxter to race out of goal to deny the in-form striker.

From this point onwards, it was pretty much one-way traffic. But thanks to a combination of some poor finishing, some smart saves and some vital last-ditch blocks, Critchley’s men survived and Pool’s goal lived a charmed life.

This was a game where defences were on top and that was certainly the case when Ollie Turton recovered to make a stunning block to deny McConville just as the Accrington man was preparing to pull the trigger with the goal at his mercy.

Nottingham then headed over for a second time before Maxwell was called back into action to deny Charles.

The Preston-born forward, who came through the youth ranks at Bloomfield Road, was a threat up top alongside Colby Bishop all afternoon but his finishing left a lot to be desired.

The 25-year-old lashed over the bar 20 minutes from time having found himself in a good position before firing inches wide of Maxwell’s far post after being played through down the right-hand channel.

Blackpool eventually saw out the remainder of the game to pick up a hard-earned point in a game they’d probably have lost earlier in the campaign.

But the Seasiders are a tough nut to crack nowadays and if an ugly display is required to maintain the good run – they’ve now suffered just one defeat in their last nine league outings – then so be it.

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