Gazette opinion: Blackpool prove they've still got a pulse as they fight and scrap for Huddersfield Town point

If the worst happens and Blackpool do go down, they’ll go down fighting, make no mistake.

The one accusation that can’t be thrown at his current crop of Blackpool players is that they don’t care or they’re not playing for the shirt. Just witness the celebrations for the two equalising goals for proof of that.

The ten-man Seasiders could easily have crumbled after Gary Madine’s red card in first-half stoppage-time but they showed plenty of resolve and character to eek out a point which, you never know, might turn out to be a vital one come the end of the season.

Mixed feelings

Of course, the buzzword – or buzz phrase – ahead of kick-off was how this game was “must win”, so only to draw against a direct rival, who were very limited, let’s be frank, is a source of disappointment.

Having now not won in 12, Blackpool can’t afford to be passing up too many of these opportunities with only 18 games left to salvage their Championship status.

But given the circumstances – playing the entirety of the second-half with 10 men when already trailing and losing another player to YET ANOTHER hamstring injury – you’d be stupid not to take the point and move on.

That’s exactly what this has to be though, a foundation, something to build on. The last 10 minutes of battling and drama will count for absolutely nothing if they don’t follow it up with a win in what is an equally important game, if not more so, against Rotherham United on Saturday.

Improvement needed

If we’re being honest, there was still a lot wrong with this performance. The first-half in particular was especially poor.

In a game of this magnitude, it was unforgivable the Seasiders served up such a lifeless first 45 minutes in which Huddersfield led thanks to Matty Pearson’s poked effort.

Not only that, Blackpool pressed the self-destruct button in first-half stoppage-time when Gary Madine – wearing the captain’s armband, let’s not forget – elbowed Tom Lees to be shown a straight red.

It was a battle that had been simmering for much of the half and it appears the two have history as well. Some will argue it was soft but, in competing aerially with his arm out and his eyes on the player, rather than the ball, Madine can have no complaints with the referee’s swift decision.

Depressingly, that was the EIGHTH red card Blackpool have been shown this season – which is two more than the amount of victories they’ve mustered.

Turning point

Sonny Carey, one of the rare bright sparks of the first-half, found himself unlucky to be replaced at the break as Mick McCarthy shuffled the pack. Big Mick, who was celebrating his 64th birthday, admitted afterwards he had to apologise for Carey, but such were the circumstances.

Morgan Rogers offered something different off the bench, albeit he was initially a little too over-eager in his bid to impress. But the longer the half wore on, the more of an impact he started to have.

But it was the two substitutes that followed, Andy Lyons and Josh Bowler, who helped swing the game back to Blackpool.

The two combined superbly down the right, begging the question why neither started, and it was no coincidence they were the two to get the Seasiders back on level terms, not once, but twice.

Lyons looked to have salvaged Blackpool a point when he fired home a sumptuous curling effort with the outside of the boot for his first goal in tangerine. The celebrations weren’t too bad to match, either.

But the hosts remained on level terms for just three minutes, as Josh Koroma looked to have snatched the points for the Terriers in the 86th minute when he curled beyond Maxwell’s despairing dive.

The breathless affair had more drama to give though and it was Bowler, the man the North Stand were begging to see, who had the last say with an emphatic close-range finish to send Bloomfield Road berserk.

It wasn’t just his goal though, the winger helped change the mood and galvanise the fans before he even entered the pitch. The crowd got up and came back to life once Bowler was introduced.

All out attack

We now find ourselves in a peculiar position where Bowler isn’t really a ‘McCarthy player’, if such a thing exists, because he doesn’t enjoy the tracking back and the defensive side of the game.

But if you’re bringing Bowler back to the club, you’re doing it with the intention of loaning a player that can be the difference maker, because we’ve seen it happen time and time again.

If the Seasiders are to stay in the division, they need players like Lyons and Bowler in the side. Rogers and Ian Poveda too.

What the final 10 minutes or so proved is that Blackpool are best served when they throw hell to leather and just go for it. At times, especially against better opposition, it will backfire but so what? At least go down swinging.

At times this was a tough watch, let’s not pretend the ending to the game papers over the cracks. There are still problems to solve.

But what it does do is inject some positivity and optimism. It gives the fans, who were utterly brilliant, by the way, a lifeline. Something to hang onto.

If the fans still believe and the players fight to the wire every week, Blackpool have got a chance.