'A huge opportunity to end the hoodoo goes to waste': Matt Scrafton's verdict on another Blackpool defeat at Portman Road against Ipswich Town

Blackpool, brimming with confidence from back-to-back league victories which saw them run in seven unanswered goals, coming up against an out-of-form, out-of-sorts Ipswich side that had lost six of their last seven home games.

The pressure has been mounting on manager Paul Lambert so much so that the county’s local newspaper had run a front page calling on owner Marcus Evans to wield the axe.

The scene was set for Blackpool to claim their first ever victory at Portman Road in the club’s history, but the game ultimately ended in disappointment with a huge opportunity going to waste.

Everything seemed to be going to plan in the first-half, where Blackpool were the better side and were unfortunate to find themselves trailing at the break.

Neil Critchley had set his side up to stop Ipswich’s three-man midfield by pressing high from the front. While Blackpool’s formation was advertised at 4-2-3-1, it was essentially 4-2-4 when they were without the ball.

Ipswich fell into the trap over and over again. Blackpool won turnover after turnover and got themselves into some hugely promising positions in and around the Ipswich box.

Unfortunately, this is where they lacked a killer touch in the final third, where their final ball or final cross would go awry – a common complaint of this season.

Nevertheless, the Seasiders were still able to carve out some decent openings, although the majority of them came via set-pieces.

Marvin Ekpiteta, who continued his impressive form with a brave rearguard display, squandered the chance to score for a third game running as he nodded wide at the back post from a Sullay Kaikai free-kick.

James Husband got an attempted header all wrong at the near post, before a third defender, Jordan Thorniley, failed to find the target from a good position.

For 40 minutes or so, Blackpool were in the ascendancy and constantly knocking at the door.

But five minutes before the interval they were given a warning sign when Freddie Sears slipped the ball underneath the onrushing Chris Maxwell. Thankfully the linesman’s flag was raised for offside, but it looked incredibly tight.

It was a warning the Seasiders didn’t heed, as they fell behind a minute later thanks to a real catalogue of errors.

Blackpool were seconds away from bearing down on goal with a four-on-three situation in Ipswich’s final third. All Kaikai had to do was slip in Matty Virtue and they were in on goal.

Granted, Kaikai’s attempted through-ball took a slight deflection, but his pass still lacked conviction and it allowed Ipswich left-back Myles Kenlock to intercept.

With Pool sensing a possible goal, they threw men forward. This created large gaps for the Tractor Boys to exploit. Kenlock played a simple ball over the top to Alan Judge, who was left alone in the space left vacant by the marauding James Husband.

Judge unleashed a low shot which didn’t look particularly convincing, but it seemed to take Maxwell by surprise and beat the Blackpool goalkeeper at his near post.

Now, another common complaint we’ve heard about Blackpool this season is that, when they go a goal down, they rarely, if ever, manage to muster a response. That issue reared its head once again.

Things only served to get worse, too, as Ipswich doubled their lead with another soft goal within four minutes of the restart.

Jerry Yates could only loop up an attempted headed clearance towards Luke Woolfenden at the back post, where he had the simple task of nodding home from a couple of yards.

From this point onwards, Blackpool’s afternoon was pretty miserable. They looked completely devoid of ideas and Ipswich, content to sit back in numbers and hit the increasingly impatient Seasiders on the break, ran them ragged.

If we’re being honest, Pool were fortunate to end the game only conceding twice, it could easily have been four or five. It probably would have been too were it not for some last-ditch heroics from Ekpiteta.

Were Blackpool penalised for showing Ipswich too much respect? Their opponents were bang out of form coming into this and, it has to be said, were there for the taking in the first-half.

But, while I tend to agree with the consensus that Pool ought to have kept faith with 4-4-2 – Yates is just too isolated when leading the line and doesn’t have the physical presence of Gary Madine – I don’t think it was necessarily the main problem. But it’s a convenient stick to beat Critchley with for those that wish to do so.

I say that because, by and large, his plan was working. His logic, in ensuring Pool weren’t outnumbered in midfield and winning the ball back high up the pitch, was sound. But the Seasiders just weren’t able to capitalise on it.

However, there are concerns. Kevin Stewart and Kenny Dougall, who needs to rediscover the form he showed when he first came into the team, were worryingly blunt against Ipswich’s midfield. They were overran at times and were unable to exert any control whatsoever.

For two players of their calibre and ability, that’s a concern. Hopefully it’s just a case of a lack of match fitness, given neither player had a pre-season with the club.

Hopefully this is just a bump in the road, but it does appear to be a case of one step forward, two steps back at times.

The league table will show Blackpool have won 10 games this season and lost 10, which suggests their position in mid-table is about right.

It’s important now for Blackpool to put this disappointment behind them and bounce back with a win in their rearranged game against bottom side Burton Albion on Tuesday.

But the Brewers claimed a surprise win over Hull City on Saturday, so that won’t be easy...

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