'If I was Bolton' - Steve Bruce makes opposition point following Blackpool victory

Ashley Fletcher and Niall Ennis were both on target once again, with their goals coming either side of an Aaron Collins header.

The Wanderers’ woes increased during the closing seconds of stoppage time, as Aaron Morley was handed a red card for bringing down Tom Bloxham as he raced towards the opposition box on the break.

Seasiders boss Steve Bruce admits he wouldn’t have been happy to see one of his players sent off in that situation.

“I have to say, some of the decisions the referee made were a bit poor, and if I was Bolton, I might be aggrieved,” he said.

“There’s 20 seconds to play - a little bit of common sense, let it go. He’s given the yellow card.

“Look, thankfully it’s not us and I’m worried about it, but it seemed a strange decision for me.”

The story of the game

The first clear opening of the game came Blackpool’s way in the 12th minute. Some quick passing saw the ball end up at the feet of Sonny Carey - who saw his shot from the edge of the box blocked over the bar by Will Forrester.

From the resulting corner, the Seasiders broke the deadlock. A shot from distance from Albie Morgan was deflected into Fletcher’s path just a couple of yards away from goal.

A fortnight ago, the striker had missed an easier chance in a 2-1 defeat to Leyton Orient, but made no mistake on this occasion, finding the bottom corner for his 11th goal of the season.

Beyond collecting a couple of crosses into the, Harry Tyrer’s first real save of the afternoon was from a John McAtee header - which didn’t prove to be too much of a concern.

The Trotters’ next headed attempt proved to be far more precise, with Collins glancing the ball into the far corner following a cross from right side.

This prompted a period of intense pressure for Bruce’s side ahead of the break. A clearance off the line was required just moments after the equaliser to stop Szabolcs Schon from giving Bolton the lead, before Josh Dacres-Cogley fired a shot into the side-netting on the following attack.

Following the restart, an early chance came Blackpool’s way, with Fletcher placing an attempt just wide of the post as he looked for his second of the afternoon.

The Seasiders’ next opportunity came the way of another forward player in Tangerine just before the hour mark.

Morgan was on hand with a perfect pass to find Ennis running through, with the Stoke City loanee doing well to bring the ball down and beat Nathan Baxter with a chipped attempt.

The Trotters came close to getting an instant equaliser, but Tyrer got down well to push wide a shot from Morley.

On his next attempt, the midfielder thought he’d found the back of the net, before having his celebrations cut short due to the ball ending up in the side-netting.

In the closing stages of stopping time, another superb save was required from Tyrer, with the Everton loanee tipping over a shot from Chris Forino on this occasion to maintain a rare home win.

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