Just another day at the office for Jerry Yates as Blackpool's top scorer comes back to haunt his former side Swindon Town

Jerry Yates says it was just another day at the office despite scoring against his former side Swindon Town during Blackpool’s Good Friday win.
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Swindon Town 0-2 Blackpool: Jerry Yates scores against his former side as Seasid...

The 24-year-old came back to haunt his ex-employers as he scored Blackpool’s second goal in their comfortable 2-0 win, after strike partner Ellis Simms had broken the deadlock.

Yates scored 14 goals in 36 appearances during a loan spell with the Robins last season as he helped the Wiltshire outfit secure promotion from League Two.

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But he opted to join the Seasiders on a permanent basis before this season got underway, joining for an undisclosed fee from Rotherham United.

When asked by The Gazette if he had extra motivation to score at the County Ground yesterday, Yates said: “Not really. I take it each game as it is, I put in 100 per cent in every game, so it was just a normal game for me.

“Let’s be honest, Swindon put me on the map so I enjoyed my time here, so I didn’t celebrate.

“It was a bit different coming up against Anthony Grant, who I know well. I’ve always known him as a central midfielder, so coming up against him at centre half was different.

Yates now has 18 goals for the seasonYates now has 18 goals for the season
Yates now has 18 goals for the season
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“He’ll step in front of you, take gambles and stuff like that, so it was a good, hard game.”

It was a thoroughly professional display from Neil Critchley’s men, who edged ahead on the stroke of half-time through Simms after a dominant, but frustrating opening 45 minutes.

The Seasiders remained in control in the second-half and got the second goal they deserved when Yates rounded the goalkeeper to score against his former side, and also his 18th goal of the campaign.

Blackpool’s victory, which was accompanied by their 16th clean sheet of the campaign, was their first at the County Ground in 35 years.

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The result, Pool’s fifth straight away win, saw them move back into the play-offs ahead of Easter Monday’s pivotal encounter against top six rivals Gillingham.

“I think we played some good football in the first-half but they were hard to break down,” Yates added.

“It was an excellent finish from Ellis for our first though and after that they came to come out a bit more in the second-half, which opened up some gaps.

“I must admit, I thought I was offside for my goal but I heard Embo (Elliot Embleton) shouted at me to carry on.

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“The ball wouldn’t settle as the pitch was a bit bobbly, so I had to chop the keeper and score, which was nice.”

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