Luke Garbutt: I'm claiming Blackpool goal that opened FA Cup floodgates at Harrogate

Blackpool’s Luke Garbutt was delighted to complete 90 minutes on his return from injury and has cheekily claimed a goal in the FA Cup win against his hometown club Harrogate Town.
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The left-back, who was born and raised in the Yorkshire town, played an instrumental role in Pool’s opening goal in their 4-0 second-round win.

After the League Two newcomers had frustrated the Seasiders for the first 50 minutes, Garbutt swung in a vicious corner that flew into the back of the net off the head of a Harrogate player.

Luke Garbutt (right) celebrates the goal which broke the deadlock in the FA Cup at Harrogate with CJ HamiltonLuke Garbutt (right) celebrates the goal which broke the deadlock in the FA Cup at Harrogate with CJ Hamilton
Luke Garbutt (right) celebrates the goal which broke the deadlock in the FA Cup at Harrogate with CJ Hamilton
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While the 27-year-old concedes his delivery was touched by an opponent, he still believes the goal is rightfully his.

“It was something we had worked on in training through the week to try and hit that front post,” Garbutt said.

“I just tried to whip it in to the near post and their fella has got a nick on it, but I think it was on target anyway so I’ll take the goal.”

That opened the floodgates for Blackpool, who ran in three more unanswered goals courtesy of Grant Ward, Jordan Gabriel and Dan Kemp.

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Garbutt added: “In the first half they had two banks of four and it was difficult to break them down, but we showed great patience to eventually get the breakthrough.

“The rest of the second half was then reasonably comfortable and it could have been more than four. It’s a pleasing day’s work for everyone involved.

“At half-time the manager said it was similar to the Eastbourne game in the first round, so we just needed to bide our time, stay patient and stop the counter-attack.

“They had plenty of endeavour, plenty of effort and they were always going to go right until the final whistle.

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“But we managed the situation well and came out on top in the end. It was a fairly comfortable victory.”

Garbutt’s appearance was his first for the Seasiders since suffering a hamstring injury in the draw against Crewe Alexandra six weeks earlier.

The defender was forced off just four minutes into that game, having only just made the left-back spot his own.

Garbutt added: “It was really positive for myself to get 90 minutes on Saturday.

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“How the second half panned out allowed me to manage the game a bit, so I didn’t have to make as many overlaps and push on as much.

“I just managed the game and made sure I got the 90 minutes under my belt that I needed.”

Asked whether he feels fit enough to back up that performance in tomorrow’s League One fixture at home to Portsmouth, Garbutt said: “We’ll see what the manager is thinking over the next 24 to 48 hours and see how I recover.

“For now, we just need to enjoy this win and see who we get in the draw on Monday night.”

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Blackpool will be ball number 46 for tonight’s draw, which will be shown on BT Sport at 7.10pm prior to the final second-round tie between Canvey Island and Boreham Wood.

Third-round ties are set to be played on January 9/10, meaning a new date will have to be found for Blackpool’s league trip to Northampton Town, scheduled for that weekend.

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