A game where everything went to plan: Matt Scrafton's verdict as Blackpool breeze past abject Bristol City

Barring Bristol City’s 86th minute consolation, this day couldn’t have gone much better for the Seasiders.
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Neil Critchley on Blackpool's 'comfortable' victory against Bristol City and why...

Another victory to continue the impressive run of form, finding a clinical touch in front of goal, things worked on in training coming to fruition and debuts handed to two newcomers…you can’t ask for much more than that.

Neil Critchley’s side are brimming with confidence at the minute and it shows.

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After a disappointing December, they’ve started 2022 with a bang in the league with three wins and a draw – that point coming away to the league leaders, no less.

They’ve won their last three on home turf, conceding just once in the process. It leaves them on 40 points (at the start of February!) and just five adrift of the top six.

It’s all going swimmingly, which is apt given the horrendous conditions this game was played in at a blustery Bloomfield Road.

You wouldn’t have known though, because Blackpool played some excellent stuff and once the first goal went in, the win never looked in doubt against a Bristol City side that began the day directly behind them in the table.

Josh Bowler continued his scintillating form with a second goal in as many gamesJosh Bowler continued his scintillating form with a second goal in as many games
Josh Bowler continued his scintillating form with a second goal in as many games
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But Blackpool made them look less than ordinary, but more on that later…

The Seasiders had to remain patient for their opener as it didn’t come until nine minutes before the break.

But they took just three minutes to double their lead and within another three minutes of the restart the game was put to bed…just like that, all in a blink of an eye.

It was reminiscent of the ruthless Blackpool side we witnessed towards the back end of last season when they motored up the league table and refused to let anything get in their way, not even an injury list that would have crippled most other sides.

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It’s easy to forget that Blackpool are currently without 10 players, nine as a result of injury (the other one, Kevin Stewart, should be back at Coventry on Tuesday having now returned to the country following international duty).

You won’t hear about it though because Pool opt to just get on with things and Critchley very rarely, if ever, brings it up of his own accord.

Marvin Ekpiteta, arguably Blackpool’s player of the season to date, became the latest player to join the sidelines with a knee complaint that thankfully isn’t thought to be too serious. That’s now two captains not involved.

But if Ekpiteta is out, Jordan Thorniley steps in and performs flawlessly. Maxwell gets injured? Don’t worry, Dan Grimshaw does the same. Keshi Anderson – another player of the season contender – is sidelined, CJ Hamilton is there to pick up the pieces.

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It’s just what Blackpool do. They did it last season and they’re doing it again.

Hamilton was being written off by some following his wasteful display at Hartlepool in the cup a few weeks ago.

But now he’s had a run of games, something he’s barely had over the last year or so, he’s beginning to look like the player we saw rip things up at the start of last season’s campaign.

The winger was in electric form once again here, building on the two assists in his previous two games with a goal – his first in 14 months.

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Previously plagued by two metatarsal injuries that both required surgery and a serious hamstring problem, the 26-year-old is now fully fit again which is bad news for Championship full-backs.

His pace is terrifying and if he can continue to deliver an end product, as he’s currently doing, Blackpool will continue to frighten opposition teams between now and the end of the season with their pace and trickery in wide positions.

This was absolutely key to this win. From the off it was clear they would look to exploit the wide areas and Bristol City didn’t have an answer for it.

Far too often Hamilton and Josh Bowler were left one-vs-one against their marker and when there’s space to run into, these are the last two players you want to be facing.

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Blackpool’s first goal came from the flank, although it was Jordan Gabriel who provided a pinpoint deep cross that Jerry Yates unselfishly headed back across goal for Hamilton to tap home the opener.

Three minutes later, Gary Madine doubled Blackpool’s lead with a bullet header from Kenny Dougall’s corner, the ball crossing the line despite the desperate attempts of midfielder Alex Scott, who used his arm to try and keep the ball out.

I’m being greedy here, but shouldn’t Scott still have been punished for that transgression?

Anyway, thankfully it didn’t matter as a third arrived courtesy of Bowler, who broke the offside trap to latch onto Dougall’s raking crossfield pass.

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The winger, enjoying a sublime spell of form amid the recent transfer speculation, took the ball down with aplomb before twisting and turning his marker inside out before giving the keeper the eyes and sending him the wrong way. Absolutely majestic.

For a good 10 to 15 minutes, the hosts were rampant. You got the feeling that, if they really wanted to, they could quite easily add a fourth, fifth and so on.

Instead, the two stars of the show, Bowler – who had been booked – and the tiring Hamilton were both withdrawn, which brought an end to Blackpool’s wave after wave of attack.

Instead, the hosts saw out the remainder of the game with relative ease, albeit losing their clean sheet late on when substitute Nakhi Wells tapped home a consolation goal four minutes from time.

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The Robins barely deserved it. They were abject and I was surprised that, of the fans that remained in the away end, as the majority had already left, they largely opted to applaud their players.

They were lacklustre and looked well off Blackpool, despite only being three points behind before the game got underway.

This was only the third time this season the Seasiders have scored more than two goals in a league game. It could easily have been more.

Other than exciting young prospects Han-Noah Massengo and Antoine Semenyo, there really wasn’t much to Nigel Pearson’s side.

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Given their financial plight – they’re in danger of breaching FFP rules, which could cause them to sell their prized assets – I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they struggled next season.

But that’s not of Blackpool’s concern. They’re on a roll at the moment and there’s only one direction they’re looking in.

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