Memory Match: Keigan Parker helps Blackpool edge past Swansea City to all-but secure survival

Blackpool 1-0 Swansea City – April 15, 2006

Not even a scandalous challenge on Simon Grayson could dent the Pool manager’s delight after this magnificent victory.

Which is hardly surprising because the three points won against a very capable Swansea side were huge and have put Pool tantalisingly close to safety – just one more win should do it.

But what about this challenge? Grayson was minding his own business in the dugout and then bang! Suddenly he’s on his backside and looking distinctly foolish in front of 6,500 people.

The manager unwittingly got in the way of a 50-50 between Keith Southern and Swansea’s Adrian Forbes, which ended with the pair flying into the technical area and straight into a startled Grayson. All three ended up flat on their faces.

“I think I’m going to be in for treatment after that,” joked the boss.

“It was one hell of a tackle. I told the referee they both should have been booked!”

But whatever Grayson’s embarrassment at the unforeseen incident, it was a small price to pay for a memorable afternoon.

With a sellout 2,000 Swansea fans cheering their team on, it was a terrific atmosphere from the start and thankfully there was enough entertainment on the pitch to keep everyone happy.

The match summary in short: Swansea were the better team throughout the first-half and for the first 10 minutes after the restart.

Then Blackpool got on top, scored through Keigan Parker and held on fairly comfortably, aside from one fingernail-mangling moment when Lee Trundle’s shot beat Lee Jones but bounced back off the inside of the post and into the arms of the relieved keeper.

That little bit of luck (though maybe not all luck: Jones claimed he got a fingertip to Trundle’s original shot) made it five consecutive clean sheets at Bloomfield Road for the first time in five-and-a-half years, not a bad statistic by anyone’s standards.

But the main thing wasn’t the goals against column, it was the three points. They were greeted at the end by manic cheers from every home fan and there’s no doubt why.

It is one thing to beat a big-spending, high-flying club like Swansea but quite another to do it when you desperately need the three points to avoid relegation, because the Seasiders have opened up a reassuringly healthy-looking five-point gap over fourth-bottom Hartlepool.

The manager made one change for the visit of the Swans, replacing the injured Keith Lasley with Ciaran Donnelly on the right of midfield.

The problem in the first-half was the strike force. Neither Keigan Parker or Gareth Williams could make the ball stick, although to be fair to the pair of them they didn’t have great service.

There were far too many long balls hit towards them, as if their teammates had forgotten John Murphy was out injured.

The result was that too much of the action was in the Blackpool half and Swansea created a number of half decent openings.

Trundle, looking to add to his 21 goals for the season, forced Lee Jones to tip over a dipping, long-range piledriver as early as the second minute.

It was the first of several fine moments for Pool’s 35-year-old keeper, who appears to be getting better with age.

It was a tight, hard-fought contest but Pool started to gain the upper hand after the break. Parker missed one good opportunity, blazing over from 18 yards when he might have picked out Williams in the centre, before he brought the stadium to its feet with the decisive goal on 59 minutes.

Marc Joseph’s through ball found Ciaran Donnelly, who had gained a yard start on his marker. The midfielder showed strength and speed to sprint towards the edge of the box and, when he had drawn another defender out of position, played the most delightful of passes inside to the unmarked Parker.

The striker, with bags of time, showed good composure to stroke the ball low, beyond keeper Willy Gueret and into the bottom corner.

It was a well-worked goal but most of the credit must go to Donnelly. Not many players in this division would have ( a) seen the pass, and ( b) been able to execute it.

After the goal, the game turned into a cracking contest. Pool should have had more. Parker had four more chances, forcing the keeper to make two decent stops, while Williams won a free-kick in a dangerous position, then curled it well over.

In between Rory Prendergast made the world’s worst attempt to win a penalty, throwing himself to the ground under the slightest of challenges.

Swansea huffed and puffed and put the Seasiders under spells of pressure. But for all the nervy moments, the visitors never really looked like scoring aside from their one real opportunity in the 78th minute.

That was when for the first time all afternoon Clarke stood off Trundle, the Welshman beat him on the turn and lashed a low shot which smashed against the post and bounced back in the arms of Jones.

“Lee said he got a touch on the initial shot," said Grayson later, "so it was another great save.”

Whatever, it was a moment of outrageous good fortune for the home side. But they say luck evens itself out over the course of a season and Pool have certainly had their share of bad moments, so perhaps this was payback time.

There were celebrations from every home fan at the final whistle, and the players and manager stayed on the pitch to milk the applause.

They deserved the moment because this was a great victory. One more and everyone on the Fylde will be able to sleep a little easier.

TEAM: Jones, Clarke, Joseph, Edwards, Bean, Donnelly (Stockley), Prendergast (Morris), Southern, Wilcox, Williams (Blinkhorn), Parker