Neil Critchley devastated by 10-man Blackpool's 'cruel' late defeat to Millwall

Blackpool manager Neil Critchley was left devastated and felt his side deserved more from their trip to Millwall.
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Millwall 2 Blackpool 1: Jake Cooper breaks Seasiders' hearts with last-gasp winn...

The Seasiders were forced to play more than 75 minutes of the game with 10-men after Callum Connolly was sent off for pulling back Benik Afobe.

However, it was Blackpool who took a shock lead when Shayne Lavery broke the deadlock at the second time of asking just after half-time.

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But the Tangerines' advantage lasted just seven minutes as Jed Wallace's thunderbolt levelled proceedings before Jake Cooper's stoppage-time winner condemned the visitors to a 2-1 defeat.

"It was cruel, a cruel way to end the game," Critchley said.

"It's very hard to sum up how I'm feeling because on one hand I'm really proud of the performance we gave, but on the other hand, I feel completed devastated for the game to end in that way.

"To come here and play with 10-men for 75 minutes and to play as well as we did, I felt we deserved something from the game. So, it's hard to take."

Blackpool boss Neil CritchleyBlackpool boss Neil Critchley
Blackpool boss Neil Critchley
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Critchley, though, had absolutely no arguments with Connolly's early dismissal.

"I've got no complaints with the red card," he said. "It's a ball up to Matt Smith, he wins the flick-on, we're actually in good position, we protect the space in behind him well.

"Callum is running one way, it's gone the opposite side of him and as he's turning Afobe has reacted quickly and he's pulled him down, so I've got no complaints."

The defeat here means that Blackpool head into the relegation-zone and remain winless heading into the international break.

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But the Seasiders manager is confident that his side can win games at this level.

He said: "It looks like two points from five matches, and we haven't won and really doom and gloom, but we've actually played really well and if we keep performing like we have done today, it would help if we had 11 on the pitch, but we will win games at this level.

"It's hard to feel like that at this moment, but we've got to remember we're only five games into the season and have lots of game to go and I'm confident in the group of players I've got."

But what did Critchley say to his players just moments after suffering stoppage-time heartache at The Den?

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"I praised them for their effort and application, we showed a decent bit of ability on the ball and the togetherness we show," he admitted. "We never give up, never.

"We did that against Bournemouth when we were two down, we came back and drew 2-2, we go right to the end of the game, and today we showed equally as good spirit, you just don't have the same feeling because you've got no reward, but it's equally the same amount of passion today as there was last week against Bournemouth."

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