Neil Critchley feels his Blackpool side were 'comfortable' during their well deserved victory against Barnsley

Neil Critchley felt his Blackpool side were comfortable during their richly deserved 1-0 win against Barnsley.

Shayne Lavery’s first-half strike - his sixth goal of the season - made it back-to-back wins from Critchley’s men.

The Seasiders, who have now won three of their last four league games, move up to 14th, six points clear of the bottom three.

“You know how hard you have to work for victories in this division and we were made to work hard for it in the end,” Critchley said on today’s win at Bloomfield Road.

“We could have made life easier for ourselves I think, because we were very good in the first-half and one maybe should have been more.

“Even in the second-half, we had some good opportunities to make it two and when we didn’t, you always know the opposition can throw men forward and take more of a risk.

“I felt quite comfortable, but you know it only takes one moment and they got that one moment, but fortunately for us Maxi made a big save.

“Overall over the 90 minutes we were the better team and we deserved the three points.”

The Seasiders were by far and away the better side this afternoon, especially in the first-half where they continuously peppered the Barnsley goal.

Most of their joy came down the left, where Luke Garbutt and Keshi Anderson combined well - the latter playing the key pass for Lavery’s match-winning strike.

“That’s something we had worked on and spoken about,” Critchley added.

“With the way they set up and play, it’s really difficult because they play into the front and play for first and second balls.

“You know if we can win the ball and transition the ball onto the sides of the pitch and switch the play then you can get success down the sides.

“We nearly scored early on through Shayne when he had a chance down the side and we had some good moments.

“We also knew they played with a high line and we caught them when Tyreece got through as well.

“You have to fight the fight against them, but you also have to have the presence of mind to have the composure to play your football, which I thought we did well.”

Pool were forced to hold on a little during the dying seconds having failed to earlier extend their lead.

The hosts had their chances, too, Tyreece John-Jules being denied after being played through on goal.

Barely 60 seconds later, Chris Maxwell was called into action to make a vital save to deny Victor Adeboyejo.

“That’s the fine lines in this division, we could easily have been 2-0 up and then Maxi makes a fantastic save,” Critchley said.

“He made another good save from Cauley Woodrow as well in the second-half, which would have been a real kick in the whotsits if that had gone in because it was really fortunate how the ball got through to him.

“Maxi is a big player for us though and produced a big moment.

“Ty was down at half-time but I feel he’s playing better all the time, he’s looking like a better all-round player, but he just wants to score.

“I just told him he couldn’t affect that now, it had gone. He could only affect what happened in the second-half.

“He’s a really good player is Tyreece and I’ve been delighted with his contribution so far.”

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