Neil Critchley's immediate reaction to crucial Blackpool win against Barnsley as he credits 'incredible' fans

Sonny Carey continued his recent resurgence in the starting XI with a great finish to open the scoring, before James Husband doubled the lead ahead of half time. After the break, Hayden Coulson added the Seasiders’ third, while John McAtee and Adam Phillips both pulled goals back for the Tykes. The visitors could’ve had another, but for some Dan Grimshaw heroics.

Neil Critchley’s side are now two points behind the Yorkshire outfit- who have failed to win in their last five. Elsewhere, Lincoln City’s 2-1 win against Cheltenham Town sees them move into sixth ahead of Oxford United on goal difference, following the U’s’ 1-1 draw with Stevenage on Friday night, with Blackpool behind both by a point.

Reacting to the victory over Barnsley, Critchley said: “The supporters were incredible today, the atmosphere was amazing, they make it a brilliant place to play for us and a difficult place for the opposition to come. We’re formidable at home and they play a huge part in that. The biggest compliment I can pay them is, I had no doubt that they’d be there for us, it’s such a passionate fan base, they make it unique, it’s just different here.

“At 3-0 it looked comfortable, but with Barnsley’s quality, you always know they can get a goal. The psychology of the game is huge. We don’t do things easily, do we? I’ve definitely aged again in the last couple of minutes. We were outstanding until they scored their first goal, and even then we had opportunities to make it 4-1. Before that we looked like a really good football team and our mentality was excellent, we played with confidence and took the game to them.

"I’m not sure how it ended 3-2 but we won, and it’s been a great day, the atmosphere was incredible and the supporters were unbelievable. It was on par with our best hour of the season, I really enjoyed us and watching the game; apart from the end. We now take it down to an exciting last day.

"At times we’ve waited for the games this season, but we didn’t today. We knew what we had to do, so it was foot to the floor, taking the handbrake off, and going for it. We were dominant and in control, 3-0 didn’t flatter us, but 3-2 did flatter Barnsley.”