Teddy Howe grabs his chance while others flatter to deceive - Matt Scrafton's verdict on Blackpool's frustrating EFL Trophy group opener

In Teddy Howe’s case, last night’s start actually marked his competitive debut for the club - some 221 days on from his arrival.

Yes, we’ve had a global pandemic during that time but he wasn’t even getting on the bench during the final throes of Simon Grayson’s reign.

It’s fair to say the defender’s move hasn’t exactly gone to plan so far and the 21-year-old will have inevitably noticed the club being linked with two different right-backs in recent weeks.

With Ollie Turton already ahead of him in the pecking order, another player arriving in his position would surely be a major cause for concern.

That’s why it was so vital for Howe to put on a good showing in Tuesday night’s group stage opener against Barrow. Full credit to him, he did exactly that.

The former Reading man was arguably Blackpool’s standout performer, constantly bombing forward down the right flank and delivering some superb crosses time and time again.

His defending, meanwhile, which Blackpool fans have identified as his main weakness, was much improved.

Whether it was enough to secure him a place in Blackpool’s squad for Saturday’s league opener against Plymouth, we’ll have to wait and see.

Elsewhere, Jordan Thorniley and Gary Madine were in need of similarly confidence-boosting displays but, unlike Howe, they weren’t able to deliver.

Thorniley, who has so far failed to live up to the hype from fans of his former club Sheffield Wednesday, was beaten for pace and caught out of position too often. When he got on the ball, his passing was wayward.

Madine, meanwhile, huffed and puffed without ever looking overly convincing. By no means was he dreadful, but he didn’t offer anywhere near enough to show Neil Critchley he deserves to start ahead of Jerry Yates at Home Park on Saturday.

With Chris Maxwell, Michael Nottingham, Ethan Robson and Grant Ward the four survivors from the side that started the Stoke City game in the Carabao Cup, the Seasiders got off to a slow start in this EFL Trophy opener.

But after Barrow wasted a couple of good early openings, Critchley’s side soon found their feet and began to put some good moves together.

Chances soon began to flow but, through a combination of misfortune, good defending, impressive goalkeeping and poor finishing, Pool were unable to make their growing dominance count.

Grant Ward, the impressive Ethan Robson and debutant Bez Lubala all had good chances either well saved or blocked.

Too often the Seasiders worked the ball well from back to front only for their decision-making to let them down at the last hurdle.

It is interesting that, while many fans believe the Seasiders require improvements on the defensive side, Pool have actually scored just one goal in the four competitive games Critchley has taken charge of.

And yet, in Blackpool’s two competitive games of the 2020/21 season, albeit cup ties, they’ve kept two clean sheets.

Does that tell the whole story? Probably not. But it was intriguing that, when asked about his one concern from pre-season, Critchley pointed towards Blackpool’s wastefulness in front of goal, rather than any defensive frailties. Nevertheless, I still expect defensive reinforcements to be made in the coming days and weeks.

Barrow, meanwhile, boosted by keeping a clean sheet in their Carabao Cup tie against Championship side Derby County at the weekend, knew full well they were a tough nut to crack.

They retreated, defended in numbers and invited Blackpool to break them down which, as the game wore on, they failed to do.

Despite enjoying the lion’s share of the possession in the second half, chances for Blackpool began to dry up and the game eventually petered out with little drama ensuing.

Given the unorthodoxies of the EFL Trophy, the two sides couldn’t just share the points as normal, they had to play out a penalty shootout instead to decide who would be the beneficiary of a bonus point. Oh the wonders of this competition.

Dan Kemp, making his first competitive start since signing on loan from West Ham, scored the decisive spot kick as Pool netted all five of their penalties compared to Barrow’s three.

After having two cup games decided by penalty shootouts, Blackpool now turn their focus to the real stuff this weekend. Bring it on.