Ten-man Blackpool show bags of character to salvage a point against relegation rivals Huddersfield Town

Mick McCarthy’s men looked to be heading to a damaging defeat when Josh Koroma gave the Terriers an 86th-minute lead.

That was the second time the Seasiders had fallen behind having gone 1-0 down in the first-half through Matty Pearson’s strike.

That was before Gary Madine was shown a straight red card in first-half stoppage time for an elbow on Tom Lees.

But Andy Lyons momentarily got Blackpool back on level terms before Josh Bowler slammed home a 90th minute equaliser to salvage a point for McCarthy’s men.

Before the game got underway a point would have been sniffed at given Blackpool’s perilous situation in the league table, but given the circumstances they’ll be relieved to at least pick up something to take into Saturday’s game against Rotherham United.

McCarthy freshened things up with his team selection by making four changes to the side that lost 3-0 at Middlesbrough at the weekend.

He also reverted to a back four having played 3-5-2 for his first two games as Blackpool boss.

Andy Lyons surprisingly dropped down to the bench as James Husband returned to the starting XI, having missed the weekend trip to the Riverside with a hamstring strain.

Kenny Dougall and Sonny Carey came into the midfield as Charlie Patino and Josh Bowler both dropped out. Gary Madine also returned to the starting line-up in place of Shayne Lavery.

Jordan Thorniley and Dom Thompson were both left out of the squad, while Marvin Ekpiteta, Jordan Gabriel, Liam Bridcutt, Kevin Stewart, Lewis Fiorini and Keshi Anderson all remain sidelined by injury.

As for Huddersfield, they made one change to the side that drew 1-1 with Neil Critchley’s QPR on Saturday.

The North Stand certainly played their part from kick-off, as “Mick McCarthy’s tangerine army” reverberated around Bloomfield Road.

The opening exchanges, somewhat predictably, were a scrappy affair, with both sides opting to stick to the basics rather than stringing passes together.

We had to wait until the 18th minute for the game’s first opportunity, which came Huddersfield’s way.

Thankfully Chris Maxwell was alert to make an excellent reaction save to deny Martyn Waghorn, whose deflected effort was creeping in.

The Seasiders hit back with a good chance of their own, two in fact, as Jerry Yates’ close-range shot from CJ Hamilton’s pullback was blocked before Sonny Carey steered inches wide on the rebound.

As if Blackpool hadn’t suffered enough hamstring injuries this season, they picked up another one when Charlie Goode was forced off midway through the first-half.

The centre-back pulled up as he attempted to chase back, instantly signalling to the bench he could no longer continue

Andy Lyons was the only defender on the bench, so he entered the fray at right-back while Callum Connolly moved into the centre.

Some sloppiness began to creep into Blackpool’s game at this point, as passes and first touches went awry. Huddersfield sensed this and began to take the initiative.

Nine minutes before the interval, the nightmare scenario occurred as the away side took the lead.

It was another soft, soft goal to concede - a theme of Blackpool’s dreadful season - as McCarthy’s men made a real hash of clearing their lines from a free-kick, resulting in the ball dropping to Matty Pearson who stabbed home low into the bottom corner.

There was further medical concern for Blackpool to deal with before the half finished as Connolly was wiped out by Maxwell as the keeper rushed out of goal to collect a ball over the top, but thankfully the defender was able to continue.

Curtis Nelson had a chance of sorts in the five minutes of first-half stoppage time as he met Kenny Dougall’s deep free-kick, sending a downward header towards goal but straight at keeper Thomas Vaclik.

The first-half drama didn’t end there though, as things went from bad to worse for the Seasiders when they were reduced to 10 men.

Gary Madine was the man to be shown a straight red, Blackpool’s eighth dismissal of the season, for an apparent elbow on Tom Lees.

It was a coming together than had been brewing all half and Madine could have no complaint when the red was flashed in his direction.

McCarthy reacted by introducing Morgan Rogers for Sonny Carey at the start of the second-half, despite Carey being a rare bright spark of the first 45 minutes.

Despite the bleak situation, the home faithful stuck with their team and the 10 men had a go at the start of the second-half, with Kenny Dougall firing over from the edge of the box on his left foot.

The Seasiders struggled to build on that momentum and swell of support though. Predictably, with a man advantage, gaps began to open up for the visitors.

Substitute Jaheim Headley had acres of space to roam into down the left flank before he unleashed a powerful drive which Maxwell did well to turn over.

Jack Rudoni, who had looked dangerous all night, fizzed a dangerous ball across the face of the Blackpool goal which no player in Huddersfield colours was able to turn home.

As the game entered the final 10 minutes, the hosts began to throw more and more bodies forwards despite the man disadvantage.

Josh Bowler had an influence off the bench, helping get the crowd up more than anything but also combining well with Andy Lyons.

It was the latter, against all the odds, that levelled things up seven minutes from time when he lashed home with a sublime first-time strike after the ball had rebounded for him just inside the box.

Unfortunately Blackpool were level for all of three minutes, as Huddersfield retook the lead in the 86th minute courtesy of substitute Josh Koroma, who curled beyond Maxwell and into the far corner.

There was still more drama to come though as Bowler salvaged Blackpool a late point with an emphatic finish high into the roof of the net after Huddersfield had failed to clear their lines.

Blackpool live to fight another day, for now.

TEAMS

Blackpool: Maxwell, Connolly, Goode (Lyons), Nelson, Husband, Trybull, Dougall, Carey (Rogers), Hamilton (Bowler), Yates, Madine

Subs not used: Grimshaw, Patino, Poveda, Lavery

Huddersfield: Vaclik, Turton (Headley), Pearson, Hogg, High (Diarra), Hungbo (Knockaert), Kasumu, Rudoni (Koroma), Lees, Lowton, Waghorn (Rhodes)

Subs not used: Bilokapic, Boyle

Referee: Graham Scott

Attendance: 11,164