'There was a feeling of what might have been': Matt Scrafton's verdict on Blackpool's draw against 10-man title contenders Hull City

But there was still a feeling of ‘what might have been?’ as the Seasiders finished the game in the ascendancy against the 10 men of Hull City, who were on the back foot and desperate to hear the final whistle.

The game flipped on its head in the 77th-minute when Reece Burke was shown a straight red for bringing substitute Ben Woodburn to ground when clear through on goal. He could have no complaints and, to his credit, he didn’t even bother remonstrating – instead opting to trudge straight off the pitch before the referee had even managed to get his card out of his pocket.

As soon as the red was brandished in the defender’s direction, the Seasiders smelt blood.

Having huffed and puffed without ever looking convincing in their bid to get back on level terms following Mallik Wilks’ opener at the start of the second-half, Neil Critchley’s side now took the game by the scruff of its neck in the final stages and launched swathe after swathe of attack on the Hull goal.

Critchley praised his side’s response to going a goal down during his post-match interview and in some respects, he was right to do so. Hull were brimming with confidence after edging their noses in front and the Seasiders did well to stem the tide of pressure that was coming their way.

But going forwards they weren’t offering a great deal. Hull had clearly learned their lesson from their dramatic, last-gasp 3-2 defeat at Bloomfield Road last month and paid Blackpool plenty of respect as a result.

To minimise the threat of being hit on the counter, Grant McCann’s side opted to sit back and soak up pressure, resulting in Blackpool enjoying the lion’s share of possession without ever doing a great deal with it.

McCann had clearly done his homework, as it’s no great secret that Blackpool tend to struggle when opposition sides sit deep in a tight defensive block as they often lack a cutting edge in the final third, especially without their dangerman CJ Hamilton.

For the majority of the game, that’s how it panned out and Hull were happy for the Seasiders to play the ball from side to side in front of them.

That’s not to say Blackpool performed poorly, because they were well in this and arguably created the better chances. Sullay Kaikai came inches away from giving the visitors the lead and Ollie Turton almost scrambled one in at the back post.

Hull, meanwhile, always looked a threat. George Honeyman and Wilks in particular were giving Blackpool problems.

But in terms of clear-cut chances, the Seasiders did well to limit them. Wilks ought to have done better with a chance on the break when he dragged a shot wide after Grant Ward had slipped and conceded possession in the Hull half. But aside from that and a couple of half chances for Hull debutant Gavin Whyte early on, the Tigers rarely threatened in a serious manner.

That’s what made it especially frustrating when Hull took the lead just six minutes into the second-half.

It could have been so different as well, as just three minutes earlier Jerry Yates looked odds-on to make the breakthrough for Blackpool.

A corner swung in from the left was glanced into the direction of the striker at the back post who, despite his best efforts, was unable to force the ball over the line under intense pressure from his marker.

Hull’s goal, meanwhile, came out of nothing. It followed some really laxidasical defending from Critchley’s side involving three of the back four.

James Husband allowed a cross to be swung in from the right, which wreaked havoc close to Blackpool’s goal.

Marvin Ekpiteta failed to deal with it and Josh Magennis was able to get the ball under control and lay it off to Wilks, who was left in acres of space due to Ollie Turton being dragged into the centre.

Wilks, to his credit, stuck it away in emphatic style, firing powerfully across Chris Maxwell and into the far corner of the Blackpool goal.

The longer the game wore on without Blackpool finding an equaliser, the more it looked like yet another day at the office where their lack of creativity would be their downfall.

The Seasiders really needed to see more of their two wingers Bez Lubala and Kaikai, who were fairly anonymous throughout.

They weren’t the only ones though, Kenny Dougall also had a surprisingly poor afternoon in the centre of the park, mistiming a couple of challenges, picking up a yellow card and conceding possession on two or three occasions.

It was a Hull mistake that allowed Blackpool back into the game. Burke slipped on the edge of his own box, allowing substitute Woodburn to surge through on goal. The Hull defender took no chance and hauled the Liverpool loanee down to the ground, taking his straight red with good grace.

With Woodburn looking odds-on to score for Blackpool, or to lay it off to Yates beside him to do the same, it almost seems a little unfair that Blackpool only ended up with a free-kick that Gary Madine blazed over, but I digress.

Thankfully Pool took just four minutes to capitalise on their one-man advantage, as Yates steered home from virtually on the goalline after the impressive Madine, who had been a menace for the home side throughout, had drilled a shot back towards the danger area.

With nine minutes remaining, Pool sensed they could go on and win this game to complete a league double over the Tigers.

Despite their relentless pressure, no clear-cut opportunities came their way and they were eventually forced to settle for a point. A good point, but one that needs to be followed up with a win against Northampton Town on Tuesday.

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