Two highs and two lows as Blackpool overcome Cambridge in drab affair at Bloomfield Road

Sonny Carey’s first half finish proved to be the difference between the two teams, as the Seasiders ended their three game winless run.

Meanwhile, the visitors forced a good stop out of Dan Grimshaw after the break, and hit the post in the latter stages, but offered very little else to pull themselves level.

Here’s two highs and two lows from the game:

A moment of quality

Blackpool have struggled in front of goal in the last few weeks, with that little bit of quality just lacking when trying to open up opposition defences.

The game against Cambridge lacked a spark of brilliance for large periods, but one did come during the first half, after a well worked move opened up Carey’s shooting opportunity to give the Seasiders the lead.

Since making a return to the starting XI in the Good Friday defeat away to Derby County, the midfielder has impressed, and has produced his best performances of the season. In all of the last three games he’s looked like a threat and had good moments, with just his composure letting him down at times.

The 23-year-old should’ve done enough to secure his place in the team for the next outing, and hopefully he can build on his recent fortunes.

Clean sheet

Apart from one or two moments during the second half, the Blackpool back three looked solid enough, with the visitors not really offering too much to trouble them. When they were put under some pressure they responded well, and did whatever was necessary to keep Garry Monk’s men out.

One of the occasions where Cambridge did threaten the goal, Grimshaw did well to scramble across his line to push away a back post header from a free kick.

Striking issues

The Seasiders opted to go with Kylian Kouassi and Jake Beesley up front, which left them with little mobility in attack. While both players have their strengths, they didn’t really compliment each other as a front two. Both had periods in the game where they just couldn’t get involved, and no chances for either of them spring to mind.

As for the substitutes, Shayne Lavery and Kyle Joseph didn’t offer too much either when they came on. A problem for Blackpool at the moment is the four fit strikers are all suffering goal droughts, which of course is impacting their confidence. There’s also not a settled partnership, with both spots up for grabs on a weekly basis.

Second half struggles

The entirety of the match wasn’t one to tell the grandkids about if we’re being honest, but the second half was distinctly worse than the first. At least in the first 45 minutes there had been some control from the Seasiders and you could see them building attacks, but after the break it didn’t just happen for them.

Once again, it’s probably a confidence thing. They’re a team going through a real rough attacking patch, and that was reflective in some of the decisions they made while trying to get over the line. That cutting edge quality just wasn’t there to get a second, which would’ve allowed them to relax a bit more.