'We've come through this test with flying colours': Rochdale boss Brian Barry-Murphy's on his side's victory against Blackpool

Ollie Rathbone scored the only goal of the game last night as the Seasiders suffered a setback in their quest to finish in the League One play-offs.

The defeat marked the end of Pool’s 16-game unbeaten run, but nevertheless Critchley’s men remain in the top six, three points clear of seventh-placed Oxford United with two games in hand to play.

For Rochdale, it was their third straight win, but it still leaves them five points clear of safety with just four games to play.

"I thought it was a very exciting game, although I knew it would be quite tight," Dale boss Brian Barry-Murphy said.

"It was pretty to watch and to see our lads play the way they did, it was exciting for me and I was very proud.

"It felt like a high-end game because the opposition are so good, but I thought we were better.

"We started off really good and controlled the game. Blackpool had spells of possession in the first-half like they do, because they're a very good team.

"But we kept them at bay and really protected Jay Lynch well, so much so that I think he only had one or two shots on target to save during the whole 90 minutes against a team that have been outstanding and unbeaten in 16.

"To see us play with that control, both when we had the ball and when we didn't have the ball, was very good.

"The last two games have been pretty straight-forward for us but we knew in this game we were facing a different test. To see us come through it with flying colours fills us with optimism."

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