Why wing wizard Josh Bowler was a fitting hero for Blackpool's late win against Stoke City

What added the cherry on top was the game being won by a moment of individual quality from a modern-day wizard of dribble.

Now don’t worry, I’m not getting ahead of myself. I’m not comparing Josh Bowler to Sir Stan, he’s got some way to go before he can even consider lacing the magician’s boots.

But by the same token, the 23-year-old - whose late winning goal was the perfect birthday present - has come on leaps and bounds in the last few months and is a Premier League player in waiting.

Blackpool fans might not want to hear that, because many still harbour faint hopes of Bowler signing a new contract and remaining at Bloomfield Road for the long term.

But we have to be realistic. The Seasiders did a good job of holding onto their prized asset during the January window, giving us an extra four months or so of sparkling displays.

He’s managed to take his game to a whole other level in recent weeks though, making himself one of the division’s star names in the process.

Bowler, who now has six goals to his name in his last eight games, was frustratingly inconsistent at the start of the campaign.

Having signed on a free transfer following his release from Everton, his talent was there for all to see. The way he dribbles past opponents like they’re not there can be mesmerising.

But his end product wasn’t there. Far too often he would beat his man, sometimes two, yet fail to pick out a teammate or stick the ball in the back of the net when he reached the decisive moment.

It’s all well and good taking players on, dribbling for fun and wowing the crowd, but that will only get you so far if you don’t back it up with cold, hard numbers - goals and assists. Matthews would be the first to tell you that.

But around November/December time, when speculation first emerged, something changed. A switch was flicked and everything suddenly fell into place.

Now Bowler looks like scoring every time he gets the ball in the final third. He doesn’t just get fans off their seats, he makes them fling their limbs around in every direction possible when his pinpoint efforts inevitably ruffle the back of the net.

And yet, is Bowler even playing that well? In recent weeks, you’d probably have to say no. The sparkle and the free-spirited, mazy runs aren’t what they were.

That’s not his fault though. Opposition sides have inevitably cottoned on to Bowler’s threat and have double-marked him, sometimes triple. Space is often impossible to come by.

That, for me, makes his scoring run all the more impressive. That’s the true hallmark of a quality player, especially one in the final third, someone who can still deliver when they might not be at their free-flowing best.

On this occasion, Bowler remained patient to strike at the death having been kept at arm’s length for much of the game.

Well, I say at the death, but while his winning goal came on 86 minutes there were still another 14 that followed due to stoppages.

It was a typically emphatic finish from the winger, who combined well with substitute Jerry Yates to lash home in front of the delirious 2,100 Seasiders. What a sight, what a noise.

In truth, this victory ought to have been wrapped up inside the opening half an hour given Blackpool’s dominance and yes, Stoke’s inadequacies.

Given the talent at their disposal and the salaries on offer to some of their more higher profile players, I’m not sure I’ve not seen a side as poor as them this season.

They simply wilted any time the Seasiders applied pressure high up the pitch. It resulted in turnover after turnover and gilt-edged chance after gilt-edged chance, yet the visitors couldn’t capitalise.

Blackpool’s off-the-ball work, as it so often is under Neil Critchley, was absolutely spot on. They cut off the angles and Stoke simply weren’t afforded the opportunity to play through the lines.

But whenever Pool did win the ball back, which happened on multiple occasions, their quality let them down at the final hurdle.

On one such occasion, CJ Hamilton had the simple task of rolling the ball across the six-yard box for Gary Madine to tap home, but he somehow transpired to overhit his cross. That was one of three or four priceless opportunities that went to waste.

Another was when Madine cut inside to open up the goal from 10 yards out, only to fire straight at Jack Bonham in the Stoke goal.

Stoke had very little to them and at times the game almost felt too easy for Pool, despite the scoreline remaining goalless.

But because of their individual quality, Stoke still carried a threat - it was just all too rare. Nick Powell skewed wide in front of goal and Josh Maja saw a low shot rebound off the foot of the post after wrong-footing Dan Grimshaw with a scuffed effort.

The Potters, watched by a healthy but worryingly quiet 26,000 crowd due to a special ticket offer, could have even snatched an undeserved last-gasp point when Grimshaw made a crucial save to deny Steven Fletcher in the dying seconds of the eight minutes of stoppage time.

But as Michael O’Neill himself conceded after full-time, his side were second best and deserved nothing from the game.

Instead, the day belonged to birthday boy Josh Bowler, Blackpool’s modern-day wing wizard.