Wycombe Wanderers 2-1 Blackpool: Seasiders suffer yet another defeat to place more pressure on manager Simon Grayson

Calls for Simon Grayson to face the axe continue to grow as Blackpool lost for a fifth time in six League One games.
The Seasiders are now winless in their last nine games in all competitionsThe Seasiders are now winless in their last nine games in all competitions
The Seasiders are now winless in their last nine games in all competitions
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Wycombe Wanderers v Blackpool as it happened

Wycombe Wanderers were the beneficiaries of a woeful defensive display from the Seasiders, their two goals coming inside a nightmare opening eight minutes.

Nick Freeman and Alex Samuel were the Wycombe duo to capitalise on Pool’s shambolic start, their goals meaning the game was as good as over after just 10 minutes.

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Pool did grab a late consolation through debutant Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, but it was too little, too late to get something out of the game - which kicked off at the later time of 8.50pm due to a medical emergency, which saw an air ambulance land on the pitch.

The result means Pool have failed to win any of their last nine games in all competitions, scoring just six goals during that worrying run.

The Seasiders remain 15th in the table, 10 points adrift of those all-important play-off places.

Simon Grayson sprung the changes with his team selection, making four changes to the side that lost 1-0 at Lincoln City last time out.

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In came Jordan Thorniley and Connor Ronan to make their Pool debuts, while Gary Madine and Joe Nuttall were named in attack.

That meant top goalscorer Armand Gnanduillet was surprisingly dropped to the bench alongside Curtis Tilt and Liam Feeney.

Callum Guy was left out of the squad altogether, as were Chris Maxwell, Ryan Edwards, James Husband and Sullay Kaikai.

Once the game belatedly got underway, Wycombe wasted no time in making the breakthrough.

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Nick Freeman capitalised on some schoolboy defending to stab home into the bottom corner after just five minutes.

It came after debutant Thorniley had failed to clear his lines, allowing Alex Samuel the chance to deliver a cross which Ollie Turton could only half-clear straight to Freeman - who made no mistake with his finish.

Things went from bad to worse for the Seasiders just three minutes later when the home side doubled their lead with the most basic of goals.

Thorniley, who looked rusty early on, was again guilty of poor positioning as Ben Heneghan was caught out for pace by Alex Samuel with a simple ball over the top, the Wycombe forward wriggling free before slotting into the bottom corner.

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Two almost became three inside three minutes as Pool’s nightmare start continued, Marc Bola doing superbly to clear Paul Smyth’s dangerous cross from under his own crossbar.

Grayson’s side continued to look shambolic at the back, Wycombe looking like scoring every time they ventured forward.

Samuel caused them all sorts of problems in the final third, the forward going close with a drilled effort that flashed just wide on the turn.

Bola was badly exposed at left back, with the Seasiders blazing a bizarre system that left them with no left-winger with Grant Ward instead playing centrally.

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Pool’s backline were playing like strangers, Mark Howard taking too long over a backpass and almost getting closed down by the energetic Samuel.

We had to wait until the 37th minute for Pool’s first effort of the evening, goalkeeper David Stockdale getting down to make a comfortable save from Grant Ward’s hooked effort.

The boos inevitably rang out from the away end as the Seasiders trudged off at half-time, the calls for Grayson to go loud and clear.

A half chance of sorts came the way of Nathan Delfouneso at the start of the second half, a Turton shot inadvertently falling kindly for him inside the Wycombe box only for the ball to get stuck under his feet.

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At the other end, Paul Smyth saw a long-range dipping effort palmed away by Howard before Samuel drilled an effort wide.

Pool finally produced some sustained pressure on the hour mark, Madine volleying just wide of goal after doing well to chest the ball down before hooking the ball over the defender’s head, before Turton drilled wide on his left foot.

With 15 minutes remaining, Joe Nuttall whistled a powerful shot just wide of the near post from 25 yards after cutting inside his man.

Nuttall came even closer seven minutes from time, the striker heading narrowly wide of the far post from Liam Feeney’s centre.

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Pool finally got on the scoresheet with just four minutes remaining, substitute Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall the man to notch on his debut.

The on-loan Leicester City man curled an effort straight at keeper Stockdale who could only parry it into the bottom corner of his own goal.

Nuttall wasted a golden chance to level in the second of five minutes of stoppage time, looping a header onto the top of the net from Feeney’s cross.

That proved to be that as the home side held on to claim only their second victory from their last eight games.

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The Seasiders, meanwhile, will be left to dwell on their desperate recent form which has seen pressure grow on Grayson’s head.

TEAMS

Wycombe: Stockdale, McCarthy, Stewart, Charles, Mascoll, Gape (Ofoborh), Bloomfield (Thompson), Freeman, Wheeler (Akinfenwa), Smyth, Samuel

Subs not used: Allsop, Jombati, Pattison, Parker

Blackpool: Howard, Turton, Heneghan, Thorniley, Bola, Spearing, Ronan (Feeney), Ward (Dewsbury-Hall), Delfouneso (Gnanduillet), Nuttall, Madine

Subs not used: Sims, Tilt, Macdonald, Virtue

Referee: Trevor Kettle

Attendance: 3684