Blackpool suffer first defeat of the season in dismal display away to Lincoln City

The Seasiders conceded two penalties and saw Ollie Norburn sent off in the 3-0 loss at the LNER Stadium.

Neil Critchley’s side were firmly second-best throughout the game, and have now gone four games without scoring.

The Tangerines had the first sight of goal after only four minutes, with a cross from CJ Hamilton finding Callum Connolly on the edge of the box.

Unfortunately the wing-back couldn’t find the target, as he put his effort over the bar.

Down the other end, it was the Imps who took the lead, with a clumsy challenge from Marvin Ekpiteta giving the referee no other choice than to point to the spot.

Danny Mandroiu stood up to take the penalty, and sent Dan Grimshaw the wrong way.

An injury for Shayne Lavery in the 26th minute saw Jordan Rhodes introduced for his Seasiders debut earlier than expected.

The forward soon made an impact, and forced a good save from Lukas Jensen.

From the rebound, Hamilton, who had done well in the build-up, fired over the bar.

Ahead of half time, Lincoln doubled their lead.

Ethan Erhahon made a driving run forward, before unleashing a shot into the top right corner from the edge of the box.

During the break, Critchley made three changes to his team, with Ekpiteta, Kenny Dougall and Jake Beesley making way for Andy Lyons, Sonny Carey and Owen Dale.

Like Connolly in the first half, Hamilton also fired a shot over the bar from the edge of the area.

Carey was able to force Jensen into a save, with a well drilled shot from just inside the box.

Blackpool’s afternoon got worse heading into the latter stages, as they found themselves another goal down- as well as having their numbers reduced.

Ben House found himself through one on one with Grimshaw, who was able to make an initial save.

As the attacker went to finish the rebound, he was brought down by Norburn, who was shown a straight red.

Substitute Teddy Bishop stepped up to make it 3-0- which is how the game ended.

Verdict:

It was a day to forget for the Seasiders, who were miles off the pace at the LNER Stadium.

A lack of goals prior to this fixture had been a major concern, but their defensive stability had

Unfortunately, they still didn’t look like scoring against Lincoln, while having to pick the ball out the back of Grimshaw’s net on three occasions.

At such an early stage of the season this is not the time to panic or overreact, but this has to be a wake-up call.

Further action has to be taken needs to be taken in the transfer market, while the current squad need to step up as well.

Blackpool FC: Dan Grimshaw, Olly Casey, Marvin Ekpiteta (45’), James Husband, CJ Hamilton, Kenny Dougall (45’), Ollie Norburn, Albie Morgan (80’), Callum Connolly, Jake Beesley (45’), Shayne Lavery (26’).

Substitutions: Rich O’Donnell, Matthew Pennington, Andy Lyons (45’), Sonny Carey (45’), Jensen Weir (80’), Owen Dale (45’), Jordan Rhodes (26’).