'Blackpool underdogs always believed': Magic memories for Keith Southern on 10th anniversary of play-off semi-final first leg win over Nottingham Forest

The 2-1 victory in front of a sell-out crowd at Bloomfield Road was the first step in the Seasiders reaching the promised land, the Premier League.

Three days later Ian Holloway’s men would go on to record a remarkable 4-3 win at the City Ground to seal their spot in the play-off final at Wembley, where they would come up against Cardiff City.

The rest, as they say, is history.

The Man of the Match during that first leg was Keith Southern, who scored Blackpool’s leveller before Charlie Adam netted from the penalty spot.

Reflecting on the game, Southern recalled to The Gazette: “It was an early kick-off, the game was on Sky Sports, I remember the pitch being pretty typical Blackpool standard really at the time - there was a lot of sand and it was quite dry and bobbly.

“Forest were obviously the favourites going into the tie, they had an unbelievable record that season - especially at home.

“Even though the first leg was at Bloomfield Road, they were definitely the favourites in terms of who was expected to go through to the final.

“We started off pretty slowly and we went a goal down when Chris Cohen scored a worldie with his left foot from outside the box.

“But we were never deterred after going a goal down, we always believed we could fight back - as everyone saw in the final.

“We knew if we kept playing, we kept passing the ball and if we kept doing the right things then we could score goals. That was the key because we had a lot of goals in the team.

“I remember getting the equaliser - it wasn’t my cleanest of strikes - but the ball came across the six-yard box, from Ian Evatt I think, it was slightly behind me but I just swung my left leg, got a decent enough contact and somehow it looped over the goalkeeper and into the goal.

“The feeling of that was adulation really to get us back into the game and to get a goal on Sky in such a high-profile game.

“We grew and we developed into the game, we became the stronger outfit.

“Second half Charlie scored a penalty to put us into the lead and we went on to win the first leg.

“Despite losing, there was still a feeling among the Forest lads that - because they had such a strong home record - that 2-1 wouldn’t be enough.

“It was really pleasing for us though, especially for me to get a goal and to get the Man of the Match award as well. I got a nice trophy for that.

“We probably would have liked it to have been a bit more but when you’re playing the favourites out of the four sides in the play-offs, we were happy to take any sort of lead to the City Ground.”