Blackpool's Championship memories: Supersub back with a bang to see off Leeds United

This week, it’s August 2012 when they made it two wins from two with a 2-1 defeat of Leeds United, as watched by WILL WATT…

Ever get the feeling you’re on to a good thing? I was lucky enough to be in the tunnel after last night’s magnificent win, and the shout from Ian Holloway’s office of ‘Get in there’ said it all.

How Holloway manages it I’ll never know. Yet again he’s failed to bring in the striker he so desperately wanted, yet again he’s had to deal with one of his star players asking to leave, but, yet again, he seems to have come out on top.

We’ll only really appreciate how special this period is for the Seasiders when it’s over.

Holloway has totally transformed the club, the supporters and, most importantly, the football on the pitch.

While I’m fully aware we are only two games into the season, there’s one more thing I have to rave about before we settle down to the reality of there being 44 gruelling games left – Matt Phillips.

The winger has seen a dream move (and a life-changing pay rise) turned down, and while it’s frustrating to us all, it’s hard not to understand his situation.

While many supporters would turn on the 21-year-old, the reception he got when introduced just after the hour said it all about the togetherness that exists at Bloomfield Road.

Boy, did he repay the supporters in the form of a winning goal which leaves the Seasiders top of the Championship table.

Despite hinting at wholesale changes to the side which won at Millwall, Holloway ended up making only two.

Craig Cathcart came into the heart of Pool’s defence and Angel Martinez was recalled to the holding role in midfield.

The injured Ian Evatt, who claimed he was fit despite some serious bruising on his foot, and skipper Barry Ferguson were the ones to miss out.

Blackpool started with a real tempo to their game, Tiago Gomes continuing from his impressive debut on Saturday.

It was he and Kevin Phillips who combined for their first real chance. A neat one-two found Gomes in on goal, only for the lineman’s flag to be raised.

I don’t want to sound like the founder member of the Gomes fan club, but the Portuguese midfielder was at the heart of everything the Seasiders did in the opening stages.

On 10 minutes, he started and finished a counter-attack by forcing a decent save out of Paddy Kenny from 18 yards.

Moments later, it was the away side who took the lead.

Ross McCormack delivered a decent corner and Tom Lees rose unmarked in the box to head home.

The goal changed little in terms of the run of play, with the Seasiders continuing to dominate.

The most contentious moment of the half came in the 17th minute, when Tom Ince looked to be hacked down in the box by Luke Varney, only for the referee to wave claims away.

The one-way traffic carried on and the Seasiders should have been on level terms on 23 minutes, only for Bloomfield Road to witness a collector’s item.

Gary Taylor-Fletcher’s brilliant through ball found Kevin Phillips clear in on goal but the usually lethal striker shot straight at Kenny.

Referee Dean Whitestone was doing his very best to be the most unpopular man inside Bloomfield Road, and with El-Hadji Diouf on the Leeds bench, that took some doing.

He waved away Pool’s second penalty claim of the half, when Sam Byram appeared to use his hand to block Taylor-Fletcher’s flick inside the box.

This was Taylor-Fletcher’s 200th appearance for the club and what a player he’s been.

He was one of Simon Grayson’s first signings when Pool were first promoted to the Championship and he’s been great value for his £100,000 fee.

He showed just how important to the Seasiders he is, even controlling the game from midfield for the last half-hour.

Ince has been the talk of the town since his two goals at the weekend and he so nearly added to his tally on the stroke of half-time.

The winger dragged a shot across goal after Stephen Crainey found him inside the box, before firing high and wide from 18 yards moments later.

The second half started in similar vein to the first, Pool so unlucky on 46 minutes when a thunderous strike by Ince rattled the inside of the post.

At this point, even the most optimistic of fans were starting to think the breakthrough would never come.

For a 10-minute spell the Seasiders played right into Neil Warnock’s side’s hands. The game became scrappy, exactly what Blackpool didn’t want.

This prompted a change of plan by Holloway just after the hour, when he replaced Gomes and Martinez with Nouha Dicko and Matt Phillips.

Then came the breakthrough and it almost lifted the roof off Bloomfield Road.

Crainey burst down the left and his low cross was tapped home by Dicko.

With the ground rocking, you knew there was only going to be one winner, and there were no prizes for guessing who was going to grab the headlines.

Crainey was again involved as he found Ince down the left, who composed himself and whipped a brilliant ball into the near post, where Matt Phillips flicked past Kenny.

You can’t help but be pleased for Phillips. It’s been such a tough week for him.

Every single Pool player celebrated with him. He’s a really popular part of the dressing room and there won’t be a more welcome scorer all season.

This was a massive win for the Seasiders, one that has left Holloway’s men thinking they are ready to take on the world.

It’s a brilliant start but there’s such a long way to go. Bring it on!

Thanks for reading. If you value what we do and are able to support us, a digital subscription is just £1 per month for the first two months. Try us today by clicking here