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Down to Earth:
by John Secker
They started promisingly enough, but one dreadful gift goal put Hartlepool back in the game, and then the home side's confidence and self-belief trickled away into the sand. Another poor goal conceded in the second half left too much to do, and a brief rally late on was only a tantalising glimpse of what might have been.
The teamsheet showed Barnes in goal again, and Rachel on the bench - Radio Lancashire suggest that Caig has asked to leave, though he is not on the official transfer list yet. Congratulations to the boo- boys, who have driven yet another player from the club. Newell is already on their list, of course, and I heard warning signs today that Milligan is going to take Caig's place as a target. Personally I don't believe that anyone who boos a player or jeers when their name is announced can call themselves a fan.
There were two changes from the team which beat Stockport on Tuesday. Andy Morrison, who was cup-tied, came back to replace Eifion Jones in the centre of defence, and Ormerod replaced Simpson, who took a knock late in the game on Tuesday night. This meant that Blackpool were playing 4-3-3, and the team had a very attacking look about it. The first twenty minutes or so were by far the best, from Blackpool's point of view, as they passed the ball about well, probing for an opening. This style results in a lot of fouls when defenders go into the back of players as they receive the ball, and Blackpool had four free kicks close to the box. From one of these the shot hit the wall and rebounded to Morrison, who took aim and blasted in a fierce shot which was only a foot or two left of the post. Another good chance came when a run up the right was stopped, and the ball was passed back to Coid. His cross to the near post was excellent, and Murphy got to it first, but could not direct it properly. There were a couple of other chances, but Blackpool were not creating as many as they should have been, given their monopoly of the play, and this was a tiny warning for the rest of the game.
26 minutes into the game, the wheels came off with a vengeance. A long high bouncing ball was played upfield by Hartlepool, a bit left of centre from the Blackpool viewpoint. Barnes came running out, and was drawn beyond his area. If he had stayed inside it, a defender could have played a simple header back to him, but once he had committed himself he had no choice but to carry on and head it away. Unfortunately the header was not particularly good, falling to a Hartlepool player well inside the Blackpool half. He lifted it first time over Barnes and the defenders, and it bounced on the goal line and into the roof of the net.
This was a horrible self-inflicted wound, and it took all the fight out of the home team, and the fans, too. The Blackpool home crowd have never been famous for getting behind a struggling team, and today was no exception - the boos and catcalls started soon after the goal. And the team were struggling, make no mistake. They stuck to their game plan, and kept passing the ball, but the space wasn't there any more and it was hard to find a man who was not under pressure. The defence was shaken, too, and a couple more goals could have been conceded before half time. Andy Morrison was solid with the ball in front of him, but he is clearly not quite fit, and had problems when facing his own goal. He gave away a corner with a misdirected backpass, and lost possession on the wing, but fortunately the cross was poor. At the other end Blackpool spent a lot of time passing the ball about in Hartlepool's half, but there were no real chances resulting.
The second half began in much the same pattern. Blackpool were playing the ball sideways again and again, but you felt now that it was not patience, but fear of making an error, which kept them from trying to get it forward into a dangerous position. Hartlepool were obviously encouraged by their good fortune, and this did not help Blackpool, who found themselves with less time on the ball than before. The defence were still shaky, giving away unnecessary corners, and from one of these the killer goal came. It was a simple ball across; a shot came in and Barnes went to save it, but it was blocked and never reached him. The ball was stopped in the centre of the goal, just a few yards out, and a Hartlepool forward was first to react, accepting the simple tap-in for the second goal.
This was just before the hour, and a couple of minutes later Blackpool made a double substitution, bringing Newell and Milligan off and replacing them with Clarkson and Neil Murphy, pushing Coid upfield. Clarkson had clearly been given instructions to stick to the left wing, which is a position which doesn't really suit his style - things looked better on that side in the last ten minutes, when Clarkson moved back towards the centre, and Bushell and Wellens made some dangerous probes down the wing.
By that time Blackpool had given themselves some hope. The goal came in direct style - a corner from the right was headed out to Andy Morrison, waiting just outside the box, a little left of centre. He headed it towards goal, but it was cleared straight back to him, so this time he drove in a strong shot. It took a slight deflection, and ended up in the far corner of the net, beyond the keeper's despairing fingertips.
Blackpool had several chances after this to level it, and should have had more. Ormerod was put free down the left, and as he chased forward Clarkson was coming in unmarked on the far side of the goal. Ormerod's cross was good, but a defender got a foot up to it before it reached Clarkson, and put it over the bar. Wellens had a run into the box, beating a couple of defenders, but he was never quite balanced and his shot went into the side netting. Jaszczun got into position to cross from the left several times, but the forwards never got the right touch on the ball. Up the right there was a lot of activity, but not enough determination to get the ball in where it counts, and too many attacks on this flank fizzled out as defenders were allowed to get back in numbers and swamp the attack. There was one fine chance on this side, though, as Ormerod took the ball from a passing move and ran into the box, beating the defence and having a shot. He was at a tight angle, and though he got the ball over the keeper it bounced in front of goal, and no Blackpool player could reach it before a defender scrambled it away for a corner. Another corner from the right was played across the box, and one home player after another tried without success to get the ball into a shooting position; finally Bushell took it but his attempt was blasted high over the bar.
With about five minutes to go, Hartlepool began to kill the game, and they did it very well. First a man went down injured, then they made two separate substitutions. Time was added on, of course (they played about 5 minutes extra) but the momentum Blackpool had built up was lost. Hartlepool then spent many minutes holding the ball in the corner in front of their own supporters, and Blackpool could not get it out without conceding another throw, corner or free kick. Bushell was booked for going in too hard out of frustration. Even when they finally got the ball back, deep into stoppage time, the home team were unable to do anything with it and time ran out on their third league defeat in a row.
Three things stand out for me. Firstly the defence is still abysmally leaky, and Barnes is clearly not going to inspire them any more than Caig did, so they need to sort it out between them. Second, the passing game is effective in holding on to the ball, but they do need to know when to release it and go for the kill. Third, and most important, they need to improve their attitude and work rate to what we saw against Stockport, especially when they go behind. With the defence as it is (no clean sheets in the league this season) we are bound to concede goals, so heads cannot be allowed to drop and players must be eager and interested for the full 90 minutes.
Team (4-3-3): Barnes, Coid, Jaszczun, Hughes (Capt), Morrison, Bushell,
Milligan (Clarkson 60), Wellens, Ormerod, Newell (N Murphy 60), J Murphy
Subs not used: Rachel, Nowland, Jones