Stoke City 0 Blackpool 1

The intervening years have seldom been kind to either club, but their fortunes are improving. Stoke are now established in the Premier League and their form over the last five matches has only been bettered by Arsenal. Newcomers Blackpool have entertained with their attacking verve and earned the royal seal of approval from Prince William, who watched their recent home win over Wolves.

The freezing conditions that put paid to Blackpool's home game against Manchester United had also forced Holloway to hold training on the beach, where Matthews used to go for a run early each morning. The sands of time have not diminished his memory; Matthews coached in South African townships for 25 years and on Saturday one of those to benefit, Paradise Moeketsi, who lay flowers on the centre circle, where the ashes of Matthews are buried.

Matthews would have been proud of the way Blackpool not only kept the ball but showed resilience when needed. Stoke huffed and puffed but were left deflated as their five-match unbeaten run came to an end.

A sloppy opening to the game was epitomised in an early spout of defensive cock-ups as first Asmir Begovic sliced a punt upfield into the path of an away shirt before Craig Cathcart's blushes were spared as 'keeper Richard Kingson denied Ricardo Fuller a simple finish after the Jamaican had been allowed to run onto a looping ball.

Kenwyne Jones was granted the first chance of the game but could only fire wide on the half volley from the edge of the area, and the Trinidad and Tobago target man had an even better opportunity moments later from a Matthew Etherington corner, but after beating everyone in the air, the club record signing could only spoon over once more.

Soon the Boothen End had the chance to play goalkeeper as David Vaughan's driven volley drew gasps from the travelling fans before fizzing over Begovic's bar.

But a better opportunity was to present itself to Holloway's men as Neal Eardley jinxed his way into the box and saw his near post cross blocked by Wilkinson, with Varney ready to tap home before DJ Campbell fired wide under pressure.

It was the visitors who continued to threaten in the first half, yet rarely could the pace of Campbell be exploited despite Stoke's unusually high defensive line, while the home side squandered possession, providing an almost exclusive threat from set plays.

And perhaps a frustration with his team-mates' dire passing prompted Ricardo Fuller to hit an audacious effort from 30 yards, only for the Jamaican's strike to bounce off the top side of the bar.

But Blackpool once again punched a hole through the Stoke defence as Campbell and Varney cleverly combined before the latter was blocked by Danny Collins.

Campbell was then gifted a chance courtesy of defending that would have had schoolboys wincing as no less than three Blackpool men beat the offside trap, but the striker - who turned to look at the linesman to ensure that he remained onside - faffed for too long and allowed Begovic to fist the ball away to a defender.

Stoke thought they had taken the lead prior to the break as Rory Delap scrambled in a corner at the far post, only for the referee to blow for an infringement as the home supporters stood to cheer.

And as the referee signalled for the players to head towards the tunnel, the home fans' frustrations were audible after a first half in which their side had been outplayed in the middle of the park, with Charlie Adam and Vaughan spreading and stopping the play in equal measure.

From the restart it was the home fans who got the attacking swing in motion as a Delap throw fell to the feet of Dean Whitehead, but the ex-Sunderland man fired over on his weak left foot.

Seconds later, Fuller had 20,000-plus fans incensed as he refused to slip in an unmarked Etherington, instead choosing to twist and turn and shoot into a defender's legs.

And from that sequence of play, the Potters were mightily punished as Blackpool raced away on the counter, culminating in Adam shooting from the edge of the area and Campbell stabbing in at the far post with an instinctive finish.

It was the Tangerines who continued to press the issue - with their forward men switching positions as Vaughan kept things ticking over in midfield, allowing the away side to retain possession with ease, much to the chagrin of the home support.

But Gary Taylor-Fletcher failed to widen the gap after he was picked out by Adam with a lofted free-kick, with his header looping over Begovic before smacking against the bar. And Etherington also rattled the frame of the goal when his free-kick struck the bar.

Stoke, meanwhile, were anything but cohesive and slick, evidenced when a looping Etherington cross inched its way towards Pennant, only for Whitehead to steam in and attempt to volley the ball, ultimately resulting in neither player connecting.

That embarrassment prompted Pulis to make a double swap, with the disappointing Jones replaced by Jonathan Walters and the frustrating Pennant hauled off for Tuncay Sanli.

But it was a defender who Stoke turned to, to claw them back into the game as Robert Huth saw a header acrobatically saved by Kingson, who also did well to block Walters.

Those chances did not deter the visitors from playing their forward-thinking football with substitute Matt Phillips coming close to wrapping up victory with a lung-busting run, but they were pinged back in their own half in the final minutes as Pulis flung on midfielder Glenn Whelan for full-back Wilkinson.

Yet the away side held on, despite Delap clattering the post, for a deserved victory that sends them back into the top half of the table.


Blackpool manager Ian Holloway spoke of his pride after his side secured their sixth Barclays Premier League win of the season and admitted they are ahead of schedule and said: "Someone had us down for only 10 (points) after 38 games. Bit of a laughing stock we were going to be.