Portsmouth

Blackpool stumbled to a 2-1 defeat to Northampton Town at Bloomfield Road.

Owen Dale reacts after his late miss (Photographer Dave Howarth / CameraSport)

Kieron Bowie^[1] had opened the scoring for the visitors in the first half, before Jordan Rhodes^[2] pulled the Seasiders level in the 63rd minute.

Not long after the equaliser, Sam Hoskins scored the deciding goal to give Jon Brady’s side all three points.

Here are some of the talking points from the match:

Disappointing display

After taking a few steps forward in recent weeks, the defeat to Northampton certainly felt like one back.

Expectations have been raised by some of the recent performances from the Seasiders, but they just couldn’t live up to that. They looked miles away from the team that had dispatched Shrewsbury Town and top of the table Portsmouth.

After picking up back-to-back 4-0 wins, this was a great opportunity to continue that run and put themselves in a great position ahead of a break from the league for games in the FA Cup and EFL Trophy respectively.

Unfortunately what occurred just leaves everyone frustrated, as inconsistency remains a problem. We’ve seen what this Blackpool^[3] team can do when they click, but they need to keep backing up those types of performances- otherwise they’re only making life harder for themselves in the long run.

Nothing is decided at this stage of the season, but in the next few months these are the sort of games Neil Critchley’s side need to win.

^[4]

A lack of cohesion

The Seasiders were lacking the spark we’ve seen in the last few weeks. Going forward they didn’t seem to be on the same page, while in defence they were lacking communication.

From the start there was a bit of panic on the ball, which resulted in Dan Grimshaw being forced into a fantastic save after only three minutes. Gaps continued to open at the back, with space appearing too easily Bowie’s opener.

In the second half, the lack of cohesion was clear to see for Northampton’s second, as Sam Hoskins intercepted a weak back pass from James Husband.

The same could be seen in the other box, with golden attacking opportunities rushed by a number of players. This included a scuffed effort from Jake Beesley and a late headed effort from Owen Dale.

Familiar line-up

For the third consecutive game, Critchley named the exact same team. It was a surprise as he’s a manager who loves to tinker with his side, even after positive results.

It was unfortunate that the Seasiders couldn’t rise to the same levels once again for the visit of Northampton, with a bit of fatigue clearly having an impact.

At full time it’s easy to question the decision not to rotate following a short turnaround, but hindsights is a wonderful thing. I don’t think too many people would’ve had complaints about an unchanged starting XI.

With two back-to-back 4-0 wins under Blackpool’s belt, it would’ve been hard for him to drop any one. The fact that two cup games are up next probably played its part as well.

It proved to be an underwhelming night, but will be something else they can learn from.

References

1. ^{^} Kieron Bowie (www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk)
2. ^{^} Jordan Rhodes (www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk)
3. ^{^} Blackpool (www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk)
4. ^{^}