Scorers: Long (14'), Pritchard (88')
H.T: 1-0
K.O: Saturday 3.00 09/02/2019
Attendance: 3,252 (622)
Referee: Thomas Bramall
Walsall manager: Dean Keates
Stadium: Bloomfield Road
Changes in the table: Blackpool are now just 4 points away from the playoffs and Walsall are in 17th.
Form: DWD - WLL
Teams:
Blackpool XI: Howard, Daniels, Heneghan, Tilt, Bola, Turton, Pritchard, Thompson, Delfouneso (Evans), Long (Virtue), Gnanduillet (Dodoo)
Subs not used: Mafoumbi, Shaw, Kirby, Sorensen
Walsall XI: Roberts, Edwards, Dobson (Osbourne), Guthrie, Devlin (Ismail), Norman, Laird, Scarr, Oteh, Jarvis (Taylor), Cook
Subs not used: Dunn, Leahy, Fitzwater, Gordon
Preview: https://theblackpoolblog.wixsite.com/theblackpoolblog/home/walsall-h-preview
Match Events:
Blackpool started the match convincingly with some sustained pressure. Very early on Blackpool would work their first opening as Bola lifted the ball into Gnanduillet, who could not control his header. Blackpool continued searching for the opener and in the 7th minute went close again. Jordan Thompson would win and take a free-kick, only for the ball to be cleared for a corner.
Walsall were making an attempt to catch Blackpool out with long balls, but the best they could muster early on was a glanced header by Cook bouncing by.
Blackpool made the breakthrough though, and for all their pressure, it was actually a more direct approach that would give them the lead. A long ball from Howard was flicked on by Gnanduillet towards Long. The striker's pace was too much for Walsall and, from a tight angle, he would drill into the far bottom corner. Blackpool had the lead and Walsall looked dejected.
The game became increasingly scrappy following the opener, even if Long would be put through again 17 minutes in only to see he shot smothered by the keeper. Chances quickly became few and far between for both sides, but it was Blackpool who were still dominant. In the 25th minute Delfouneso beat his man and the ball was worked out to Thompson. The midfielder would only drive over his effort however, from a promising position.
Walsall would then almost equalise through Oteh, but again Blackpool stood strong. A last ditch block taking the power off the shot this time. Blackpool looked under threat rarely though in the first half and a couple of half chances just before half time, through Gnanduillet and Daniels, would reassure this.
In the second half it seemed to be more of the same from Blackpool, with Delfouneso getting an early shot on target. This was not to be the case however, as Walsall would begin to really press the Seasiders. In the 54th minute for example there was absolute carnage in the area, with countless opportunities for Walsall. The situation would seem bleaker still as Guthrie would narrowly miss an Osbourne cross. Out of all of these chances however, none was greater than the penalty that Walsall won. Oteh would go down under challenge from Tilt and controversially win a penalty for Walsall. Walsall could not even convert this opportunity as, on 67 minutes, Jervis would stroke his penalty against the body of Howard, a save that would ultimately win Blackpool the three points.
That miss seemed to elapse all of Walsall's energy and they were not the same side. Oteh, who won the penalty, forced a good save out of Howard just after the penalty, but Walsall went back to being second best in the match. Blackpool would gradually grow back into the match and introduced youngsters Virtue and Evans for debuts. This freshened things up and Blackpool regained focus.
In the 75th minute Virtue, who had just come on, very nearly made the dream impression on the match, striking the ball against Gnanduillet when things opened up for him. Blackpool would continue in search of that essential second and match ending goal. In the 78th minute Pritchard would hammer wide with the keeper out of position.
Walsall were disintegrating at the back, as Blackpool would come again. This time Thompson would drag wide after Gnanduillet found him brilliantly.
Blackpool's push in the last few minutes was eventually rewarded though pure luck. The chance seemed to have passed on 88 minutes, when Gnanduillet lost control of the ball in a good position, but Pritchard would pick up the pieces and thump home from close range, his second goal in a row.
That nicely wrapped up the win for Blackpool and it could have got even better had the ball not bobbled just before Evans unleashed a strike in extra time.
Player Ratings:
Howard 8 - Still needs to be confident in coming for crosses, but as a shot stopper today, he was exquisite.
Daniels 7 - A better performance from him today, as he adapts to his new role.
Heneghan 7 - Did everything well and made few errors.
Tilt 7 - Solid throughout and looked assured in possession. Did however give the contentious penalty away.
Bola 8 - Bola never really seems to put a foot wrong and protects the left flank very well.
Turton 5 - Was one of the few who were sloppy today. A few hefty touches left him not at his best.
Pritchard 8 - Got the very important second goal and is a good replacement for Spearing in the midfield.
Thompson 6 - Was a threat as always, but had a few chances and should have converted at least one.
Delfouneso 6 - Started the game well, but drifted out as the game went on.
Evans 7 - Played a fantastic ball to Thompson who was just offside and caused problems when he came on.
Long 7 - Took his goal very well and linked up well too.
Virtue 6 - Did well to slow thing down when he came on. Could have easily scored too.
Gnanduillet 8 (Star man) - Had a major hand in both of the goals and was too much to handle for the Walsall defence.
Dodoo 5 - Barely had time to have a touch when he came on.
In Addition:
Blackpool miss Spearing, but are not reliant on him. A Spearing would have maybe today made the second half more tolerable, but it was not as if Blackpool crumbled without him. In all honesty, the first half performance in particular, was one of the best of the season. That said, the sooner Spearing can return, the better for Blackpool.
The youngsters look extremely promising. Virtue and Evans both spread play well, with Evans maybe having more pace than Virtue, but they both had a considerable impact. With others being left out today, it is good to see Blackpool having plenty of healthy competition at the moment.
Blackpool must kill games off earlier. At 1-0 the game was always in the balance and, for all the chances they had in the first half, they should have managed to find that second goal earlier on. Howard saved Blackpool's blushes, but in future this might not be the case.
UTP