Blackpool 1-2 Blackburn: Match Report

16 August 2014 16:31
Blackpool 1-2 Blackburn: Match Report - view commentary, squad, and statistics of the game as it happened.


Rovers off the mark

Rudy Gestede bagged a brace to hand Blackburn their first win of the season and keep Blackpool searching for theirs.

Gestede netted either side of half-time while Tomasz Cywka's effort just before the hour was a mere consolation as Blackburn recovered from Tuesday's Capital One Cup first-round loss to Scunthorpe with a 2-1 victory at Ewood Park.

After opening the season with a 1-1 draw with Cardiff, Blackburn are now up and running in the Championship while Blackpool seek to open their account after three defeats in all competitions.

The first chance of the afternoon fell to Blackpool on three minutes when David Perkins drilled a 20-yard effort narrowly wide of the right-hand post.

Blackburn were cautious in much of their early work but Jordan Rhodes should have given the visitors the lead when he turned and fired straight at Joe Lewis from 10 yards.

Blackpool - who fielded a full squad for the first time this season - displayed a telling lack of cohesion as Rovers took the lead at the end of a lightening counter-attack midway through the half.

After a corner-kick to the home side came to nothing, Josh King sped forward and fed Jason Lowe inside the area.

His cut-back found Tom Cairney, who fired straight at a defender, but Gestede was on hand to lash home the rebound from 12 yards.

With minutes remaining of the opening period, Grant Hanley twice came close to doubling Blackburn's lead - firstly with a wayward header before blazing a Craig Conway corner over the bar.

If the opening period was slow to get going, the second was anything but, as Gary Bowyer's men raced into a 2-0 lead.

Two minutes into the second half, Conway gathered the ball on the left flank and found Gestede with a wonderful in-swinging delivery and he nodded home unmarked from seven yards.

There seemed little way back for Blackpool but within minutes they were back in the game courtesy of a dreadful error from keeper Paul Robinson.

Cywka struck a tame effort towards goal from the edge of the area but Robinson somehow allowed the ball to squirm under his body and into the back of the net.

That goal appeared to knock the confidence out of Robinson, who came close to gifting Blackpool an equaliser with another comical error on 70 minutes.

Tony McMahon swung a hopeful left-foot shot towards goal from 18 yards and though it was straight at the keeper, Robinson tipped the ball back over his head before scrambling and palming it onto the post and away from danger.

Nathan Delfouneso engineered one last chance as Blackpool pressed for an equaliser in the dying minutes, but after swivelling inside the area, his close-range shot was scrambled clear to deny the hosts a point their second-half efforts merited.


Source: PA