But it was the performance of the officials that raised the temperature among the home fans on a freezing cold night at Bloomfield Road.
Blackpool 2-3 West Bromwich Albion: As it happened
A thin layer of snow covered the pitch after a flurry before kick-off and the game took some time to heat up.
But on 25 minutes, Blackpool grabbed a surprise lead after Keith Southern was allowed an unchallenged run into the penalty area.
The midfielder seemed to mis-control the ball but regained possession before hammering his shot past Scott Carson.
But the lead was to last barely five minutes before Roman Bednar levelled things following a neat one-two with Robert Koren.
There were suspicions of offside but the Blackpool protests came to nothing.
It got even worse for Ian Holloway's side before half-time when Bednar forced home his second goal after a fine run and cross by Chris Brunt.
Blackpool threw on new signing Stephen Dobbie after the break and the on-loan Swansea man wasted no time in making his impact.
He teed up Dudley Campbell, starting his second loan spell at Blackpool, who then clipped the bar.
Dobbie got himself on the scoresheet with a 80th minute equaliser, placing his shot past the helpless Carson from the corner of the penalty area.
But again West Brom wasted no time in hitting back and once again the officials found themselves at the centre of controversy.
Substitute Ishmael Miller charged into the area before a strong challenge came in from Blackpool's Andy Butler.
The Blackpool players claimed Butler had played the ball but referee Mr Foster had no hesitation in pointing to the spot and Graham Dorrans made no mistake from 12 yards despite home keeper Paul Rachubka going the right way.
Source: DSG
