Tangerines squeeze most out of chances

TERRY McPhillips reckons his Blackpool team weren’t at their best, but that made beating Wimbledon all the sweeter.

Curtis Tilt’s firsthalf goal coupled with Marc Bola’s late strike gave Blackpool their 10th League One game without defeat, against a side struggling around the relegation zone.

But McPhillips knows his Tangerines have another level to go to – a fact that rendered the boss a happy man.

“This was a massive win, a clean sheet and within a game of few chances for both sides,” he said.

“I thought we were clinical and we had the better chances overall, a great win and I am delighted. They played with a big striker and we had to counter that as the game went on.

“We know that AFC Wimbledon are a hard team to play against, hard to get past, and this was probably the fewest amount of chances that we’ve created in a game for a while, but we were clinical.

“We’ve been nowhere near our best but we’ve won 2-0, that’s the really pleasing thing.

Blackpool were up and running within 10 minutes as Tilt got the slightest touch on Jay Spearing’s corner, though from there they faced a bombardment from the travelling Dons.

It meant a second goal would prove vital and Bola duly obliged, the left-back striking eight minutes from time for his first goal for the club.

But visiting manager Neal Ardley was far from surprised at his side’s lack of cutting edge, not that he was keen to pass on blame for the defeat.

“Losing games always hurts, I felt really positive ahead of this game and we were the better side between the two penalty boxes,” he said.

“We went over those types of set piece situations in training this week, and then so early on we concede from one, it’s a disappointing position to be in. “At the other end of the pitch, the opposition seem to be putting their bodies on the line when we have chances and these things are what wins and loses football games.

“I expect us to have chances, given the players we’ve got, and the players gave everything, but in a goal scoring sense we are lacking confidence.

“But in those situations you have to defend well and we weren’t able to do that.”