GRAYSON’S JOY BY THE SEASIDE
SIMON Grayson admits confidence is flowing through Bloomfield Road after Blackpool moved up to fourth with a derby victory against Fleetwood.
Liam Feeney grabbed his first Tangerines goal to break the deadlock, before further strikes from Sullay Kaikai and Armand Gnanduillet settled it, with Conor McAleny netting a late consolation.
Blackpool are unbeaten in the league since October 12 and Grayson insists the only way is up. “It was a very important victory for us, of course, and we deserved it,” he said.
“I asked the lads for a big performance before the game, and I certainly got it. When you’re faced with the vim and vigour of a big local derby game you need every player to step up to the plate.
“It was two good teams pushing high at the top of the table having a real battle. It was a solid performance, and one which we needed to put in if we were going to get anything.
“It’s about keeping this momentum going now. We’re at the start of a tough run of fixtures, but if we play keep playing like that we won’t go too far off course. This was a huge confidence-booster for everyone at the club.”
The hosts went in front early on as Feeney fired home from 15 yards after Nathan Delfouneso’s cross wasn’t cleared.
Fleetwood came close to a leveller when Paddy Madden fired across goal and narrowly wide after he met Josh Morris’s neat lay-off.
Less than two minutes into the second period, Blackpool went two clear, with Kaikai curled home a free-kick from just outside the box.
Blackpool cemented their superiority in the 65th minute when Gnanduillet rose superbly to head home Feeney’s cross, in off a post. Pockets of crowd trouble led to the game being held up for a couple of minutes after Blackpool’s third, before sub McAleny struck home a late Fleetwood consolation.
Away boss Joey Barton insists his side are better than Blackpool, but admitted they just did not turn up at Bloomfield Road. He said: “It was a very disappointing afternoon for us, very much so.
“We’re all frustrated because, the reality of it is, we still feel that we’re a much better team than Blackpool. That means nothing now, we lost this game fair and square, and we’ve got to be smarter in certain situations in the future.
“We’ve got to manage key moments of a game better. We do need the rub of the green too, though. Some of the refereeing decisions didn’t go for us. I can’t believe the decision before the second goal and there was a definite foul in the run-up to the third, but that’s football. You’ve got to adjust and make sure that your team is always fully on it.
“We got no points because we didn’t turn up. The first goal changes any match. Blackpool got that, we didn’t, and, at the end of the game, we come away with nothing.”