Critch:Tangerines have thick skin
BLACKPOOL boss Neil Critchley praised his neversay-die Championship newcomers after Shayne Lavery’s last-gasp strike snatched a point.
Chris Martin’s 44th-minute header from an Andy King cross looked to have put Bristol City on course for their
first home win since last January.
But boss Nigel Pearson was kept waiting for his first victory at Ashton Gate, after Lavery pounced to net from a low cross by fellow sub Josh Bowler deep into stoppage time.
The close-range strike sent more than 1,100 travelling Blackpool fans behind the goal into scenes of wild celebration.
And for Critchley it represented a great start for his newly promoted team.
He said: “From the start of my time in charge, I wanted the team to reflect the people who live in our area. That
meant fighting to the last. We did that today, and after an improved second-half performance we got our reward.
“Bristol City got on top of us in the first half and we lacked a bit of confidence, but in the end we were a match for them.
“We are the bookmakers’ favourites to go down, which was no surprise.
“But I have faith in the players and expect us to be competitive in a very tough league.” City created most of the clear chances and Pearson, who watched the game from the stands, was understandably disappointed.
“I feel like everyone associated with the club probably feels,” said the former Leicester and Watford boss.
“It was a game we should have won and to concede so close to the end was very disappointing.
“There was a lot we might have done to prevent the goal. “But I am not going to spend a lot of time picking the bones out of it. The overall performance was good, but it was a reminder of what football can do to you at times.”
City lost winger Callum O’Dowda to injury after 13 minutes, but Kasey Palmer proved a capable replacement.
Andreas Weimann, King and Rob Atkinson missed decent first-half opportunities for the hosts.
Matty James shot wide from the edge of the box in the second half and the misses came back to bite Pearson’s men.
Before the start, tributes were paid to former City player and manager Terry Cooper, who died last weekend at the age of 77.