WANDERERS (3-4-2-1).
NATHAN BAXTER…6.
Beaten to the punch, quite literally, for the Joseph’s header but produced an important save a few moments later at his near post to keep Bolton in touch.
GETHIN JONES…6.5.
Solid return to League One action, winning as much in the air as anyone else and producing a couple of important clearances in difficult conditions.
RICARDO SANTOS…6.
Did most of the simple stuff well but allowed Joseph to get away from him for the goal, so gets a mark against his name.
GEORGE JOHNSTON…5.5.
Unusually wobbly at times in the first half, which has been a rare thing to say since he returned after injury. Stabilised somewhat after the break.
JOSH DACRES-COGLEY…5.5.
Loose with a few passes and didn’t look quite at his sharpest. With Osei-Tutu fit again, he is facing a real challenge for his place in the side.
JOSH SHEEHAN…6.
Went close with a first half free kick which dipped just over the bar. Wasn’t really in the game until the second half, when he started to take control.
GEORGE THOMASON…8.5.
One of only a few who put themselves around in the first half, he completely ran the show for 20 minutes after the break, grabbing another excellent goal against his former club.
SZABI SCHON…6.5.
Looked on the fringes for quite some time, yet he offered some of the most intelligent passing late in the game. Unfortunately, a yellow card means he misses Cambridge.
JOHN MCATEE…5.
Really struggling to find where he fits in this team. Not an eight, not thriving in this role off the front man, hasn’t had much of a shot as the nine. Needs a change in fortune.
AARON COLLINS…7.
Should have made things easier by scoring before he did. To his credit, though, he kept plugging away and got his reward in stoppage time.
DION CHARLES…6.
Took his ‘goal’ well and will rightly wonder why it was scrubbed out. Isolated in the first half and reduced to trying to hold the ball up, which simply isn’t his game.
Subs: Matete 6, 68 (for Thomason) – Held down the fort but not a like-for-like replacement.
Adeboyejo 74 (for McAtee), Osei-Tutu 82 (for Dacres-Cogley.
Not used: Arfield, Forrester, Lolos, Williams.
Blackpool (4-3-2-1): O’Donnell; Gabriel, Offiah, Casey, Husband; Evans, Norburn, Coulson; Apter, Embleton; Joseph.
Subs: Ballard 68 (for Embleton), Ashworth 76 (for Coulson), Finnigan 81 (for Norburn), Bondo 81 (for Apter).
Not used: Pennington, Rhodes, Tyrer.
Attendance: Not given.
Referee – Edward Duckworth – 4/10.
Two local rivals on a drenched pitch was a recipe for disaster, and the referee gets a mark for keeping 22 players on the pitch. His prissiness at times, however, was infuriating to watch and did nothing to improve the mood of the game. Dion Charles’s disallowed goal was a mystery, especially if Victor Adeboyejo was somehow implicated.
MAN OF THE MATCH – George Thomason.
A superb finish, a captain’s performance. Anyone who doubted his importance to the cause should watch back the first 20 minutes of the second half. Grabbed the neck – and his team – by the scruff of the neck and forced them to push forward.
MOAN OF THE MATCH – The first half was a complete non-event for Wanderers, which invited all manner of criticism. Why the Whites are struggling to much to score first half goals at home is hard to fathom.
MAGIC MOMENT – Draw this game and the negative aspects of the first half remain on the discussion table. Aaron Collins’ excellent finish for the winner makes sure we can all talk about a job well done.
ATMOSPHERE – Strange, to say the least. Apathy ruled in the first 45 minutes and there were jeers at half time, yet things woke up after the break, thanks to some decent football.
