Blackpool 1 Barnsley 1: Reds should have had it ‘done and dusted’

The Reds did not make the most of an eighth-minute opener after Conor Hourihane’s scuffed shot found the bottom corner following good work from Marley Watkins.

Henry Cameron shot wide as Blackpool looked for a quick response but they were level 10 minutes after the break when Brad Potts sent Jack Redshaw free to score.

Lloyd Jones and Hourihane had chances to win it for either sides.

Reds chief Lee Johnson admitted: “We were dominant in the first half without having enough opportunities.

“In the second half, Blackpool threw caution to the wind, though we got into some great areas but didn’t quite have the final ball or end product to finish. Overall, it was probably a fair result but I was disappointed to lose the lead though this is what you get with a young group.”

Johnson believed his side should have taken advantage of Blackpool’s tactical switch. “When Blackpool went from a 4-4-1-1 to a diamond formation it meant we should have killed them in wide areas. I asked our players to switch the ball quickly but we didn’t quite do that. We were run off for the goal and I’m disappointed in the midfield for that.

“We had the opportunities but not the gumption in the final third. We weren’t penetrative enough. We should have been done and dusted by half-time.”

Blackpool: Doyle, Boyce, Jones, Aldred, Ferguson, Cameron (Thomas 46), Cubero (Redshaw 46), Herron (Norris 76), McAlister, Potts, Cullen. Unused substitutes: Robertson, Oliver, Letheren, Paterson.

Barnsley: Townsend, Wabara, Nyatanga, Mawson, George Smith, Pearson (Jackson 90), Hourihane, Scowen, Harris, Winnall (Michael Smith 72), Watkins. Unused substitutes: Davies, Bree, Roberts, Williams, Rothwell.

Referee: C Kavanagh (Lancashire).

Man of the match: Ben Pearson.