Blackpool v Leeds United: Warnock’s men pay price for defensive mindset

The Tangerines had seen two strong penalty appeals turned down, Tom Lees open the scoring for Leeds and the outstanding Tom Ince consistently go close over the course of 64 barren minutes when manager Ian Holloway threw on Phillips and Nouha Dicko in a last throw of the dice.

Fifteen minutes later the duo had scored a goal apiece – both from a yard – as Leeds’ tactics of holding what they had backfired on them and left them heading back to Yorkshire with a 50-50 record for the season.

Lees, the only alteration to Neil Warnock’s side from the one which beat Wolves, opened the scoring 15 minutes in.

Before that it had been all Blackpool with Paddy Kenny getting down well to his right to keep out Tiago Gomes, while for a second it appeared as if Lees was going to see more than the yellow he received for a studs-up tackle on Gary Taylor-Fletcher.

He was doing the same thing again not long after when Lees appeared to handle the ball in the area, with Kenny saving well from Alex Baptiste.

Kenny could not get near Ince’s cross-shot as half-time approached but nor could anyone else as it flashed agonisingly wide, and the same duo went head-to-head in the first minute of the second half, with the latter cracking the inside of the post.

Frustrated by his side’s bluntness in front of goal Holloway made his changes with 24 minutes to play, although his first act could have been to kick-off had Luciano Becchio realised how much time he had when he went up for a header in Blackpool’s box.

It was Blackpool who remained the more threatening side, though, and on 76 minutes they got the goal which they had threatened for most of the night when Stephen Crainey broke into the box on the left and gave Dicko the easiest task from a yard out.

Leeds had received ample warning of Blackpool’s intentions but even after being stung once they remained vulnerable and four minutes later, they were behind.

The goal was a carbon copy of the first, with Ince playing the role of Crainey and Phillips that of Dicko, with United seemingly unable to handle close-range balls into their box.

Blackpool: Gilks, Eardley, Cathcart, Baptiste, Crainey, Osbourne, Gomes (M Phillips 64), Martinez (Dicko 64), Taylor-Fletcher, K Phillips (Sylvestre 76), Ince. Unused substitutes: Halstead, Grandin, Noguera, Harris.

Leeds United: Kenny, Peltier, Lees, Pearce, White (Pugh 79), Bryam, Norris, Austin, McCormack (Diouf 58), Becchio, Varney. Unused substitutes: Ashdown, Drury, Kisnorbo, Brown, Gray.

Referee: D Whitestone (Northamptonshire).