What can you say about a game like that? For many fans, it would have been their first experience of such an amount of possession for zero return. For others longer in the tooth, it may have been experienced before, but you still wonder how it’s possible to have so much of the ball, so much attacking play, and so many shots, but still not score.

Gordon
Elmo Ferdy Onuoha McBardsley
Hendo Catts Meyler Welbeck
Gyan Bent

Surely enough there to take apart a Blackpool side that’s been all enthusiasm and belief? Looking like a cross between Inter Milan and Coventry in their away shirts, they must have sensed that the home crowd were up for this one. They managed to bring at least twenty times as many fans as Bolton had, and witnessed the game get off to a fast start. Welbeck produced the dummy of the season so far to get away down the left and cut inside, but he shot across the goal and wide and that set the tone for the afternoon’s play.

Catts was lucky to get away without a booking on 6 as the ref acknowledged the retraction of his leg in a late challenge, then Comedy Kingson let the ball under his foot but caught up with it a yard short of the line. That was the first of a series of miskicks by the visiting defence, but we could never capitalise on any of them. Bent, Welbeck, and Gyan produced a series of one-two’s that ended with a poke wide, and offside flag, or a saving tackle. Elmo got in a good cross that was taken off Bent’s toe, then Gordon caught the Kingson disease and fluffed a clearance to almost let them through. The visitors were forced to swap Grandin for Matt Phillips on 20 minutes before the curse of the central defence struck Onuoha, who appeared to hurt a hamstring. Between those substitutions, Hendo had played Gyan through, and despite forcing his way between the keeper and the centre half, he was virtually on the line wide of goal when he shot into the side netting. Hendo had also fired just over, and it was looking very much a case of when and how many. Mind, they produced a miss after breaking down their right.

With Bramble in the centre with Ferdy, we weren’t having too many problems with their attacks, but we kept missing the target at the other end with Bent, Welbeck and Gyan all guilty of not hitting the target. Hendo did force a save from the keeper, but despite him spilling it in awful style, it bounced wide and we began to think it might just be one of those days. Elmo bore into the box and drove it hard and low to the back post where Gyan bundled it – just wide. The half ended with a yellow for Meyler with only the fifth free kick of the game, and there was only one more before the whistle. No goals, and Blackpool obviously by far the happier team.

No changes for the second period, and more of the same as Bent found Elmo, the cross came in, and Gyan’s header flicked past the back post, then Bent played in Welbeck, and this time Kingson saved comfortably. Four minutes in and a right wing break ended with Bards conceding a corner which was played short, in came the cross, and there was DJ Bloody Campbell to thump in yet another goal against us. Bugger. Still, a long time to go, and we replied quickly with a shot from Hendo and a header from Catts, but both were easy for Kingson. Then Hendo fired in a hard, low cross that saw Gyan sliding in unmarked right in the centre of the goal and making contact no more than three yards out. Somehow, the ball looped over the bar. Unbelievable. Rico came on for Meyler, going to left back and allowing Bards to switch to the right and Elmo to get foward. After being caught offside (the first dubious flag from the lady liney) following a Bardsley shot – again, spilled by Kingson – Gyan was replaced by Steed on 66. Welbeck, now an official forward, hooked an overhead kick wide from a corner, then Kingson produced his first real save as Steed blasted one goal-ward. Hendo managed to kick the flag and the ball in taking a quick corner, but even the second corner of the passage of play brought nothing. They brought on Sylvestre and Carney, but continued in the same hard-working style. Another defensive slice saw the ball drop to Bent on the penalty spot, but he fired against Kingson’s knees and Elmo’s follow-up rocket went off a head for yet another corner. We then won a free 25 yards out in a fairly central position, and Bent did just about everything right – over the wall, back down, with pace, and past the keeper. Unfortunately, it came down off the woodwork, hit Kingson’s shoulder, and spun to safety with the keeper collecting it as if nothing had happened. Right on 90, they broke down the right and fired in a cross for DJ Bloody Campbell to score the second. The four added minutes were of no use apart from allowing us to mount a few more pointless attacks, and the full time stats told the story.

Twenty six Sunderland shots and nine corners would have been enough to win us just about any other game, but this is Blackpool we’re talking about. They saw that the harder you work, the luckier you get, and while that’s generally true, Ian Holloway will be grateful for the fortune that came his way today. Having said that, they put away half of the chances they got, while we missed twenty six, so luck was only a bit part player. One of those games. Of the Blackpool players, you’d probably only buy Campbell, if only to stop the bugger scoring against us, and that’s no slight intended against any of the others. Kingson apart, who’ll never be a keeper as long as he has a nose on his face (polite version) as he’s at his least happy with the ball in his hands, the rest of their side work their nuts off as a team with no great show of fancy skills, but an awful lot of belief. The result is what Carlsberg would produce if they did pub teams – and again, that’s no insult to them, as it has worked well so far. Good luck to them – Ollie Mourinho indeed.

Man of the Match? Tricky, when so many had frustrated and been frustrated this afternoon. While the central defence did generally well, they lost Campbell twice, and the central midfield of Catts and Meyler just didn’t produce the decisive through balls. The forward three suffered a bit from lack of quality through ball, but there were enough one-twos and crosses for them to have got something. For his persistence, and being the one who got round the back most often, I’ll give it to Elmo.

Keep the Faith

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