Poor Performance

By Paddy
November 26 2008

Blackpool fell to their 4th defeat in a row at the hands of relegation candidates Sheffield Wednesday. Marcus Tudgay and Deon Burton both scored second half headers to guide the Owls to a big win for the men from beyond the Pennines. Joe Martin was Pools main bright point in a night that bought about more frustration for Pool fans.

After Blackpool fell to Wolves at Molineux on Saturday, morale was low, and yet fans expected a massive improvement,as did the manager, and he expected it from an almost identical team, with Joe Martin the only change, coming in for the departed Mo Camara, who has returned to Derby.

Goals from Tudgay and Burton clinched the victory for Wednesday, in what, once again, proved to be a good first half performance, followed by a dire second. One bright point was the full backs, with both Baptiste and Joe Martin shwoing that the future of the club's defence, for the moment, is secure.

Blackpool made a bright start, having lots of posession, but failing to convert it into chances, something that has been lacking since David Vaughan's injury against Watford. possibly due to the lack of creativity in the middle. Lee Hendrie was the key player for Pool, but with  him still being short of full match fitness,and being a similar type of player in the middle to partner Keith Southern, the midfieldstruggled to be creative.

As well as a poor middle, the wing partnership of Adam Hammill and Gary Taylor-Fletcher looked short of confidence and ideas, and up front, Steve Kabba looked lacklustre and uninterested, while Alan Gow looked short of service and fitness

It was Wednesday who had the first good opportunity, with Blackpool failing to clear and the ball fell to danger-mad Jermaine Johnson, only to see him blaze over the bar, and then Marcus Tudgay shot straight at keeper Paul Rachubka when he had a real opportunity to test the American.

Blackpool were beginning to be pegged back, and in a rare foray forward, Adam Hammill was released by some magnificent work from Alan Gow, who played a little flick inside for the winger to run onto, and in a 3 on 2 situation which gave Hammill options both right, in Steve Kabba, and left, in Alan Gow, but just as Hammill was set to release Kabba, James O'Connor made a fantastic challenge, and the former Burnley man was quick to spring back to his feet and move back up the pitch for the Owls.

Wednesday continued the onsluaght on the Blackpool goal, and it was the Owls who had the best chance of the half, when a Tony McMahon corner wasn't cleared by the Blackpool defence, there was a hubbub in the Blackpool 6 yard box, and the looping ball was struck on the volley by O'Conner, but he failed to make any meaningful connection, and the ball slid down behind him and Blackpool cleared.

Despite failing to make any significant inroads into the Wednesday strength in midfield and at the back, Blackpool did come closest to scoring on 2 occasions, the first when good work down the right by Taylor-Fletcher saw a fired cross come in, aimed low at Steve Kabba, and the slipping loan man, while under pressure from his marker, tried to flick the ball in off his heel, but only managed to hit the advertising hoardings guarding the non-existent construction work on the South Stand.

Secondly when more good work down the right, this time from Alex Baptiste, saw Alan Gow flick the ball over the tall centre half, and hit a great half volley from the edge of the box, which beat Lee Grant, but only managed to cannon off the base of the post and wide.

At half time, there was a slight restlessness in the stands, with Pool fans knowing that they had the ability to tear the Wednesday team apart, but were failing o show their potential, as they had done in the last 3 games, and in particular the derby. THere were however, signs for encouragement, with Martin and Baptiste both doing an apt job in the full back roles, and the central defence pairing of Edwards and Evatt holding firm, and while the central midfield pairing of Hendrie and Southern wasn't taking a grip non the game, there was some cautious optimism in the stands.

However, what happened in the second half was something, again, that Blackpool fans will want to forget in a hurry. Steve Watson made an appearance for Wednesday at the interval, and immediately the signs were there, when Johnson fired over a free kick which just avoided the crossbar. Johnson then missed another opportunity, before a hamstring injury halted his evening, picked up innoculously when he was fetching the ball for a corner.

Johnson was replaced on the pitch by Ettiene Esajas, and it was the sub who made the difference. A long ball over Alex Baptiste's head was tough to clear, and the youngester didn't get enough purcxhase on the clearance, which allowed Esajas whip in a perfect cross, which saw Marcus Tudgay rise about the helpless Joe Martin and power the ball past Rachubka, leaving the American keeper with no chance.

Alan Gow then had 3 chances to equalise for Pool, each one better than the last. The first a free kick hit straight at Grant, the second blocked on the line by O'Connor after a great run in the box, with the goal gaping, and the third coming after a run in off the right, his left foot shot just needed to curl inches further, but the ball kept moving straight and dipped wide, leaving Gow just as frustrated as anyone else in the Blackpool end.

Stephen McPhee then made another appearance off the bench, replacing Taylor-Fletcher, but his appearance was brief, as he was taken off with a knee injuryafter making a brave run from the left. Pool fans screamed for a foul, but it looked as though it was just a twisted knee, picked up on landing after the tackle.

McPhee was replaced by Burgess, and Gow came close yet again to getting Pool the equaliser, only to see his effort go wide, and then at the other end, the warning bells were rung by a Deon Burton strike which hammered against the crossbar, with the aid of a stunning touch from Rachubka.

The American's good work was thrown away by himself once again, as he failed to come for a cross, his confidence probably shot after his mistake at Wolves, as Esajas put in a high corner, Rachubka didn't take command, and Burton got above Barker, who had come on just before the set piece, with Grayson commiting the cardinal sin of management of making a substitution at a defensive set piece, and Burton powered in the header off the underside of the bar.

Blackpool still had a chance to salvage some pride from the game, with a free kick from Hendrie drifting into the back post, which was met with a free header by Barker, but the sub put his header from 6 yards over the bar when it was easier to score.

Final Score: Blackpool 0-2 Sheffield Wednesday

My Man of the Match: Joe Martin

Blackpool team: Rachubka, Baptiste (Barker 85), Evatt, Edwards, Martin, Taylor-Fletcher (McPhee 71 (Burgess 77)), Southern, Hendrie, Hammill, Kabba, Gow. Subs not used: Fox, Jorgensen

Sheffield Wednesday: Grant, Buxton, Beevers, Wood, McMahon, Tudgay, McAllister (Watson 46), O'Connor, Johnson (Esajas 57), Burton, Clarke.

Subs not used: Jeffers, Smith, Simek.

Referee: Carl Boyeson (E Yorkshire)

Hapless Pool beaten by Wednesday

Discussion started by Tangerine-Planet.co.uk (IP Logged), 26/11/2008 23:00

Tangerine-Planet.co.uk
26/11/2008 23:00

Hapless Pool beaten by Wednesday

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