Match Report: 2009/2010 Season

20 February 2010: Championship
BLACKPOOL 2 READING 0
goals
Reading: -
Blackpool: Campbell (41 mins), Adam (74 mins).
Half Time: 1-0
Attendance: 7,147

CHAMPIONSHIP 20 Feb 2010
Pos Team P Pts GD
19 Ipswich 31 36 -8
20 READING 31 35 -14
21 Sheff Wed 32 34 -14
teams
Reading: Federici, Mills, Griffin, Bertrand, Khizanishvili, McAnuff, Howard, Kebe, Karacan (Rasiak, 63), Gunnarsson (Sigurdsson, 32), Church (Thorvaldsson, 54). Subs not used: Tabb, Hamer, Pearce, Robson-Kanu.
Blackpool: Gilks, Baptiste, Butler, Crainey, Evatt, Southern, Adam, Vaughan, Taylor-Fletcher (Bouazza, 22), Campbell (Dobbie, 78), Ormerod (Burgess, 66). Subs not used: Euell, Eardley, Husband, Rachubka.
bookings
Reading: Bertrand.
Blackpool: Southern.
Ref: C Pawson
report
-
FANS' POST MATCH OPINION

Well that was dire, from the moment we started the team looked like they didn't want to be there. I can't think of one player that had a good game. Special mention must go to Howard who was utterly dire and I can't remember one pass or tackle he managed to make yet still avoided getting subbed. The team as a whole seem unable to pass the ball, tackle, or shoot. We had to wait until injury time for the first shot on target and close to the end for any attempt on goal at all. Their keeper can't of had an easier game. OK we'd played on Wednesday and it was a long trip, but we just had no appetite at all to get anything from this game. You could moan about the pitch but Blackpool managed to know it around. The two goals came from the only bit of quality play in the game, for the first it was a couple of good passes and a good touch to deflect the ball into the goal past Feb. Maybe Mills went to sleep and should of made it harder but it was a quality delivery. For the second Bertand just stood off Baptiste until he managed to spot the unmarked Adams who picked his spot in the corner, ironically after the only spell of pressure we managed to produce. The only claim for injustice was the homer ref not sending off the guy who did a two footed jump tackle on Gunnar (who then had to go off), IMHO a definite red and despite the protestations he got away with a yellow. Had he gone there would have been a different result. Strange substitutions from McD, he should have taken off Howard and put on Tabb after going 4-4-2. What worried me was that we looked either dead beat or complacent after beating Palace, and now we have another Wednesday game coming up before a 6 pointer v Sheffield Wednesday next Saturday.
Pie Eater

It was rubbish. Positives first, Mills was very good and we'd have probably lost by more without him! Negatives: It was plainly an off day as we were second to every ball, consistently gave the ball away, didn't cross, didn't shoot & didn;t seem to have any idea of something creative to break down a Blackpool side that were poor but very much up for the game. Missed opportunity on our part. Oh and as per PieEaters comments, Keith Southern's tackle was a clear 2 footed lunge and deserved a red card, you could see he was scared and thought it was going to be red then ref gave the yellow!
Slinky

Both sides were poor, and so was the pitch. We were scuppered when Gunnarsson went off. He was the only player prepared to stand up to Charlie Adam. Adam ran the game, and had free reign once Bryn had gone. It was no coincidence that Blackpool scored the first goal ten minutes after he left the field. I felt a bit sorry for the back four, they were given no protection by the midfielders in front of them whatsoever. Mills and Khizanishvili both played ok. Griffin was the best of the bunch. His experience enabled him to deal with Bouazza, and others, on a number of occasions. Jem, Jobi and Jimmy didn't seem interested. Kebe was back to his 'bambi on ice' performances of earlier in the season. I was sure he had the beating of the Blackpool full back for pace, but he simply didn't try. Howard seemed to mis-hit every pass, and was generally very poor. He is so frustrating, against Palace he was picking out some really good passes. Yesterday anything over ten yards was a waste of time. Thorvaldsson didn't look particularly good, but the service he got was not great. He looked slightly more comfortable when Rasiak came on and he had a partner. The time has come to rest a few players against WBA, in preparation for our game with Sheff. Wed. In the last few games Karacan and Bertrand have looked a bit off the pace. I would like to see Tabb and Sigurdsson given a few games together. The work rate and creativity they have between them just might be what we need.
Blue Biscuit

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QUOTES FROM THE PRESS

Goals from DJ Campbell and Charlie Adam kept Blackpool in contention for a play-off spot and pushed Reading back towards the relegation zone... The hosts deservedly opened the scoring when Adam's clever pass from the right flank found Campbell and he drilled in a right-footed shot from 12 yards. Adam went close to getting on the scoresheet with another vicious shot and Federici produced a smart stop to deny substitute Hameur Bouazza from 12 yards. Yet Blackpool were not to be denied and they wrapped up the points with 16 minutes remaining as Bouazza cut the ball back from the right flank and Adam hit a right-footed shot from 18 yards into the bottom corner. Holloway's side were dominant and Southern almost made it three when he fired against a post.

Reading manager Brian McDermott:
"The pitch makes it a bit of a lottery but, having said that, they played the pitch better than we did - although I know Ian doesn't want to play on a pitch like that any more than we do. We were flat today. We didn't do enough and I don't know why that is. We have come off a really good run and what's happened today doesn't make us a bad team, just as the first great wins didn't make us into world beaters."

Blackpool manager Ian Holloway:
"It was a difficult game for both sides but we did the right things. Reading won four games in a row so that is a major scalp for us. We put our bodies in the right places and scored two magnificent goals. We dropped nine points in three games so we're playing catch-up but there's a lot of the season left and an awful lot of points still to fight for."