Betting, they say, is a mugs game. The bookmaker will always end up making more money than they lose. The sheer weight of people who put stakes on will cover for the small number that will win on their hunch. The problem for the bookmaker is if something happens that has huge odds, they are going to be giving out large sums of money, costing them more than if the small odds that had plenty of bets on it would do.
So when Stephen Crainey beat the offside trap down the left hand side and finished with the outside of his left foot like a veteran striker, local bookies could have been forgiven for cursing their luck. Even for Crainey to score at any time will have been at least 25/1, and in putting Blackpool on level terms, he scored his first goal in over 4 years.
It was only his second goal in Blackpool colours, his first coming in just his seventh game, a well struck free kick against Sheffield United in 2007, so when he broke free of Stephen Carr and found himself one on one with Boaz Myhill, he could have been forgiven from suffering from a crisis of confidence, but instead, he let Lomana LuaLua’s inch perfect through ball run across him, and guided the ball into the bottom corner, to the delight, and surprise of everyone in Bloomfield Road. The club itself couldn’t believe it was Crainey, giving the goal to Jonjo Shelvey originally, and Crainey himself, who can’t exactly have a plethora of celebrations ready to go, and just strolled over to the South Stand with his arms in the air.
LuaLua was again involved in Blackpool’s second. His neat interplay with Shelvey on the edge of the penalty area led to the loanee teeing up Neal Eardley, who also doubled his Blackpool account after his free-kick against Everton last season, with a magnificent right-footed strike, curling away from Myhill and into the top left corner. Eardley since has dedicated his goal to his former national team manager Gary Speed, whose tragic passing this weekend has affected the world of football.
For all of Blackpool’s neat build-up, however, Craig Cathcart was missed at the back. He brings a calming influence to the back four, both in possession and when on the back foot. His marking and football brain would have prevented both goals, the first where Ian Evatt stopped forward to close the man in possession, leaving Marlon King onside, and clean through, to score, and Evatt was at fault again for the late equaliser, not learning from his mistake moments before, allowing Zigic to get a run on the defence, as he got in front of Evatt to score.
A point, however, against a team who will undoubtedly be in and around the promotion picture come May, is not a disaster. Birmingham’s position outside the top 6 is false, as they have 2 games in hand on most around them due to their Europa League exploits. They have a fantastic manager at this level, who knows how to get teams into the top flight, and a squad filled with talented players. There will no doubt be a sense of it being two points dropped, however, due to losing a lead late on at home, and having plenty of chances to kill the game. Barry Ferguson’s desire to score against his former club got the better of him as he shot wide when Taylor-Fletcher was better placed, before Taylor-Fletcher’s spectacular volley from a moment of genius by LuaLua to play him in was denied by the offside flag. The less said about Matt Phillips’ chance that was squandered after half time, the better.
Despite Blackpool’s injury problems, with Cathcart joining Southern and Kevin Phillips on the sidelines, Blackpool posed a significant threat to a side who have serious pace and ability out wide in Burke and Beausejour, strength in midfield from Fahey and Elliot, and quality up front in Adam Rooney and King. Birmingham were good value for their point, as they caused countless problems on the break, defended well for the majority of the game, and it was only thanks to the reflexes of Matt Gilks that the visitors were not out of sight.
Leicester away on Tuesday night is another important game, as they all seem to be in the run towards Christmas. They will pose a different threat to the one posed by Birmingham, with pace up front from Beckford and Nugent, technical skill in midfield from Paul Gallagher and Richie Wellens, and momentum from their new manager. Blackpool will have to be at their very best to pick up anything from the King Power Stadium.
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