Weight In Numbers

Blackpool laboured to a late show against a spirited, yet under strength Crystal Palace side at Bloomfield Road. The visitors clearly had their Carling Cup Semi-Final second leg on their minds with regards to team selection, as their noted good performers Nathaniel Clyne, Darren Ambrose, Wilfried Zaha and Julian Speroni all stayed at home, with Dougie Freedman putting his faith in youth. Blackpool were without the injured Lomano LuaLua to a hamstring injury, and made a total of 6 changes, with Gary Taylor-Fletcher returning to the front three, John Fleck earning a debut in midfield alongside captain Barry Ferguson, back after suspension. Ian Evatt and Craig Cathcart returned to the heart of the defence, with Matt Gilks replacing Mark Howard in goal.

Defence:

In general, a more familiar back four from last season performed well, with a few scares in the second half. Throughout the game, the Palace threat was on the break, with a front three loaded with pace in the shape of Andrew, Cadogan and Sekajja. In Blackpool's desire to gain some forward momentum, Ian Evatt regularly carried the ball out of defence, leaving huge gaps in the back line, and better finishing would have put Palace out of sight, with Calvin Andrew guilty of poor control on a number of occasions when well placed, and wasteful finishing eventually costing the visitors.

Gilks was rarely troubled due to Palace looking to sit on their lead almost as soon as the Owen Garvan penalty was converted, rarely committing more than their front three beyond the half way line, which allowed Baptiste and Crainey to get involved going forward, but despite the increase in numbers going forward, Blackpool didn't take advantage until late in the day. Aerially Ian Evatt had Calvin Andrew in his back pocket as one might expect, but along the ground his lack of pace was seriously exposed, as the striker's tricky interplay with his wide men opened Blackpool up on more than one occasion in the second half.

Midfield:

Chris Basham must be the unluckiest man at the football club with regards to consistent selection. After his excellent performance at Southampton he was unceremoniously dropped for the next game against Watford, which coincided with a frustrating draw. A similar story looked to be unfolding, as Basham was demoted to the bench in favour of John Fleck, and Blackpool lacked the necessary energy and drive in midfield that Basham brings. Fleck starting was most likely the correct decision, but in my opinion, Ludovic Sylvestre should have been the man to make way. After an impressive start in the Blackpool midfield, Sylvestre has been some way short of his best in recent weeks, looking sluggish and unwilling to pick a creative pass.

Fleck was unfortunate to be withdrawn for Basham with half an hour remaining, his lack of football this season a likely reason. When in possession he looked composed, ready to drive forward, and was unlucky not to see his first half strike find the top corner. His final ball was superb, as he laid on two chances for Tom Ince early on that the winger couldn't convert, and he looks an excellent addition for the rest of the season.

Ferguson put in the kind of display expected from him. Gritty, playing the safest pass possible, looking to distribute. His passing ability is sadly wasted by his slightly more defensive outlook, and when he does try to move forward, he has the ability to unlock defences. Basham's introduction breathed new life into a stuttering midfield, as did Elliot Grandin, who may have played for the last time in Tangerine, and if so, gave a fantastic goodbye with a brilliantly taken goal.

Attack:

The return of Taylor-Fletcher added an air of physicality to the front line. LuaLua's pace and invention was missed in the centre, but there was a clear improvement from Taylor-Fletcher in comparison to his performances before being demoted to the bench. The work rate and desire returned, he linked up well with the wide men, but he is still well short of his best. The quality he showed to create the equaliser for Grandin showed that the player who terrorised Premiership defences last season is still there, and that he is well on the way back to form.

For their good form recently, Matt Phillips and Tom Ince were relatively quiet. Neither Palace full back was loaded with pace, so it was a surprise that the two wingers did not try to isolate them and run at them more often. It came as no shock when the goals both came from wide positions.

Opposition:

Crystal Palace have good cause to be optimistic. The likes of Parsons, Cadogan, O'Keefe and Sekajja all look like excellent prospects when given the change to flourish, and the fact that a team missing so many of their key players took Blackpool, albeit a misfiring one, all the way will no doubt please Dougie Freedman. They defended stoutly for most of the game, only making two mistakes. One was to allow Elliot Grandin time and space to finish from 6 yards to level the game, and the other giving Kevin Phillips room to head towards goal after doubling up on the full back with Taylor-Fletcher at the back post that led to Chris Basham's winner.

Man of the Match:

A tough decision considering what was, in all honesty, a very frustrating and overall poor performance until the last few minutes, but Craig Cathcart proved once again that he is becoming one of the best central defenders outside the Premiership. Composed in possession, with excellent distribution either through the middle or to the wide men, he is one who Blackpool will do well to hold on to should they fail to return to the top flight. Calvin Andrew certainly targetted Ian Evatt when he received no change from Cathcart, and the Northern Irishman covered impeccably when Evatt was out of position.