"The team that would never lie down and accept defeat" will surely be the epitaph for the Blackpool side of 2009/2010. There came a point in the season (probably the Swansea 5-1 win) when the motto for the Play Offs 'Believe' was embraced by everyone on the Fylde Coast and it was no surprise when Charlie Adam and Jason Euell lifted that Play Off trophy at Wembley.
There seems little point in doing a detailed match report as anyone who's a Blackpool fan or even had the slightest interest in the Seasiders won't need to be told what happened on Saturday 22nd May 2010 at Wembley. It was a day when tangerine morphs sprung up across North London, the borough was turned tangerine and grown men cried. It was a day which few Blackpool fans ever thought would really happen and yet the Club President, resplendent in tangerine, predicted that this club would be in the Premier League within 5 years when he first arrived (although Mr Belekon's premonitions aren't that great because he was a year out!). When you arrived at the national stadium, there was an air of confidence around Blackpool fans that I've never really experienced. We're usually cautious, even pessimistic, individuals who know our team will always do us proud, but during our time in the Championship have never dared to dream we would be one of the three sides that would be promoted. Yet, in the May sunshine, there was a growing optimism that this was Blackpool's time.
There were few raised eyebrows when the team was read out. An unshackled Charlie Adam pulling the strings in midfield, despite an injury scare, with the ten players around him who had performed so heroically the previous 11 games. I have never bet against Blackpool when it comes to a first goalscorer but I wish I'd stuck a few bob on Michael Chopra because I had a gut instinct that we'd always go behind in this game - it's been one of the stories of the season. Indeed, Chopra from the start was like a man possessed - either he'd put a huge bet on the Bluebirds to win or he was just a class above everyone else because his performance throughout was a credit. The former Premier League striker had already rattled the woodwork in the fourth minute before he latched on to Peter Whittingham's throughball after returning from an offside position and squeezed a well-placed shot between Matt Gilks and the upright to put the Welsh side in the lead. However Blackpool's legendary spirit was on display almost immediately as they clawed their way back on level terms through Charlie Adam. Many predicted as soon as we got a free kick that it would end up in the back of the net and the Seasiders captain dispatched a stunning 25-yard freeffort over the wall and into the top corner of the net.
Cardiff lost key striker Jay Bothroyd to injury soon after with Cardiff down to ten men for a stage they still managed to score against the run of play. After defending wave after wave of Blackpool attacks, which as so often this season seemed to break down at the crucial time, it was Whittingham who again opened up our defence with a perfectly weighted pass through the inside left channel and Joe Ledley found the back of the net from 12 yards. However, Bluebirds fans had barely retaken their seats when 'Pool restored parity for a second time. Gary Taylor-Fletcher profited from a scramble at a corner to bravely head home a loose ball after the Bluebirds keeper made a hash of his clearance. Just as most fans were calling for the half time whistle, Blackpool then struck the decisive blow. I always felt it was written in the stars that Brett Ormerod who scored the winning goal in 2001 and who was paid off by Preston would have a big say in this game and so it. was. DJ Campbell broke into the area but failed to make clean contact with the ball before it rolled into the path of Brett who lashed a low shot through the goalkeeper's legs.
A few people said to me at Half Time that they thought the second half would be goalless and to be honest I spent so much time looking at the clock that I can't recall much of what happened on the pitch. Chopra rattled the crossbar with a rising shot while Ledley glanced a corner narrowly wide as the Welsh side repeatedly knocked at the door but as the game wore on the Bluebirds potency up front in 106 degree temperatures seemed to weaken as well. 'Pool brought on Burgess and Dobbie who didn't prove game changers despite BBB having a one on one with their keeper late on. When Matt Gilks caught the ball in the 4th minute of stoppage time, it was the cue for wild celebrations.
What Blackpool achieved 3 seasons ago, few thought would be surpassed, but they are now Premier league bound and those words may take the whole summer to sink in, |
