Frustrated Blackpool boss Steve Bruce said the only positive from the dour goalless draw with injury-hit Northampton was the performance of his backline.
Seasiders’ goalkeeper Richard O’Donnell produced a couple of decent saves to keep the game goalless.
However, Rob Apter missed with the goal gaping when clean through right at the end of the Bloomfield Road stalemate.
Bruce said: “I’m frustrated, I’m disappointed. A bit of both really. The only positives when I look at the afternoon are defensively.
“We kept a clean sheet and the goalkeeper’s made a couple of good saves when we needed him.
“Overall, I don’t think many neutrals would be tuning into that one again.
“That’s one place we need to improve is the injuries. CJ Hamilton’s hurt himself in the same area again. I think that’s eight injuries we have now and it’s scary.
“Rob Apter was the bright spark. If anything was going to happen at the top end it was through him. I thought it was a cracking chance for him right at the end there and thought he would take it. But it is what it is.”
Bruce’s team are at Bolton next Saturday and the experienced boss continued: “We’ll look at what we’ve got. Count the bodies and see what we can do for next week.
“We’ve had two or three really good chances later on and didn’t take them.
“But if I’m honest we huffed and puffed all day, nothing really more than that.”
A point apiece meant both sides pushed themselves a point further away from the relegation zone.
Northampton have injury problems but it was a second successive draw and boss Jon Brady said: “You take the draw, but we had some really good chances.
“I’ve got to compliment Burgey (goalkeeper Lee Burge) on a good save towards the end. It’s a good effort from the young lad and you don’t expect that as a keeper but he gets down very low and it is an exceptional save.
“You have to praise the whole group because we are limited on numbers and they were fantastic.
“That’s an exceptional point for us with where we are bodies-wise and it’s only one loss in six for us.
“We had some chances. Foxy (Benjamin Fox) had the header from the corner and Richard O’Donnell’s made another really good save. So I thought our game plan worked really well in that respect.
“Our shape was really good and we worked the ball well. We made some good inroads in the final third and on another day you could nick it.”
Chelsea climbed back into the Premier League’s top four as Enzo Fernandez’s header early in the second half earned a 1-0 derby win over Tottenham at Stamford Bridge.Enzo Maresca’s side were under pressure after limping into the international break playing football that had ceased to excite home fans, but they largely had the better of a disappointing Spurs team that failed to tak...
David Moyes believes James Tarkowski was lucky to avoid a red card for his reckless challenge on Alexis Mac Allister as Everton were beaten 1-0 by Liverpool on a controversial night at Anfield.Diogo Jota’s 57th-minute goal, which Moyes claimed should have been ruled out for offside, gave Liverpool a 100th derby win and moved them a step closer to the Premier League title, but both sides were...
Jack Grealish dedicated his goal to his late brother after scoring in Manchester City’s 2-0 win over relegation-threatened Leicester on Wednesday.The England international hit his first Premier League goal for 16 months, on his first start in the competition since last December, as City moved back into fourth with a comfortable success at the Etihad Stadium.It came on the 25th anniversary of...
David Moyes bemoaned an “offside” goal that gave Liverpool a 1-0 win over Everton – but admitted James Tarkowski was lucky to avoid an early red card on a controversial night at Anfield.Diogo Jota’s 57th-minute goal gave Liverpool a 100th derby win and moved them a step closer to the Premier League title, but both sides were left unhappy with decisions from referee Sam Barr...
Eddie Howe hailed Sandro Tonali’s shooting power after seeing him cap a fine display with a stunning winner to edge Newcastle into the race for Champions League qualification.The 24-year-old Italy international brought an incident-packed encounter to a fitting conclusion with a 74th-minute piledriver which beat goalkeeper Mark Flekken from an improbable angle to hand the Magpies a precious 2...
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery believes Marcus Rashford is “progressively getting better” in all aspects of his game following his first Premier League goal for the club.The on-loan Manchester United forward set Villa on course for a comprehensive 3-0 win over fellow European hopefuls Brighton with a 51st-minute finish at the Amex Stadium.Rashford’s milestone strike came three days ...
Southampton boss Ivan Juric vowed to keep fighting as relegation moved sharply into focus after Crystal Palace denied them only a third Premier League win of the season.Substitute Matheus Franca’s stoppage-time header, to secure a 1-1 draw for the Eagles, means Saints will be down at the weekend if they lose at Tottenham and Wolves beat Ipswich.If relegation is confirmed on Sunday, Southampt...
Derby boss John Eustace insists his side are reaping the rewards for the hard work they have put in since he was appointed as manager after the Rams earned a 2-0 win over Preston to climb out of the Sky Bet Championship relegation zone.Derby came out firing after a lacklustre opening period and Craig Forsyth coolly slotted the hosts in front with his fourth goal of the season.The Rams doubled thei...
Notts County manager Stuart Maynard hailed a “massive” three points as his side comfortably saw off MK Dons at Meadow Lane to maintain their promotion challenge.Two stunning strikes from David McGoldrick and Will Jarvis from the edge of the box, either side of Nick Tsaroulla’s close-range effort, earned County a convincing 3-0 win.“I think every three points is massive now,...
Kieran McKenna was not getting too giddy dreaming of a miracle escape from relegation after Ipswich beat Bournemouth 2-1 to pick up their first Premier League win of 2025.Goals from Nathan Broadhead and top-scorer Liam Delap did the damage as Ipswich put a further dent in Bournemouth’s hopes of qualifying for Europe.McKenna, whose side are still nine points adrift of 17th-placed Wolves who t...
- 1 Hot WAG flaunts 'astonishing' washboard abs in bikini
- 2 Danny Rohl hails Sheffield Wednesday resilience in draw at Cardiff
- 3 Alfie May double sends Birmingham step closer to Championship
- 4 Marcus Rashford scores first Premier League goal for Villa in win at Brighton
- 5 Ryan Lowe and Conor Hourihane felt team deserved more as Wigan and Barnsley draw
- 6 Mat Sadler hails Taylor Allen set-piece skills after Walsall snatch draw
- 7 Chris Davies says Alfie May’s goal drought never concerned him
- 8 Football fan 'eats' raw pig's head in ultimate insult
- 9 Marcus Rashford still looking to improve after firing Villa into FA Cup semis
- 10 Chelsea prepare €70m for Barcelona defender