Blackpool continued to up the levels as they extended their unbeaten run to 16 games

Blackpool found yet another way to keep their machine rolling on as they got the better of fellow play-off rivals Sunderland at Bloomfield Road.

Luke Garbutt’s drilled effort, neatly flicked on by Ellis Simms was enough to make it 16 games unbeaten for the Seasiders and more importantly three huge points in their bid for promotion.

What came out of this game was the sheer quality of the sides on show.

This was by far Blackpool’s toughest test of the season and they had to be right at their very best in order to take something against what has been for most of Lee Johnson’s time in charge, a rampant Sunderland outfit.

Yet those same Mackem woes have started to resurface with three successive defeats on the spin putting an end to their aspirations of an automatic promotion place as the games left in the campaign tick by.

It was a game of tactical chess, something that Neil Critchley has become accustomed to since his arrival on the Fylde Coast from Liverpool, and once again he prevailed against what was, on paper, a superior side.

Blackpool looked organised from the off, looking to take advantage of their pace in the wide areas in order to open up space in behind the lines for the likes of Sullay Kaikai and Demetri Mitchell to exploit.

Once again the Tangerines set up in a 4-4-2, mainly because Elliot Embleton was ineligible for the fixture and beforehand many were of the mind that Critchley may have switched to a 4-2-3-1 to combat Sunderland’s numbers in the central areas had the midfielder been available.

Despite a key absentee in the form of Embleton, Blackpool took the adjustment in their stride, as they have done when Gary Madine, Marvin Ekpiteta, Daniel Gretarsson and CJ Hamilton to name a few have found themselves on the sidelines.

That adaptability is what has made this team so strong, resilient, and most importantly consistent.

There has been an increasing feeling around Bloomfield Road that whilst individuals showing their quality when it matters is always vital, every player in the squad knowing exactly what is required of each position in the system is the key factor.

Blackpool are full of confidence when heading into almost any fixture these days because they know that when a key individual is missing, a substitute can slot in and understands exactly what is expected of that role.

It creates a fluidity in their play, particularly in the build-up but also in terms of their organisation on the back foot playing such a high line.

Concentration has to be 100% from the first to the last whistle because this system constantly takes risks.

The risk to play through the middle under pressure from an intense press and the risk to step up as soon as the ball breaks in order to push opposition attackers into a hold-up position, all take a lot of work rate to achieve.

Critchley’s men were bound to slip slightly in standards at some point in the season given the unique circumstances of the pandemic and what that takes out of players, especially playing with the intensity that the Englishmen expects from them.

However, those slight dips in form have come and gone and still no side could pick up all three points in recent times against Blackpool.

They have a resolve and mentality to respond to adversity as if they are all seasoned professionals, but it is easily forgotten that this Blackpool team are young and the majority are in the early stages of their career.

Looking back to the side that struggled to pick up a point let alone three at the start of the season, a side that looked beaten the minute the first goal was conceded, to have developed so efficiently along the journey into what they are now is incredible.

It may well be a season too early for Blackpool to be promoted to the Championship in some people’s eyes, but ultimately there is not a team competing in the play-off places right now that would want to draw the Seasiders.

There is not long left to go in this intense season, but Blackpool appear to be continuing to up the levels just when you think they have hit their ceiling.

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