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Blackpool boss Steve Bruce states he’s thankful his side can look back and laugh at the ‘comical’ nature of the goal they conceded in their 2-1 victory over Cambridge United at Bloomfield Road.
Prior to goals from Ashley Fletcher and Sonny Carey either side of the break, the Seasiders made a disastrous start to the evening, with former loanee Dom Ballard immediately coming back to haunt them.
Prior to his return to Bloomfield Road, the Southampton youngster had only managed one league goal this season, which came for the Seasiders against Cambridge in a 4-4 draw at the Abbey Stadium back in August.
A mistake from Hayden Coulson saw the 19-year-old given space in the box, allowing him to chip the ball over Harry Tyrer. The situation could’ve been dealt with by Matthew Pennington on the line, but the defender made a mess of the clearance, completely missing the ball with his first swipe.
“Bloody hell, it was absolutely comical,” Bruce said.
“Thankfully we can laugh about it, but I’ve never seen such a bizarre goal. It was debatable whether it was in or not, the linesman gave it. We got away with it.
“I wish Dom (Ballard) the best of luck, he’s a good kid. It was the most bizarre goal I think I’ve seen. Knowing Dom he’ll be trying to claim it.
“I’ve had a chat with him and asked how he is. I think his problem is, he goes somewhere and then the manager gets the sack. I hope he has a decent career.”
The story of the rest of the game
Following Ballard’s early goal, Blackpool’s first real opportunity came through Niall Ennis, with the striker placing a header just wide of the front post after a good cross from Rob Apter on the right side.
Shortly after this, Bruce’s side made the most of their next attack to level the scores in the 17th minute.
Odel Offiah made a powerful run from the right side into the box, before laying the ball off to Fletcher for a tap-in from close-range.
Heading into the closing stages, Albie Morgan tried his luck from distance to edge the Seasiders in front, but Nathan Bishop was able to parry the ball away.
Immediately after the restart the U’s keeper was called into action again, this time to deny Sonny Carey after a break down the left.
Bishop wasn’t equal to the midfielder’s next attempt, allowing a shot from distance to slip past him into the bottom right corner.
With the 24-year-old firmly in a goal scoring mood, a block later on in the half was required to stop him from claiming back-to-back braces.
Albie Morgan was among the Blackpool players with attempts to extend the lead, with a volley on the turn calling Bishop into action once again.
Heading into the latter stages, Tyrer was required to make a strong save to deny an attempt from Josh Stokes.
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