The second half changed completely within a matter of minutes. Zac Ashworth’s second yellow was difficult to argue with because the foul itself was certainly worthy of a booking. I didn’t immediately realise he’d already been cautioned and, judging by some of the reaction from the Blackpool players, I’m not entirely sure all of them did either, but once the referee reached for the card, the outcome was inevitable.
Had City then spent the next 15 minutes being kept at bay by ten men, perhaps the rest of the night would have developed into something awkward. Instead, we punished Blackpool almost immediately, and Tom Bayliss did it with one of the best strikes you’re likely to see from a City player this season.
I was delighted for him because he’s become one of those players around whom people have started building a narrative. Is he good enough for the Championship? Will he be moved on? Is he one of the players who won’t quite make the step? Those are reasonable questions to ask, but sometimes I think once supporters reach a conclusion about somebody, every subsequent performance gets viewed through that conclusion.
I thought Bayliss was excellent at Blackpool. His free kick concession before the break was the one blot on his copybook, but his overall display was very good, and the goal was outstanding. Callum Elder shaped to put the ball into the area, rolled it back instead, and Tom swept a tremendous effort beyond Peacock-Farrell. It was struck beautifully, and moments later he was involved again as his corner was turned in at the near post by Rob Street for 2-1.
Street is another player who has had some questions asked of him on social media. There were times when I wasn’t sure he was going to be a League One striker for us, never mind someone involved in a Championship squad, yet he continued to prove that assessment wrong last season and took his opportunity again here. The defending from Blackpool’s point of view wasn’t particularly impressive because allowing Street to attack the near post like that from a set piece is asking for trouble, but City still had to execute it. Set pieces have been one of our strengths for several seasons now, almost a superpower at times, and it was good to see that carrying across into a side containing eleven changes.
Those two goals essentially killed the match. Blackpool seemed to lose their heads briefly afterwards, with one or two ugly challenges and off-the-ball incidents making the game suddenly feel far more aggressive than anything we’d seen before the break. One moment saw Bowler booked, and the low crowd made Honeyman’s anger audible to everyone as he claimed Towler had raked his studs down a player’s calf. Anger and frustration threatened to boil over, but we took the sting out of the game by just not letting them have the ball at all.
They knew the contest had gone; City knew there was no need to chase the game, and the closing stages became the sort of training exercise people sometimes lazily claim Portsmouth had on Saturday. This genuinely was one: City moved the ball around, Blackpool chased shadows when they could, and there was no obvious attempt from the home side to throw everything forward and somehow rescue the tie. At 3-1 with ten men, the game had gone.
That was also why I thought it was useful to see Freddie Draper introduced. He looked superb when he came on, physical, aggressive and noticeably like a striker operating against defenders from the division below. Everyone knows what I think of Freddie anyway, but that doesn’t mean there haven’t been legitimate questions about how quickly he will adapt to Championship football. At Blackpool he looked bigger, stronger and more imposing than the players he was facing, which was exactly what you’d hope to see. He’s had a tremendous start to this season, and long may it continue.
Ethan Wheatley was also able to get some first minutes for the club in an environment where there was effectively no pressure on him, which feels like an ideal way to begin settling him into the group.
The fourth goal rounded everything off nicely. Elder got it; Honohan’s contribution in creating it was another reason I came away impressed with him, and City might easily have scored another couple before the end. I chuckled when I saw Evatt checking the replay of the fourth goal, trying to work out what had gone wrong.
It could have been five. Mason Melia should have had a penalty earlier in the game, an incident that was difficult to understand given how obvious it looked, and it wasn’t the only strange piece of officiating during the evening. In the first half, Street had an effort clearly saved by Peacock-Farrell, and somehow the officials arrived at a goal kick. Blackpool will undoubtedly have had complaints of their own, but those were two particularly obvious decisions that went against us.
I don’t particularly want to spend every assessment talking about referees, especially after doing so following Portsmouth, but they don’t always make that easy.
Ultimately, I’m not coming away from Blackpool suddenly believing we’ve cracked the Championship because that would be ridiculous. The red card changed the game; Blackpool are a division below, even if only ten places, and the real examination of this group will come over months rather than one evening in the League Cup.
What I do think we’ve learned is that there is considerably more beneath the surface of this squad than we’ve had an opportunity to see so far. The 11 changes did not leave us looking like a weakened side hoping to survive until the first-team players could rescue things. We looked organised, we retained the same basic identity, we had players capable of taking their opportunities and, once the circumstances moved firmly in our favour, we dealt with the game in exactly the way a Championship side should deal with League One opposition.
That feels significant because squad depth is not simply about having 25 names on a list. It’s about whether the players outside your regular XI can actually step into games and maintain the level. Honohan looked ready if Darikwa is unavailable. Tanto showed why he has been brought in. Tom made a forceful argument against writing him off. Konak showed glimpses of why City wanted him, Coubis got another important evening of English football under his belt, Melia continued his own adjustment, Gauci got a full game, and even Wheatley got onto the pitch. Even players we already know well, such as Street and Draper, demonstrated that they’re capable of causing good League One opposition serious problems.
Perhaps that’s the biggest positive I took from the evening. Last season, if Blackpool had brought a side containing those sorts of players to Sincil Bank in a league game, we’d have regarded them as strong opponents (okay, we beat them 4-0, but they were still meant to be a decent side). 12 months later, City have gone to Bloomfield Road, changed the entire starting XI and won 4-1. Yes, there are circumstances around that scoreline, and yes, the sending-off matters enormously, but the wider picture is still encouraging.
The Championship is going to expose weaknesses and punish errors in a way League One didn’t, and the first couple of league games have already demonstrated that. This cup tie showed the other side of promotion. It left me convinced that the squad we have now would win League One, at a canter, which is surely the point? Rotherham have proven over the years that you can sit between that and struggling in the Championship. Lincoln City now appear to have a squad in which the players waiting behind the starting XI can come in against strong League One opposition and look like they belong to the club from the division above.
That’s what I wanted to see from Blackpool, perhaps even more than progression itself.
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