| Doncaster Post Match 22:05 - Sep 17 with 1643 views | spell_chekker |
Report: Doncaster Rovers 0 Blackpool 1
Late Winner From Gnanduillet Secures All Three Points
Armand Gnanduillet stepped off the bench to score in added time and give Blackpool a 1-0 victory away at Doncaster Rovers.
The Frenchman made it six goals for the campaign with a header in the 93rd minute to get the team back to winning ways in Sky Bet League One and end the hosts’ unbeaten start.
Manager Simon Grayson opted to make two changes to his side for the fixture, handing first league starts of the season to Matty Virtue and Ryan Hardie.
It was a positive start from the Seasiders, knocking the ball about with confidence, despite opportunities being at a premium. A 20-yard strike from Joe Nuttall was the only effort of the note in the opening 15 minutes, though that fell wide of the target.
The hosts were then forced into an early substitution, with Matty Blair unable to continue after picking up a knock. Alfie May was the man to replace him.
Blackpool continued to dictate possession and came close to scoring through Hardie. The former Rangers man wriggled himself some space on the edge of the box and saw his curling effort pushed away from the top corner by Ian Lawlor.
At the other end, a decisive block from Matty Virtue denied Niall Ennis from finding the net for Doncaster Rovers.
Half-Time: Doncaster Rovers 0 Blackpool 0
After watching Curtis Tilt head over from a free-kick, Blackpool had Jak Alnwick to thank for keeping the scores level. The ‘keeper got a decisive touch to the ball to turn a strike from Ben Whiteman round the post, even though a goal kick ended up being given.
Minutes later, Whiteman tried his luck again, fizzing a 22-yard strike just wide of the far post. Jordan Thompson then did likewise for Blackpool, having followed up a charged down effort from Ryan Hardie.
Hardie then had a glorious opportunity to break the deadlock for Blackpool, having been presented with the ball by the Doncaster ‘keeper. He raced forward but ended up seeing his shot saved.
A great bit of defending from Curtis Tilt then ensured that the Seasiders didn’t fall behind. Niall Ennis rounded Jak Alnwick but watched his strike headed off the line by the centre-back.
With 16 minutes remaining, Blackpool opted to freshen things up in attack. Sullay Kaikai and Armand Gnanduillet stepped off the bench to replace Joe Nuttall and Ryan Hardie.
Despite that, it was the hosts who threatened, with Alnwick forced to push away another strike from distance, this time from Jon Taylor, while the defence quickly scrambled to charge down another effort.
As a stalemate appeared to loom, Blackpool won the contest in stoppage time. Armand Gnanduillet started off a counter attack and, having played the ball to Feeney, continued his run into the box to meet the delivery and nod in a winner.
Full-Time: Doncaster Rovers 0 Blackpool 1
Team: Alnwick, Feeney, Edwards, Heneghan, Tilt, Husband, Spearing, Virtue (Guy 86), Thompson, Nuttall (Kaikai 74), Hardie (Gnanduillet 74)
Not Used: Sims, Bushiri, Turton, Scannell |  |
| |  |
| Doncaster Post Match on 16:46 - Sep 18 with 365 views | spell_chekker |
 | |
| |
| Doncaster Post Match on 18:01 - Sep 18 with 359 views | Lala |
Fell asleep at half time last night! At home not at the match.
Was glad to wake in the middle of the night and check the scoreline 👠We need the 3 points to hold up the momentum. Very happy with that. |  |
| |
| Doncaster Post Match on 19:28 - Sep 18 with 355 views | BringBackTheRedRoom |
| Doncaster Post Match on 18:01 - Sep 18 by Lala |
Fell asleep at half time last night! At home not at the match.
Was glad to wake in the middle of the night and check the scoreline 👠We need the 3 points to hold up the momentum. Very happy with that. |
'This felt like a big win': Matt Scrafton's verdict on Blackpool's last-gasp win against Doncaster Rovers
There’s something about a hard-earned, last-gasp away-day victory that just warms the cockles of your heart.
Blackpool are only nine games into the season but last night’s triumph at the Keepmoat felt like a big one.
It seemed the players felt that way too considering the passion they showed at the final whistle when celebrating with the 424 hardy souls that made the trip across the Pennines.
Having suffered two defeats on the spin, with the second of those coming in humbling fashion at home to MK Dons at the weekend, it was imperative Simon Grayson’s men avoided a third straight setback.
To achieve that goal, it was clear they had gone back to basics, setting their stall out to defend resolutely, keeping a disciplined shape while gaining control of the football.
It was imperative the Seasiders kept a clean sheet having come into Tuesday night’s clash on the back of shipping six goals in their last two outings.
If that meant drawing 0-0 away to a team that were previously unbeaten, having finished in the play-offs last season, then so be it.
And it looked like the game was heading that way until the third minute of stoppage time. Enter Armand Gnanduillet.
The Frenchman made a match-winning impact off the bench having been surprisingly dropped alongside Sullay Kaikai — Pool’s top scorers this season.
Gnanduillet was clearly frustrated by Grayson’s decision and that’s a good sign. As the 27-year-old warmed up in the second half in front of the away contingent, he applauded the Pool fans as they serenaded the striker with his popular chant.
The top scorer was sending a clear message to his manager: get me on the pitch now. And Gnanduillet returned that faith.
With Doncaster piling on the pressure in stoppage time, pinning Pool in their own box, Gnanduillet sparked a flowing counter that would result in pandemonium in the away end.
He showed composure to chest the ball down before embarking on a powerful run, where he set Liam Feeney free down the right.
The wing-back, who was crying out for some space all night, delivered one of his now trademark deliveries into the six-yard box where the big man met it perfectly, heading beyond the goalkeeper for his sixth of the season.
It was one of those crosses from Feeney where, as soon as the ball came off his boot, you just knew it was destined for Gnanduillet’s head. That’s now eight assists for the season for the 32-year-old.
The move was also an impressive display of counter-attacking football, just 10 seconds passing between the moment Gnanduillet picked the ball up deep in his own half and the striker nodding the ball across the line.
The only thing lacking in tempo was Gnanduillet’s celebration. While his teammates were jumping around in jubilation around him, the Frenchman slowly marched away with a steely look of determination on his face.
There’s no doubting Grayson took a risk in dropping Gnanduillet and Kaikai, but it was one that clearly paid off.
The team selection was widely questioned prior to kick off and I will gladly hold my hands up and admit I was one of them.
I had no issue with Grayson sticking with the same system, as I thought that was the right thing to do, but taking the attacking duo out of the team — who now have 10 goals between them — left the Seasiders’ line-up badly lacking in goals.
While Grayson kept faith with the back three and wing-backs, there was a slight tweak in midfield where Matty Virtue came into the fray — adding a third midfielder in the centre of the park to help bring energy to assist Jay Spearing and Jordan Thompson.
While Thompson was the more advanced of the three, it meant when Blackpool were defending they were able to sit in and remain compact — a tactic that clearly frustrated the home side who struggled to create openings all night.
The men in blue — who wore their away strip for the first time this season — looked more balanced and in control than they had done in their previous two games. That helped Grayson’s men gain a foothold against a side that liked to pass the ball around.
While Gnanduillet will grab all the headlines for his late winner, it was a man at the other end of the pitch that was the standout performer.
Curtis Tilt answered his critics in the best fashion possible, delivering a commanding display at the back which demonstrated why — if anyone had forgotten — he is widely regarded as Blackpool’s best player.
It would have been easy for Grayson to take Tilt out of the fray after the defender’s costly mistake against MK Dons on Saturday, when the centre back was punished for a glaring error for the second home game running.
But, despite those high-profile mistakes, Tilt has still been one of Blackpool’s most impressive performers this season and it would have been harsh to drop him.
If Tilt’s confidence had been knocked, you wouldn’t have noticed it. The 28-year-old was typically confident on the ball, while doing the basics of defending in his usual assured fashion.
He made a goal-saving clearance, too, somehow managing to steer his neck in the right direction to head Niall Ennis’ shot away for a corner from under his own crossbar after the Doncaster forward had nipped the ball past onrushing goalkeeper Jak Alnwick.
It was a piece of defending that was as good as a goal, almost as important than the one from Gnanduillet that got the Seasiders back on the winning trail.
https://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/sport/football/blackpool-fc/this-felt-like-a- |  |
| ‘Where there is harmony, may we bring discord. Where there is truth, may we bring error. Where there is faith, may we bring doubt. And where there is hope, may we bring despair’ |
| |
| Doncaster Post Match on 21:55 - Sep 18 with 344 views | janegallagher |
I was sat in a bar watching this live then lost the signal right at the end. Can’t tell you how good it was to see we’d got a goal in 93rd minute. 😃 |  |
| |
| Doncaster Post Match on 23:38 - Sep 18 with 334 views | voyeur |
| Doncaster Post Match on 21:55 - Sep 18 by janegallagher |
I was sat in a bar watching this live then lost the signal right at the end. Can’t tell you how good it was to see we’d got a goal in 93rd minute. 😃 |
Much better. What a way to win a game! Still work to do to get the team right, but we now know we can compete when we put the work in on the pitch. We should keep improving, there's definitely scope for us getting better in certain parts of the team. Would like to see Gnanduillet and Hardie together. |  |
| I am a nutter. I come from the sea. |
| |
| Doncaster Post Match on 23:42 - Sep 18 with 332 views | janegallagher |
| Doncaster Post Match on 23:38 - Sep 18 by voyeur |
Much better. What a way to win a game! Still work to do to get the team right, but we now know we can compete when we put the work in on the pitch. We should keep improving, there's definitely scope for us getting better in certain parts of the team. Would like to see Gnanduillet and Hardie together. |
Gnanduilet seems better as a super sub. | |
| |
| |
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.
