Neil Critchley hails Blackpool’s ‘belief and arrogance’ in win over Northampton

Blackpool boss Neil Critchley hailed a job well done by his side after their 1-0 victory at Northampton on Tuesday.

A cagey first half at Sixfields yielded little in the way of clear-cut chances but Blackpool took control after the break, with Matt Pennington making the crucial breakthrough.

The visitors then defended well and limited Northampton to very few opportunities as they moved to within one point of the play-off places.

“I thought we played well and we looked like a good team,” said Critchley. “We played with belief and a bit of arrogance.

“They changed their shape and they changed their team and paid us a bit of respect but we had good control of the game and we said at half-time to be patient and keep doing the right things.

“If we kept passing it, they’ll tire, and to score from a set-piece was really nice because that’s something we have worked on and it’s something we highlighted that we needed to improve.

“Their goalkeeper made an unbelievable save from Marvin Ekpiteta in the first half but we felt the ball crossed the line, so to score from another set-piece in the second half was pleasing.

“After we scored, without the ball, we looked really assured and it was a composed and controlled performance.

“We’ve only lost one in six and that’s now three consecutive clean sheets so we’re in good form and we feel we’re building momentum.

“Tonight’s gone, we have eight games to go this season and now we’re focused on Wigan on Saturday.”

Northampton boss Jon Brady was not too downhearted despite his side’s toothless performance.

He said: “In my opinion it shows how far we’ve come because we feel a little bit disappointed and the fans are a little bit disappointed and we’re playing against Blackpool.

“They were tipped for automatic promotion this season and they are a team going for the play-offs and they have some very good players, but possession-wise I felt we went toe-to-toe with them.

“We couldn’t find the solutions in attack because they dropped back into shape in the second half and they were very hard to break down. They are a very good side and have destroyed a lot of good teams recently.

“I thought there were spells where we played well but they score a goal from a set-piece, a scrappy goal, and that’s disappointing because we should defend that better and it’s the key moment in the game.”