On This Day: Bolton Wanderers (H)

On this day in 2011, Blackpool played out a seven-goal thriller with Bolton Wanderers to keep their Premier League survival hopes alive.

The Seasiders went into their final home game of the campaign knowing they had to pick up all three points to have a realistic chance of retaining their top tier status heading to Old Trafford on the final day of the season. Relegation rivals Birmingham City, Blackburn Rovers, Wigan Athletic and Wolverhampton Wanderers were all keeping a close eye on proceedings on the Fylde Coast as Ian Holloway's side looked to achieve the impossible again.

Blackburn Rovers' were taking on Manchester United at Ewood Park with Sir Alex Ferguson's side knowing they simply had to avoid defeat to become Champions of England once again with one game to spare. Blackpool were without a win in nine games with their last victory coming in the February win at Bloomfield Road over Tottenham Hotspur but they were set to find inspiration once more, against the odds, to retain hope in an enthralling contest.

Out of the blocks

Naturally with a game involving the Seasiders in this Premier League campaign, the match started at a frantic pace with survival aspirations on the line for Ian Holloway's side. Owen Coyle's Bolton looked to exploit space left in behind and were able to do so as Paul Robinson's free kick found Kevin Davies who, after a slip by Alex Baptiste, was able to fire home inside the area to give the visitors the lead in the sixth minute.

With an uphill task ahead, Blackpool's resilience, which they showcased throughout the season, was there for all to see again as just three minutes after going behind, the Seasiders equalised. Gary Taylor-Fletcher's flicked header found DJ Campbell at the back post who, after a physical battle with Gretar Steinsson, placed the ball past Jussi Jaaskelainen to level the match - leading to pandemonium in the stands. 

Whilst the supporters were in ecstacy, Ian Holloway remained a composed figure on the touchline as he pointed to his temple looking for cool heads from his players. There may well have been cool heads on show but the ferocious nature of the game left all those observing on the edge of their seats. Expectations of a lull in play with both teams settling were dashed ten minutes after Campbell's leveller as Blackpool turned the game around through Jason Puncheon.

Fighting for survival

The relentless pressure from Blackpool saw Paul Robinson nearly divert the ball into his own net, instead crashing the bar and falling clear. That aggressive attacking approach paid dividends as Taylor-Fletcher's initial shooting opportunity fell to the feet of Jason Puncheon who shifted his feet and placed a curling effort into the bottom left corner to give the Seasiders the lead just 19 minutes into the match.

Bloomfield Road knew at this stage there would be no let up in this basketball-like affair and Matt Taylor proved that point further as he fired home an equaliser five minutes after Blackpool took the lead. Bolton continued to play their part in an open encounter, leaving space themselves to exploit as they looked to get to grips with an even more aggressive Tangerine outfit than usual - which is saying something. 

Matt Gilks' frame in goal proved pivotal with a save and the woodwork keeping Wanderers at bay in further chances for Owen Coyle's side. Daniel Sturridge's pace in behind caused problems and the lively English forward looked to use that to his advantage as Taylor fed him through but Gilks judged the situation well to divert the ball from a dangerous position. Kevin Davies' more languid style caused problems of its own as his physical edge saw him find space to try an audacious curling effort which beat Gilks but the crossbar came to his rescue in a key moment.

DJ Campbell continued to loiter on the shoulder of the Bolton defence looking for openings and on the stroke of half-time that movement allowed Blackpool to regain the lead once more. Charlie Adam's cross met the stretching foot of Campbell to side-foot home and spark further jubilant celebration in the Armfield Stand. The half-time whistle allowed the 15,979 in attendance to find composure and take in the frantic 45 minutes they had experienced.

Staying alive

The second half got underway and evidently the heart rate of those in Tangerine hadn't quite returned to baseline as the aggressive approach continued - as did the goalscoring action. Despite Bolton sitting safely in mid-table, they were not content with laying down as they were next to throw a punch in this heavyweight encounter. 

Daniel Sturridge started and finished an intricate move from the visitors as Kevin Davies fed the ball in behind Stephen Crainey who couldn't keep up with Lee Chung-Yong forcing Gilks to attempt to collect before placing the ball deftly into the path of Sturridge mere yards out who couldn't miss. 53 minutes gone, 3-3 the scoreline and the nerves in the stands reached an intense level so there was only one man who could step up when required.

Keith Southern's diving header in a midfield battle found DJ Campbell who played a short pass into Charlie Adam and that was the signal for Blackpool to burst forward in numbers on the counter attack. Adam drove from the halfway line, dragging his teammates along with him before placing the ball into the path of Taylor-Fletcher who, with options aplenty, picked the right pass - returning the ball to the Blackpool captain.

Adam's first-time strike fired into the top right corner of Jaaskelainen's goal and the midfielder headed straight for the dugout in celebration with each and every man in Tangerine joining him in sheer jubilation. Blackpool had done it again, against the odds they pushed with a resilience that had been built over months and months of being talked down and dismissed - they had kept their top flight survival hopes alive and in typical fashion, they fancied themselves to take on Champions Manchester United on their own patch and come out on top.