The Under-18’s took the spoils on derby day, running out 2-1 winners against Preston North End in their EFL Youth Alliance Cup clash.
Preston took the lead in the 15th minute through a Peter Critchley header, but Terry Bondo equalised before the break to send the sides in level.
Pool looked dangerous throughout the second-half and took the lead in the 69th minute with Shay Mannix’s first goal for the Under-18’s.
The visitors pushed for an equaliser, but it was Pool who looked most likely to score again, with several chances to kill the game spurned late on before Preston’s Clayton Lescott was shown a second yellow card in added time to compound the visitors’ misery.
Preston came out of the blocks quickly and came close to taking the lead in just the second minute when a Preston shirt rose highest from a corner and forced Kai Crowe into a fine save to claw the ball away from his top right corner.
The visitors came close again with five minutes on the clock, Felipe Rodriguez-Gentile found space in the box, but he couldn’t find the target with his shot.
The deadlock was broken after 15 minutes, Terry Bondo was tracking back on the left but fouled his man and from the resulting free-kick, Peter Critchley headed the visitors in front.
Pool responded well to going behind and George Elder thought he got the equaliser when he pounced on a loose ball from a corner and fired a shot into the top corner, but the referee pulled it back for a foul on Preston ‘keeper Theo Bunting.
It didn’t take long for an equaliser to come though, and in the 40th minute James Butterworth played Gabriel Schluter through on goal, he lost control of the ball trying to take it around the keeper but Bondo latched onto the loose ball and fired into an empty net.
HT: Blackpool 1-1 Preston North End
Pool made a double change at the break, with Layton Campbell and Spencer Knight replacing Bondo and Theo Upton.
Campbell caused the Preston defence problems throughout the second half, and he nearly gave Pool the lead after 63 minutes when he got on the end of Butterworth’s cross, but he couldn’t divert his header on target.
Just six minutes later Pool did take the lead; Schluter produced some tidy footwork to create space on the edge of the box before slipping in Mannix who beat his man and fired home.
Pool had several chances to kill the game off in the closing stages, the first of which fell to Campbell in the 75th minute, when he found himself with space to run at the Preston defence from a counter-attack, he spotted the keeper off his line but his attempted lob drifted just wide of the post.
Elder came close in the 82nd minute, rising highest at the back post from a corner, but his header went just wide of the post.
Campbell once again had his eyes on goal in the 89th minute, the Preston defence thought they had stopped his run in the middle of the park, but he powered himself through to get through on goal, however, he couldn’t find the target.
The final chance of the game fell to substitute Jack Panther deep into stoppage time when he ran through on goal as Preston pushed hard for an equaliser, his left-footed effort beat the keeper but missed the target.
Preston found themselves down to 10 men with time almost up when Lescott was shown a second yellow card, rubbing salt into Preston’s wounds.
FT: Blackpool 2-1 Preston North End
Starting XI: Crowe, McVeigh, Elder, Oshodi, Cox, Butterworth (Richardson 73), Upton (Knight 45), Leliendal, Schluter, Mannix (Panther 73), Bondo (Campbell 45)
Subs: Panther, Trialist, Knight, Richardson, Campbell