Playoff Final Build Up | Vital Football

Playoff Final Build Up

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Seasiders To Compete In League One Play-Off Final
Ticketing Arrangements To Be Communicated In Due Course
9 Hours ago



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Blackpool Football Club will compete in the 2021 Sky Bet League One play-off final at Wembley on Sunday 30 May, kick-off 3pm.
Ticketing arrangements for the match will be communicated in due course.
 
Arsenal loanee Dan Ballard suffers knock during the second leg of Blackpool's triumphant play-off semi-final win against Oxford
Dan Ballard suffered a knock during the second leg of Blackpool's play-off semi-final against Oxford United last night.
By Matt Scrafton
Saturday, 22nd May 2021, 1:05 pm
Updated10 hours ago



The defender was replaced at half-time at Bloomfield Road after being involved in a meaty challenge with Oxford striker Matty Taylor, who was fortunate to escape punishment.

But Neil Critchley revealed the defender was already struggling with a groin issue before the challenge and opted to take no chances, replacing the Arsenal loanee with Marvin Ekpiteta.


“It was partly because of the challenge, but he felt something around his groin and it was stiffening up," Pool's head coach explained.
“He was stretching after about 25 minutes and half an hour, but fingers crossed it’s not too serious.
“But when you’ve got a player like Marvin who can step in and play as well as he does, then it was quite a straight forward decision to make.”
The Seasiders will now be hoping Ballard will be fit enough to feature in the play-off final on Sunday, May 30, having overcome the U's 6-3 on aggregate.


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Dan Ballard was brought off at half-time after feeling a tightness in his groin
Critchley's men will face either Lincoln City or Sunderland in the Wembley showpiece.
The two sides play the second leg of their tie this afternoon (3.30pm), with the Imps holding a 2-0 lead from the first game.
When asked who he'd prefer to face in the final, Critchley said: “I honestly don’t mind, I really don’t mind.


“We’ve done our job, so I can watch the game relaxed and appreciate what Lee Johnson and Michael Appleton are going to go through on the side.
“I can watch it on the sidelines with a nice cup of tea in my hand, or maybe something stronger - you never know!”
 
Dougall: We’re All Delighted To Progress
13 Hours ago



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Kenny Dougall praised his team mates’ character as Blackpool secured their place in the League One Play-Off Final on Friday night.
Dougall scored his second goal for the Club in the 3-3 draw at Bloomfield Road, as the Seasiders won 6-3 on aggregate to book their place at Wembley a week on Sunday.
Reflecting on the match, the midfielder felt the side deserved every credit to have reached the final.

“We’re delighted to get through to the final after what was a really end-to-end match,” he said.
“We conceded really early, which wasn’t ideal but the boys regrouped and bounced back immediately with the equaliser and then going ahead. The supporters really got behind us too, which we knew they would, and that spurred us on even more.
“There were 4,000 supporters in there, but it felt like ten times more. They created an incredible atmosphere and it was great to be a part of it.
“I’m pleased to get my goal to contribute to the team and now we can look forward to a trip to Wembley.”
 
Neil Critchley: Wembley finale is deserved by Blackpool players
The Tangerines booked their place in the League One play-off final after a 6-3 aggregate win.
Pa Sport Staff
1 day ago

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Jerry Yates and Neil Critchley
(PA Wire)

Blackpool manager Neil Critchley believes a season finale at Wembley is no more than his players deserve following a relentless campaign.
The Tangerines booked their place in the League One play-off final with an enthralling 3-3 draw against Oxford at Bloomfield Road, as a 6-3 aggregate victory was secured.


Having lost the home leg 3-0, Matty Taylor’s seventh-minute finish gave the U’s the briefest of sniffs of a comeback for the ages but hope was crushed when Elliot Embleton and Kenny Dougall netted shortly after to make the score 5-1 on aggregate.
Although Oxford duo Robert Atkinson and Olamide Shodipo scored either side of Pools top scorer Jerry Yates’ 23rd goal of the campaign, the result was never in doubt and Critchley could reflect on a rollercoaster journey.

“It is a fantastic effort because the players have been through so much this season,” he said. “We have changed pretty much the whole squad and it took us time to develop that understanding of how we want to play.
“And I still think we will get better. We have had to endure Covid and were one of the only teams in the division who didn’t call games off.

“We have had significant injuries which we haven’t made a big deal of. And since January, we have had a schedule like no other in the division.
“For us to be in this position is credit to how the players prepare and train every single day. My thoughts are with my players and they deserve this moment. They deserve to go to Wembley.”
Either Lincoln or Sunderland will stand in the way of Blackpool returning to English football’s second tier after a six-year absence but Critchley was ecstatic to have 4,000 supporters back roaring the team on.
“Our support was unbelievable,” he added. “Was it 4,000? It sounded like 40,000. They made me and the team proud by what it meant for the fans.

“They deserve this moment and we now want to go to Wembley and win.”
Having lost in the 2020 League One play-off final, Oxford came up short again but U’s boss Karl Robinson has vowed to rebound – after a well-deserved break.
“We are all down at the moment but hopefully we will come back as a force next year,” said Robinson.

“We start again on Monday morning and we go again. We will bounce back because we always bounce back.
“I need a break because I am running on nothing. It has been a long two years.
“We showed fight but we have come up short. I didn’t expect this team to concede six goals over two legs. That was never the game plan.
“We came here to score three and we scored three but their goals came from nothing.
“But we have not lost this game which is important. We showed that we are not a pushover. But we fell short and we were not good enough over two legs.”
 
Critchley: I’m Made Up For Our Players And Supporters
21 May 2021



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Neil Critchley heaped praise on his players after they reached the League One Play-Off Final following a 3-3 draw with Oxford United.
The Seasiders won the first leg 3-0 at the Kassam Stadium in mid-week and with Oxford knowing they needed the three goals to make it equal, it was goals galore at a bouncing Bloomfield Road.
“Firstly, the players deserve this. They’ve given everything all season,” he said.

“We have some real professional players in this dressing room. They’re hungry for success, and after what was an end-to-end game full of goals and action, the lads did so well to respond to going behind so early on.
“It was an absolutely amazing atmosphere. I’ve never heard 4,000 people make so much noise. They were loud for 95 minutes and were right behind the team throughout. This is a unique set of supporters. When I came here I said I wanted to create a team that reflects the people of this area, and I feel we are doing that.
“I’m made up for them and I’m made up for our players on what was a wonderful night for this Club.”
 
Michael Appleton admits half-time rocket inspired Lincoln to play-off final spot
The Imps were 2-0 down at the break on Wearside before fighting back.
Damian Spellman
5 hours ago

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Lincoln manager Michael Appleton demanded more from his players at the Stadium of Light
(PA Wire)

Lincoln boss Michael Appleton delivered a half-time rocket to his players to inspire their Sky Bet League One play-off semi-final fightback at Sunderland.
The Imps saw their 2-0 first-leg lead evaporate at the Stadium of Light on Saturday before scraping their way back into the game to secure a 3-2 aggregate victory which booked them a trip to Wembley to face Blackpool next Sunday.


Appleton told Sky Sports: “I was really disappointed with the first half, I did not recognise us as a team. I just got after them with a little bit of old school.
“I just wanted to see personalities, be brave and get on the ball, pass the ball and we got that in the second half.

“I just said that to them at the end that we have passed a massive test in the second half because we were up against it in the first half, we had a lot of young players who had not experienced that before.


“And for them to come and turn it around in the second half like they did, I’m just delighted for them.”

Lincoln, who emerged from the National League as Sunderland were relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2016-17 season, have not played in the second tier since 1961 and their wait looked likely to be extended after a dreadful start on Wearside.
They were in deep trouble when goals from Ross Stewart and Charlie Wyke wiped out their lead with just 33 minutes played in front of a crowd of 9,971.
However, they rebooted at the break and got themselves back into the game through Tom Hopper’s 56th-minute header and, although Jorge Grant saw a penalty saved by keeper Lee Burge, a 2-1 defeat on the day was enough to see them through.
Sunderland head coach Lee Johnson admitted his devastation at the result and bemoaned referee Michael Salisbury’s decision not to award a 41st-minute penalty for goalkeeper Alex Palmer’s challenge on Stewart at 2-0.

He said: “It’s devastating, there’s no doubt, there’s no other word for it. The boys are devastated in there, the staff are devastated. You could see they put everything into it.
“The fans were magnificent. It was my first taste of the Sunderland fans with everybody behind us and if there’s a positive, it’s that is a sign of things to come, the tempo we can create for the 23 home games next season.

“We should have had a penalty when Ross Stewart was taken down and I think at that point, if we get to go 3-0 up, it allows us to rest in possession a little bit.”
 
'We made it to Wembley and that's all that matters': Kenny Dougall on Blackpool's dramatic semi-final tie against Oxford
Kenny Dougall admits Blackpool made life a bit more difficult for themselves than they could have done - but they made it to Wembley and that’s all that matters.
By Matt Scrafton
Sunday, 23rd May 2021, 9:00 am

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Dougall celebrates after scoring Blackpool's second goal of the night



The Seasiders will take on Lincoln City in the League One play-off final next weekend after beating Oxford United 6-3 over two legs.

Taking a three-goal lead into the second leg, Pool were heavy favourites to make it into the play-off final for the eighth time in the club’s history.





And while they ultimately achieved their aim, they did so in dramatic style, recovering from going a goal down early on to eventually draw 3-3, Dougall among those to find the net.


“It wasn’t the ideal start, but we scored straight away and got a second, so that settled us a bit,” Dougall said.
“It wasn’t the start we wanted and we made a lot of mistakes, which we got away with a little bit because of the result and the performance of the first leg.
“But we still got the job done and that was the important part. But at Wembley we’ll have to be a little bit better defensively.”
Friday night’s second leg was the first time Dougall has played in front of Blackpool’s fans, having joined in October 2020.


The atmosphere at Bloomfield Road was electric, as the returning Seasiders roared their team onto Wembley.
“Having the fans back in, it was loud,” the Australian said, who is on the verge of receiving his first international call-up.
“We haven’t had that for a while, so to get them back in was fantastic - 4,000 of them sounded like 50,000. All credit to them.
“It was a fantastic game for the supporters and the neutrals watching on TV.


“It wasn’t what we wanted, to concede straight away to put us on the back foot a little bit. But we had a comfortable aggregate lead.
“Those quick responses just helped settle us down. We made it a little bit more difficult than we would have liked, but we got to Wembley and that’s the most important part.
“I’ve never played at Wembley, although I’ve been once about 10 years ago. It will be good to go and actually play a match there.
“Again, it will be exciting to get the fans in the stadium, so I’m looking forward to it.


“I’m not sure how many fans were in the ground for the warm-up. There were 4,000 for kick-off though and it felt like a lot, lot more. They were great.
“They cheered all night and us being in the lead obviously helped, but it was fantastic and it was great to have them back. It was great to score in front of them too.”
 
Ex-Sunderland midfielder Liam Bridcutt makes play-off admission and praises inexperienced Lincoln City team-mates
Lincoln captain Liam Bridcutt admitted his side’s inexperience showed in the first half of their play-off second leg against Sunderland – but praised the Imps’ response after the interval.
By Joe Nicholson
Sunday, 23rd May 2021, 7:00 am



Chasing a 2-0 deficit from the first leg, Sunderland drew level on aggregate after goals from Ross Stewart and Charlie Wyke at the Stadium of Light.

But despite their first-half dominance in front of 10,000 supporters, the Black Cats lost momentum after the interval, as Tom Hopper’s header saw Lincoln retake control of the tie.

The result sent Lincoln through to the League One play-off final at Wembley, and speaking to Sky Sports after the match, Bridcutt, 32, said: “It was a rollercoaster of emotions.





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Lincoln captain Liam Bridcutt.


“I said at the start it’s got to be a case of controlling our nerves and our emotions. I think the first 45 we showed that as a young group we are very inexperienced in terms of having big crowds.
“We got together and gathered our thoughts. I think that’s a key part of our squad togetherness and willingness to go forward and win games."
When asked what he said to his team-mates at half-time, Bridcutt, formerly of Sunderland, added: “It’s just a case of reassuring the lads.
“I’ve been in similar situations in my career so it’s just a case of me passing on my experience but to be fair to the squad they take it on straight away and it’s a sign of top players.


“I know most of these will go on to be top players.”
 
Alex Palmer on his play-off pain and pleasure as Lincoln City reach Wembley
Having played in all but two of City’s competitive games this season, Palmer was ruled out of the first leg after suffering a concussion in training


  • 09:08, 23 MAY 2021
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Lincoln City's Alex Palmer celebrates at the Stadium of Light (Image: Chris Vaughan/CameraSport)



It is abundantly clear that Alex Palmer has a bright future in the game.
He could find himself West Bromwich Albion’s number one next season after he returns to The Hawthorns following his season-long loan with Lincoln City.

But whatever he goes on to achieve, he won’t forget the Imps’ play-off victory over Sunderland, for both bad and good reasons.


Having played in all but two of City’s competitive games this season, Palmer was ruled out of the first leg after being concussed following an incident in training.
“It was a weird one because it looked like nothing,” explained Palmer after the dramatic second leg at the Stadium of Light.

“I’ve had so many times when I’ve been hit in the face by the ball. That’s how it is as a goalkeeper, you’ve just got to take it on the chin – and I literally took on the chin!
“It must have just caught me wrong. I still can’t remember a lot from that day.
https://www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk/...ws/lincoln-city-final-wembley-tickets-5446482
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“All the protocols that we followed were spot on. I was gutted to miss out on that game but Joe [Bursik] came in. He’s a quality goalkeeper, a calm head and got the job done for us to be fair.
“I was absolutely gutted not to play in the last game at the Bank and experience the fans.
“But just to be there and witness it in the stands was great as well. I’m just happy to be back.”

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Lincoln City's Liam Bridcutt speaks to goalkeeper Alex Palmer after Sunderland's Ross Stewart scores the opening goal (Image: Chris Vaughan/CameraSport)
After passing the necessary stages of the concussion protocol, Palmer was declared fit for the second leg, with emergency loan signing Bursik returning to parent club Stoke City.
Palmer was beaten twice in the first half as Sunderland drew level on aggregate.
But some strong half-time words from Michael Appleton proved crucial as the Imps showed immense courage to fight back in the second half, with Tom Hopper’s header proving to be the winner.
That wasn’t the end of the drama as Jorge Grant saw a penalty saved by Lee Burge while Palmer kept out an effort from Aiden McGeady, who also hit the post.
“After what we had to go through in that first half, to play the way we did [in the second half] was credit to ourselves,” said Appleton.


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“We took on board what the gaffer said, about being aggressive and not letting the atmosphere and the occasion affect how we play.
“It was difficult in the first 45 minutes, but the character we showed was massive plus for us.
“We’re a young group of lads and in the second half we showed the togetherness we’ve got.”

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Sunderland's Charlie Wyke goes past Lincoln City goalkeeper Alex Palmer (Image: PA)
On how he stayed calm amid the unbearable tension of the second half, Palmer added: “You’ve got to try and stay calm and not influence the game if you don’t need to.
“The lads defended unbelievably in the second half, they put bodies on the line, they headed the ball when they needed to and then showed composure when they had to.
“They’re all a credit to this club.”
Palmer will play what will probably be his final game for the club on the grandest stage of them all.
“It’s great,” he said of the Imps’ Wembley date with Blackpool. “The gaffer told us it is a massive achievement for the club and for ourselves.
“If the fans were here, it would have been unbelievable, but we’re so happy that they’ll get to watch us at Wembley."
 
Good luck to those who are hoping to get tickets, I hope those who were there Friday all manage to get a ticket but seeing some doubt according to Twitter.

In a mad sort of way it has worked well me not having a chance of a ticket as financially I would have really struggled as we are in the process of moving house (still be PR3) which should be completed in the next couple of months and we are expecting baby no2 in August so money is tight, that said you always find a way don’t you 😂.

As for the game it’s self, at the moment I don’t feel confident but I don’t feel nervous we won’t do it.
 
Suspect the (slight) delay in us announcing ticket details is because the allocation is going to be (slightly) less than our number of STHs, of which there are just over 4,000.

The club stopped selling STs when they'd got to 25% capacity, whereas other clubs didn't, and as a result we didn't have to run a ballot for the semi final (whereas other clubs did). We'll, therefore, probably be working with Ticketmaster this weekend to get set up to run a ballot.

You'd imagine we'll get exactly the same number of tickets as Lincoln, which means if you're a STH you have a 93% chance of getting a ticket in the ballot on the basis all of our STHs enter the ballot (which they won't, particularly given how the seats are being allocated). Even just 100 fans choosing not to enter the ballot would increase the chances of success for the rest to 96%.

It's obviously a far from ideal situation, but let's not have panic and negativity. The focus should be on supporting the boys in tangerine!
 
The final tickets figure will be dependent on how many BFC want for directors, players, their families and sponsors / corporate hospitality. If they limit the numbers there it could just about squeeze the ST holders without a ballot. Doubt they will do that though. Of course all of this could have been avoided if they allowed the same numbers as the cup final, or even a few thousand more. A bit ridiculous really
 
The final tickets figure will be dependent on how many BFC want for directors, players, their families and sponsors / corporate hospitality. If they limit the numbers there it could just about squeeze the ST holders without a ballot. Doubt they will do that though. Of course all of this could have been avoided if they allowed the same numbers as the cup final, or even a few thousand more. A bit ridiculous really
That was never going to happen though: the FA Cup Final was a test event and was just a week ago, so limited data on what impact, if any, that has had.

The League Cup Final was on 25th April and a sub 8,000 attendance. The roadmap is the roadmap unfortunately and affects everyone; we can't expect it to be altered just for our personal benefit.
 
Lincoln, Brentford, Swansea have all got ticketing details on their websites and nowt from BFC
 
Lincoln, Brentford, Swansea have all got ticketing details on their websites and nowt from BFC
I repeat:

Suspect the (slight) delay in us announcing ticket details is because the allocation is going to be (slightly) less than our number of STHs, of which there are just over 4,000.

The club stopped selling STs when they'd got to 25% capacity, whereas other clubs didn't, and as a result we didn't have to run a ballot for the semi final (whereas other clubs did). We'll, therefore, probably be working with Ticketmaster this weekend to get set up to run a ballot.