Blackpool's Comeback Draw Against Wycombe: Keogh Worried About Mistakes Costing Tangerines

Wycombe Wanderers made it three games unbeaten with an entertaining 2-2 draw against managerless Blackpool at Bloomfield Road. Garath McCleary’s opener was cancelled out by a Kyle Joseph header in the first half and Jake Beesley levelled late on after a Daniel Udoh screamer had put the visitors in the driving seat.

Blackpool had the better of the early stages but were caught napping in the 10th minute when Udoh forced a save from Richard O’Donnell and McCleary headed in an easy rebound. The Seasiders pushed for a leveller with Dom Ballard hitting the post and finally got it when Joseph headed through a crowd from a 32nd-minute corner. After the break, the hosts’ Ashley Fletcher had a golden opportunity from within six yards but his header was caught by goalkeeper Franco Ravizzoli.

The Chairboys took the lead for the second time in the 79th minute. Udoh, easily their best player, fired a powerful low left-foot shot past O’Donnell from 25 yards. Blackpool may have been down but they were not out and substitute Beesley headed home brilliantly from a free-kick delivery with five minutes left. The hosts nearly completed the turnaround in added time with another Joseph header but Ravizzoli made an excellent double save to preserve the point for Wycombe.

Blackpool interim manager Richard Keogh is concerned that his players “keep getting punished for every little mistake we’re making” after their 2-2 comeback draw against Wycombe. The Chairboys took the lead through a Garath McCauley rebound, but that was cancelled out by Kyle Joseph before half-time. A second-half screamer from Dan Udoh looked to have won it for Wycombe, but Jake Beesley’s late header earned a point for the Seasiders.

And Keogh, after drawing his second consecutive league game in temporary charge, said: “I think our mentality to keep going is really important. “I think Tuesday’s cup win probably helped with that. I think we were creating so many chances. I know we didn’t take a lot of them, but I think that gave the team belief that we can find a way back in the game.

“I think, in terms of chances created, we probably deserved to win the game, but the reality is that we drew it. “There’s a few things we need to need to correct, but overall I thought we played very well. “This week I’ve been focusing on giving back to the group. We’ve not have many training days, really – it’s been a lot of recovery days, and tactical days. “You’ve got to prepare for the games when you’re playing against really good opponents. “So, I just wanted to give the lads a good game plan. They’re the ones carrying it out and credit to them. “There’s still loads for us to work on. I think we’re getting punished for every little mistake we’re making at the moment, and the only way you get through is by working hard. “By getting on to the training ground, by trying to get make ourselves better. And we have to keep enjoying the work. “We want to push each other, and as long as we’re doing that on the training pitch, then we give ourselves a good opportunity to improve.”

His opposite number Matt Bloomfield felt his Wycombe side suffered for a poor start. He said: “I didn’t think we were good enough in the first half. We’ve had maybe 24 hours less to prepare than Blackpool. “We’ve had a long week on the road, and I thought we just weren’t that half a yard closer to people than we should’ve been from the start, which was disappointing. “We changed shape and I thought we got loads better. Then probably the biggest disappointment is that once we got ourselves ahead, we were in control of the game. I felt really, really comfortable – and the equaliser was offside. “So, I guess a couple of things went against us, but on the balance of play, it was probably a fair result.

“It’s disappointing really because we work a lot and we’ve spoken a lot this week about our back line trying to squeeze on their strikers. It’s unfortunate because they squeezed the line and left him in there, and then they played the cross and he’s (Beesley) only got on the wrong side of Joe Low because he’s offside.“But, it’s been a very, very good week. To go Saturday-Wednesday-Saturday with a win-win-draw, I think if you’d have offered me that last Saturday morning I would have taken it. “So, there’s plenty to be pleased about, plenty to work on, but a few contentious decisions in there today.”

Blackpool's Tactical Approach

Blackpool's interim manager Richard Keogh spoke about the importance of the team's mentality and their ability to find a way back into the game. He also highlighted the importance of giving the players a good game plan and focusing on improving their performance on the training pitch.

Wycombe's Perspective

Wycombe manager Matt Bloomfield acknowledged his team's slow start to the game and expressed disappointment with their performance in the first half. However, he was pleased with their improvement in the second half and overall, considered the result a fair one.