Blackpool FC: Neil Critchley slams referee's management of time wasting in the Seasiders' defeat to Northampton Town

Neil Critchley (Photographer Dave Howarth / CameraSport)

The Seasiders boss has criticised the way the referee dealt with some of the time wasting techniques used by the visitors to Bloomfield Road.

Kieron Bowie opened the scoring for Jon Brady’s side in the first half, before Jordan Rhodes pulled Blackpool level in the 63rd minute.

Not long after the equaliser, Sam Hoskins scored the deciding goal to give Northampton all three points.

The Seasiders did have a late opportunity to snatch a point, but Owen Dale was unable to direct a header on target with the keeper and the defence scrambling.

At full time, Critchley claimed the six minutes of stoppage time at the end of the second half was nowhere near sufficient.

"There wasn’t enough time added on,” he said.

"You think about the goals, and they say that’s real time- there were two in the second half. Kaddy (Karamoko Dembele) went down and the physio came on. There’s also all of the stoppages and substitutes.

"There was only six minutes added on at the end of the game, but that probably should’ve been 16 minutes.

"I’m not sure why the referee didn’t do more about the time wasting. In the first half it was evident what was happening during every stoppage, so that makes it even more frustrating.

“That’s nothing against Northampton- I understand why they did it. It’s up to the referee to manage that, and I don’t think he did. We want to build momentum in the game but that’s difficult when the opposition are bending the rules.

"I’m not sure the referee had an understanding of what Northampton were doing; or he certainly didn’t deal with those situations.

"The rules are there for a reason, and when you’re chasing the game you expect the referee to do the job properly. Everyone would agree, the time added on at the end wasn’t a reflection of the time wasting that was taking place all evening.”

The Seasiders’ next League One game comes on December 9, with their upcoming outings coming in the FA Cup and EFL Trophy respectively.