'We showed great fight': Neil Critchley delivers his verdict on Blackpool's goalless draw against Accrington Stanley

The Seasiders weren’t at their best at the Crown Ground this afternoon in a scrappy encounter played in tricky conditions.

Jerry Yates came closest to scoring in the first-half, hitting the foot of the post from CJ Hamilton’s pullback.

But Accrington were the better side in the second period and Dion Charles in particular was guilty of two or three misses.

“It wasn’t a game for the purists, that’s for certain,” Critchley said.

“It was two very committed teams. We showed great character and great fight. We had to defend a lot of long balls, set pieces and throw-ins but we defended the goal very well.

“We didn’t quite do enough when we had the ball, we didn’t show enough calmness in our play.

“We knew they would come after us and press, so we wanted to play in their half but when we got in their half we were a little bit wasteful with the moments we had. I was disappointed with that. But I’d have to give us 10 out of 10 for commitment.

“Even though I was disappointed with how we were in possession, you have to take into account the conditions and the way they play.

“I thought we looked like a good team, particularly without the ball. They had some moments, particularly towards the end, but other than that there wasn’t a great deal in the game.

“They’re a team in form, so to come here, keep a clean sheet and get a point we’ve got to go away relatively pleased.”

The Seasiders got into some promising positions at times, especially in the first-half, but were lacking that killer pass in the final third.

“We were frustrated because we had some moments where we failed to make the right pass, particularly in the first-half where we missed CJ a lot,” Critchley added.

“There was one occasion where we got the ball to him but the referee gave a foul, which I didn’t think was.

“We had a good counter-attack moment in the second half when Jerry got in and could have done better with it.

“We hit the post in the first-half and I was right behind that, I thought it was in. I thought it would hit the post and go in.

“Gary (Madine) also had a shot following a counter-attack, so it was something we stressed at half-time that the game would open up a bit and we’d have some moments and it would be up to us to capitalise on them, which we never really did.”

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