Kyle bows out in winning style with Blackpool

Richie Kyle said goodbye to life at Blackpool in winning fashion as they defeated hosts Accrington Stanley in the Checkatrade Trophy last night.

Goals in each half from Danny Philliskirk and Max Clayton – the latter with two minutes left – gave the Seasiders a 2-1 win as Kyle ran affairs from the dugout in his final game before leaving for a coaching role at the FA.

Gary Bowyer’s assistant also handled the post-match media duties and admitted the win was a welcome one.

He said: “I’m happy with the win. It’s always important to win the game, no matter what the fixture is.

“I thought that in the first half we passed the ball really well but had a little bit of a wobble near the end of it.

“Then in the second half we got a little bit sloppy but then we dug in and got the win, which was always important.”

Victory came despite a second half in which Stanley had the better chances with their front three of Mekhi McLeod, Erico Sousa and Mallik Wilks causing the Blackpool defence no end of problems.

They spurned a number of chances to go in front and paid the penalty when Clayton scored from close range.

Callum Cooke came close to making it 3-1 a minute later but struck the woodwork from distance. They have pace, power and kept trying to nick the ball when we had possession,” Kyle said.

“I was impressed with the lads, their mentality, the way they dug in when we were under the cos. We stuck together.”