Blackpool boss Neil Critchley hailed a job well done by his side after their 1-0 victory at Northampton on Tuesday.
A cagey first half at Sixfields yielded little in the way of clear-cut chances but Blackpool took control after the break, with Matt Pennington making the crucial breakthrough.
The visitors then defended well and limited Northampton to very few opportunities as they moved to within one point of the play-off places.
“I thought we played well and we looked like a good team,” said Critchley. “We played with belief and a bit of arrogance.
“They changed their shape and they changed their team and paid us a bit of respect but we had good control of the game and we said at half-time to be patient and keep doing the right things.
“If we kept passing it, they’ll tire, and to score from a set-piece was really nice because that’s something we have worked on and it’s something we highlighted that we needed to improve.
“Their goalkeeper made an unbelievable save from Marvin Ekpiteta in the first half but we felt the ball crossed the line, so to score from another set-piece in the second half was pleasing.
“After we scored, without the ball, we looked really assured and it was a composed and controlled performance.
“We’ve only lost one in six and that’s now three consecutive clean sheets so we’re in good form and we feel we’re building momentum.
“Tonight’s gone, we have eight games to go this season and now we’re focused on Wigan on Saturday.”
Northampton boss Jon Brady was not too downhearted despite his side’s toothless performance.
He said: “In my opinion it shows how far we’ve come because we feel a little bit disappointed and the fans are a little bit disappointed and we’re playing against Blackpool.
“They were tipped for automatic promotion this season and they are a team going for the play-offs and they have some very good players, but possession-wise I felt we went toe-to-toe with them.
“We couldn’t find the solutions in attack because they dropped back into shape in the second half and they were very hard to break down. They are a very good side and have destroyed a lot of good teams recently.
“I thought there were spells where we played well but they score a goal from a set-piece, a scrappy goal, and that’s disappointing because we should defend that better and it’s the key moment in the game.”
'We wanted to right that wrong': Eve welcomed T&T's ruthless showing against Bahamas after Grenada stumble
Having secured two positive results to get the Concacaf World Cup qualifiers going, Trinidad and Tobago’s Head coach Angus Eve welcomed the solid platform on which he hopes to build when the Soca Warriors next take the field as part of the campaign.
Eve’s side registered one of the biggest winning margins of the opening round of matches, as they thumped Bahamas 7-1 in Basseterre, St Kitts, on Saturday. That dominance performance followed a shaky showing against Grenada in which the Soca Warriors had to come from two goals down to secure a point in a 2-2 stalemate.
It is with that in mind why Eve expressed pleasure with his team’s character, as the performances ensured the twin island republic sits second in Group B on four points, two behind leaders and group favourites Costa Rica on six points. Grenada (one point) is third, while St Kitts and Nevis and Bahamas, who meet on Tuesday, are yet to get off the mark.
“The result was the most important thing for us. We wanted to win the game. We wanted to get three points and we did,” Eve said.
“I thought we were a little bit flat in the first game against Grenada, and we never got going until the second half. We wanted to right that wrong, and I think we did it. The passing...the fluency of the team was much better,” he added.
Trinidad and Tobago players celebrate a goal against Bahamas.
While critics argued that the 7-1 scoreline was due to the fact that Bahamas was a perceived lesser opponent, Eve rubbished the thought, as he reminded football enthusiasts that the Bahamians were responsible for Trinidad and Tobago’s demise during the last qualifying cycle.
“It doesn’t matter who we played. This team [Bahamas] threw us out of the World Cup last time around. I don’t think we could have scored on them back then. So it shows improvement, for us beating them by seven,” Eve declared.
“As the game went along, we believed we could have gotten more, we pushed for more, and it has taken us up to four points, which is most important,” he noted.
Obviously disappointed by the Grenada performance, the tactician made seven changes to his starting team, and the likes of Malcolm Shaw, Duane Muckette, Andre Rampersad, Alvin Jones, Steffen Yeates, Triston Hodge and Josiah Trimmingham repaid Eve’s faith in them. Shaw and Muckette both scored braces.
“I just wanted to freshen up the team. I have confidence in all of the guys that we brought here, so we believe that we could kind of change up the squad somewhat and get the desired result,” Eve said.
“I thought they did very well and we believe in all the players that we bring here, and we have no fear to change up the team,” he shared.
Meanwhile, having missed out on a Copa America berth, Eve will have to possible find a few friendly encounters to engage in to keep his Soca Warriors sharp ahead of the Nations League, which gets under way in September.
The World Cup qualifying campaign will resume next June. At that time, Trinidad and Tobago will host St Kitts and Nevis, before a possible top-of-the-table clash away to Costa Rica.
Only the top two teams from each group will progress to the final stage of the qualifiers.
Maatsen called up to Netherlands squad, injured Koopmeiners out of Euro 2024
Ian Maatsen will join the Netherlands' Euro 2024 squad after injuries forced two midfielders out of the tournament.
He will officially replace Frenkie de Jong, who the Netherlands confirmed would miss out due to an ankle injury he suffered while playing for Barcelona in April.
In Oranje's final friendly before the tournament, a 4-0 victory over Iceland on Monday, Teun Koopmeiners pulled out of the starting line-up after sustaining a muscle injury in the warm-up.
In a post to X on Tuesday, the Netherlands said: "Teun Koopmeiners misses Euro 2024.
"The midfielder won’t be able to participate after injuring himself during the warm-up of the match against Iceland yesterday.
"We’re thinking of you, Teun."
Maatsen's absence from the initial squad raised some eyebrows after he reached the Champions League final with Borussia Dortmund in 2023-24.
The 22-year-old joined the German side on loan from Chelsea in January, making 23 appearances for them in all competitions, scoring three goals and providing two assists.
Netherlands will begin Euro 2024 against Poland in Group C on Sunday, before facing France and Austria in their other group matches.
Torres named as new Atletico Madrid B team head coach
Fernando Torres has been named as the new head coach of Atletico Madrid's B team, in a statement released by the LaLiga club on Tuesday.
The former World Cup-winning Spain striker started his coaching career in 2021 with Atleti's Under-19's side after retiring from professional football two years prior.
His new role will be his first in senior management and he will succeed Luis Tevenet, who has joined Diego Simeone's senior staff ahead of the 2024-25 campaign.
"I am at home and I feel an enormous responsibility since I decided to face this new stage," Torres said. "It has been three years of constant learning.
"For me this step is very important and I want to be ambitious to do things better every day, face the challenges that come and the responsibility in the best way and at the same time knowing that I am in no hurry and no need to take a wrong step.
"I accept it as a great challenge with a lot of ambition and the peace of mind of knowing that we are prepared."
The 40-year-old scored more than 100 goals in two spells for the 11-time Spanish champions, and helped his nation win the European Championship in 2008 and 2012.
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