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• Reading boss Ruben Selles slams ‘unacceptable’ defeat at Blackpool

  Ruben Selles slammed an “unacceptable” first-half display from his struggling Reading side after they were beaten 4-1 by a Jordan Rhodes-inspired Blackpool.

  The Royals recorded their biggest win for over a century in midweek, dispatching Exeter 9-0 in the EFL Trophy, but were brought back down to earth on their return to Sky Bet League One action as the hosts raced into a 3-0 lead after 31 minutes.

  Three half-time substitutions from Selles did not turn the tide as Rhodes completed his first hat-trick for nearly four years shortly after the break, with Sam Hutchinson’s deflected strike nothing more than a consolation for a Royals side who remain rooted in the bottom four.

  “It was not good enough,” Selles said. “We conceded the first goal and then we started to do things we just don’t do.

  “We conceded three goals in the first half – and that’s not acceptable. It was nowhere near good enough from any of us today.

  “At 3-0 down, I made changes because it was a very radical moment in the game.

  “The first 10 or 15 minutes of the game we were not able to control the ball, pass and do the things we usually do.

  “We were not able to apply the press and win the second balls in transitions, and the opposition was able to do it.

  “We needed something radical to change the dynamic of the game. We got it, but we conceded another goal. That killed our wish to get back into the game.”

  Hutchinson’s foul on CJ Hamilton gave Rhodes the chance to open the scoring from the spot and he followed up with a sweet strike into the corner after debutant Kylian Kouassi’s bullet header had doubled the lead.

  Rhodes killed off the contest six minutes into the second half and Blackpool boss Neil Critchley had nothing but praise for his side.

  “I’m really pleased with that performance,” he said.

  “We showed a good response from losing last week. This was more of a Blackpool performance, more of what you associate with a group of players that represents the club and the way that I want them to.

  “We took the game to them. I’m delighted with some of the performances, the team and Jordan obviously getting his hat-trick.

  “We thought we could get some joy running at their full-backs and that’s how it turned out.

  “Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. We live in a world of extremes, sometimes you get it right and you’re a hero. But then if you get it wrong you’re an idiot.

  “It’s great for the supporters and now we have got to back that up with a good performance against Barnsley next week.”

• Lee Bell hails Crewe discipline and work ethic in face of Colchester onslaught

  Crewe boss Lee Bell saluted his players for showing gritty resistance as the Railwaymen held firm in the face of a strong Colchester fightback to claim a 2-1 victory.

  Chris Long struck twice in the opening minutes to put Crewe in early control but Samson Tovide set up an intriguing second half when he cut the arrears soon after the break at Gresty Road.

  Crewe were hanging on at times as Colchester dominated before the hosts were able to record their third win in four games.

  Bell, whose side were indebted to captain Luke Offord’s goal-line clearance from Joe Taylor, said: “These are the best type of wins when you have to work your way through to get a result. We couldn’t stop Colchester’s flow, but we worked so hard.

  “They played some good football and I don’t think their current position is a reflection on them at the moment. After the early goals we wanted to carry on with our attacking but we sat back a bit and let them back into the game.

  “We did stay strong in the second half and our skipper cleared that one off the line late on with a brilliant recovery. We under a bit of pressure, but the lads kept their heads and discipline which was really pleasing.

  “I was delighted with the early goals. Mickey’s [Demetriou] throws are a real threat and then Longy took his penalty really well. But I thought everyone in the team put in great effort and they were all excellent.”

  Demetriou’s long throw caused problems for the Us defence and Long fired the loose ball into the corner of the net to give the hosts a third-minute lead.

  Long then took his tally for the season to five by converting from the spot in the seventh minute after Shilow Tracey was bundled over in the box.

  Colchester’s response saw Taylor volley over and Noah Chilvers crack an effort onto the post.

  But it was after the break the Essex side stepped up their onslaught after Tovide finished off Taylor’s driven cross over the six-yard box in the 53rd minute.

  Tovide, Arthur Read and substitute Jay Mingi all went close before Taylor was thwarted in stoppage time.

  Colchester boss Ben Garner said: “We won’t concede a worst goal all season for their first and I thought the penalty was really soft. But after that we were brilliant and we absolutely killed them.

  “The number of chances we created, we dominated the ball and for 80 minutes that was our best performance of the season.

  “When we got the goal I thought we’d go on and win the game, but we couldn’t just get the next goal. We got into some really good positions and had one cleared off the line.

  “If we’d performed like that over the whole 90 minutes we’d have won the game comfortably.

  “The second half was as dominant display as you will have seen. It was just a case of whether we’d get the goals, but I thought Crewe defended set-pieces well and threw their bodies on the line, but we should have taken at least a point.”

• Nigel Adkins hopes win against Accrington can help build momentum at Tranmere

  Nigel Adkins is targeting getting Tranmere away from the Sky Bet League Two drop zone after a 2-0 win over 10-men Accrington.

  Josh Hawkes’ penalty gave Tranmere the advantage before Stanley’s Jay Rich-Baghuelou received a straight red card after a poor tackle on the goalscorer, whose second after half-time ensured victory.

  The win leaves the Prenton Park side still in the relegation zone, but a point from safety after a first victory since the middle of August.

  Tranmere interim boss Adkins hopes the victory can build forward momentum in the Wirral outfit’s season once again after a first win in charge.

  “I’m really pleased with the players’ application, you can see the togetherness with everybody. The crowd were great as well, getting right behind the players, because this was a challenging game,” he said.

  “I think it was clear for everybody to go and see and I think we’ve matched that very, very well in the situations we had to.

  “You’ve seen a togetherness for everybody, which is important, a bit of structure and organisation on how we need to keep improving because ultimately we can’t be where we are in the division.

  “It stops the rot, it stops that negative momentum that we’ve had and we’re trying to get a forward momentum. We’ve got to get a momentum about ourselves and that only comes by everybody pulling in the same direction.

  “It’s like that big boulder that’s there and we’ve had a negative roll on it, and we’ve kind of stopped it and now it’s how can we start rocking it to get that forward momentum going and today you could see it.”

  Accrington boss John Coleman had no complaints with the result or the red card for Rich-Baghuelou, which proved so costly.

  “There’s no excuses, we didn’t perform like we can perform. Our travelling fans were brilliant, they supported us for long periods of the game and we didn’t give them enough to cheer about,” he said.

  “We let Tranmere get on to the front foot. There’s nothing in the game, they scored from a penalty and there’s still nothing in the game. No real chances getting made, but we weren’t asking any questions going forward.

  “We were loose with our possession, we didn’t press, we let Tranmere outpress us, and they were a little bit more enthusiastic than us in the first half ,despite there being nothing in the game.

  “The sending-off has obviously hamstrung us, no complaints, you can’t challenge like that. That ultimately has cost us the game.

  “I think we’re still in it at 1-0, a chance to regroup and make positive subs gets eliminated when you’re down to 10.”