Jack Marriott salvaged Fleetwood a dramatic late point in a six-goal Lancashire derby thriller at Highbury.

The Cod Army looked set to secure bragging rights against their neighbours for the first time in five years after a quick-fire first-half burst.

Blackpool had a great early chance when Jordan Rhodes’ strike rattled the crossbar after just six minutes.

Promise Omochere opened the scoring for the hosts after 13 minutes after he was left in plenty of space to pick his spot.

And Lee Johnson’s side doubled their lead five minutes later as the Seasiders made a mess of clearing a corner, with Marriott poking home the rebound.

Blackpool goalkeeper Daniel Grimshaw kept the deficit at just the two when he kept out Shaun Rooney with his feet.

Sonny Carey turned the game on its head with a three-minute brace early in the second half.

The 22-year-old, who opened his league account for the season last time out, curled home a nice strike in the 48th minute before quickly firing in a second effort from the edge of the box.

Shayne Lavery completed the turnaround in the 65th minute after being played through by Rhodes.

But Marriott’s stunning 90th-minute strike secured a precious point for the strugglers.

Darren Ferguson was relieved to survive an “unprofessional” second-half wobble as his side held off a fightback from 10-man Blackpool to win 4-2 at Bloomfield Road.

Posh appeared to be cruising as goals from Kwame Poku, Harrison Burrows and Ricky-Jade Jones put them 3-0 up inside an hour against a home side who had Oliver Casey dismissed shortly after the restart.

But the hosts scored twice in the space of four minutes through Kenny Dougall’s header and Sonny Carey, who was first to the rebound when Nicholas Bilokapic parried James Husband’s shot to set up a grandstand finish.

It needed a stoppage-time strike from Ephron Mason-Clark, who had earlier missed a penalty, to make the points safe and Ferguson was left to reflect on a mixed performance.

“We were excellent for 60 minutes and we stuck to the game plan,” he said.

“We were very good and we were dominant. But even at 2-0 we got sloppy, and then a great third goal and you’re thinking ‘game over, just manage it. Can we put a real statement out and put them to the sword?’.

“Then 15 minutes later, we’re hanging on. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. We were all over the place and it was just unprofessional.

“We managed to see it through and a good counter-attack and a great finish by Ephron. Any time you come here and you win, it’s a great result because these will be in the top six, I’m absolutely certain of that.

“We’ve now gone to Bolton away, Barnsley away, these away, Portsmouth away; a lot of teams that will probably end up in the top six, I think, and we’ve come out pretty unscathed.”

Posh climbed to fourth following their victory while Blackpool sit seventh, three points outside the Sky Bet League One play-off places.

Tangerines boss Neil Critchley had nothing but praise for the way his side battled back into the contest.

“I’m proud of a team that’s given absolutely everything in really difficult circumstances,” he said.

“If you’re going to lose a game of football, then lose like that.

“I’m disappointed to lose, obviously. I think we could have started the game better, I thought we were a little bit tentative, which was not the message before the game, but I thought we grew into it.

“Our response to going 3-0 down was magnificent, unbelievable. The players gave absolutely everything. At 3-2, we had them, we felt we could get something out of the game at that moment in time.

“You could see tiredness towards the end and we made a mistake and they scored. So much happened during the game. Even though we’ve lost, I’m still very positive about what I saw in the second half, especially.”

Charlton head coach Michael Appleton praised the character of his side as they came back to draw 2-2 against Blackpool.

The south London outfit looked out of the game with 10 minutes to go, but two goals in as many minutes earned a point.

Although Charlton were unable to make it four wins in a row at the Valley, Appleton was pleased with the comeback.

He said: “I’m really happy with the response the players showed, they created lots of chances in the game.

“We don’t want to get used to coming from behind, but the one thing I did say when I came here was to hopefully improve the mentality – the never-say-die spirit.

“The fans have seen enough in the team at the minute that they’re giving everything. We’ll make mistakes and concede goals at times, but you’ve seen today they’re willing to have a right go.

“I think we could have won it if it went another five minutes, even before we scored we created a lot of chances in that second half.

“We had two sides, one side really wanted to win and the other had moments in the game, and I knew that would be the case.”

It looked to be a fine away performance from Blackpool, who took the lead after 34 minutes. James Husband crossed into the middle of the area for Jordan Rhodes to connect first time past keeper Ashley Maynard-Brewer.

The spoils looked to be heading back to Lancashire when substitute Karamoko Dembele stole the ball from defender Michael Hector to rifle home on 70 minutes.

However, Charlton stunned them with two goals in under 120 seconds. Firstly, Chuks Aneke found space to square for Alfie May to divert home on 82 minutes.

Then Corey Blackett-Taylor sent the Valley into raptures with a superb curled effort.

Visiting head coach Neil Critchley was left to bemoan the lack of discipline from his side.

He said: “We should have won that, without a doubt. At 2-0 you could say it was a perfect away performance. We’d restricted them to very little in the game.

“When you score the second goal you should see the game out. It was a couple of moments of madness that have cost us.

“There is a frustrated group of players in the dressing room, and a frustrated group of staff.

“The first Charlton goal is the one for me. We shouldn’t get counter-attacked when we’re 2-0 up. We lost the ball in a stupid position on the pitch.”

Charlton came from behind to score two late goals in their 2-2 draw at home to Blackpool.

The visitors struck first after 34 minutes. James Husband crossed into the middle of the area for Jordan Rhodes to connect first time past keeper Ashley Maynard-Brewer.

Blackpool almost doubled their lead seven minutes after the interval. A bout of pressure saw a fierce strike by Sonny Carey tipped onto the bar by Maynard-Brewer.

The visitors looked out of sight on 70 minutes when substitute Karamoko Dembele stole the ball from defender Michael Hector to fire home.

But Charlton stunned them with two goals in as many minutes. First, Alfie May diverted home on 82 minutes after great work by Chuks Aneke.

Then Corey Blackett-Taylor sent the Valley into raptures with a superb curled effort to earn a share of the spoils.

Matt Doherty marked his second Wolves debut with two goals and Nathan Fraser scored on his first senior appearance as they brushed aside League One Blackpool 5-0 to reach the third round of the Carabao Cup.

Sasa Kalajdzic doubled his Wolves tally days after getting off the mark at Everton and Fabio Silva capped a fine display with his first goal for the club since May 2021 before the popular Doherty, back at the ground where he spent a decade before leaving in 2020, scored two in seven minutes.

Substitute Fraser had set up the second of Doherty’s goals and the 18-year-old then got in on the scoring himself, beating goalkeeper Richard O’Donnell with a deflected effort late on.

With Matheus Nunes trying to force through a move to Manchester City, Goncalo Guedes heading back to Benfica on loan and Daniel Podence seemingly on his way out, Wolves need reinforcements in the final days of the transfer window but there were positive signs at Molineux.

Blackpool, without a goal in four matches since beating Derby 2-0 in the last round and deprived of cup-tied striker Jordan Rhodes and the injured Shayne Lavery, twice struck the frame of the goal but were comfortably second best.

Gary O’Neil made nine changes from Saturday’s 1-0 Premier League win at Everton, even including 15-year-old Emilio Ballard-Matthews among the substitutes, and will have been pleased with the attacking intent of those afforded an opportunity.

Kalajdzic, whose first season at Molineux was ruined by a torn ligament suffered on his debut, opened his Wolves account in the 87th minute at Goodison Park and needed only 10 minutes of this match to double it, bouncing a shot in after Pablo Sarabia’s effort was charged down by O’Donnell.

Wolves were then guilty of complacency against goal-shy Blackpool, loose in possession at the back and almost punished as Kenny Dougall saw a shot from 20 yards come back off the inside of the post.

But Silva settled nerves in the 25th minute as Sarabia ran forward from midfield and slipped the ball through for the 21-year-old to beat O’Donnell with a powerful finish.

After his last strike against West Brom in May 2021, Silva went a full season without a Wolves goal and then spent time on loan with Anderlecht and PSV Eindhoven, but O’Neil will hope his positive display here is a sign the former club-record signing, still only 21, is settling in at last.

There was a blow early in the second half for the hosts when 20-year-old Joe Hodge, making his first appearance of the season, pulled up clutching his hamstring when breaking into the box, with 19-year-old Harvey Griffiths handed a debut as his replacement.

The third goal came on the hour, with Sarabia again involved as he latched on to a deflected ball through and lifted in a cross from the left for Republic of Ireland full-back Doherty, back at Molineux after spells with Tottenham and Atletico Madrid, to head in off the underside of the crossbar.

Moments later, Doherty was at it again. The 18-year-old Fraser, on for Kalajdzic, beat the offside trap down the right and then tapped the ball back for Doherty to run at goal and beat O’Donnell at his near post.

At the other end Blackpool skipper Callum Connolly struck the crossbar with a free-kick but Wolves and Fraser had the final word six minutes from time.

Lincoln boss Mark Kennedy was cautious about looking at the Sky Bet League One table after his side cruised to a 3-0 victory over 10-man Blackpool.

The win moved the Imps up to fourth and extended their unbeaten run to four.

“Where we are in the league at the moment is not important,” Kennedy said. “We spoke to the group after the game and told them to not get carried away and stay grounded.

“We don’t want to be fooling ourselves. We’re not a top-four team.”

The Imps scored twice from the penalty spot and saw another strike deflected home, and Kennedy said: “With the goals, we had three big chances and took them.

“Blackpool are a really good side with a good coaching group, so that is a big win for us in a big test.

“I thought we were really good in and out of possession. We looked structured and hard to break down. We controlled the ball. I thought we did that very well today.

“Before we went to Shrewsbury, a couple of our players were practicing penalties. I told Danny Mandroui that he was on penalties today, but we have three or four players who are really capable.

“I’m a big believer of driving at defenders, so it was nice to see Ethan Erhahon drive forward and pulling the trigger. I’d like to see him do that more often.”

Blackpool boss Neil Critchley was honest about his side’s performance.

“Horrible is the word that sums it up,” he said. “The initial start was good, we had two good chances before the first goal after seven minutes. That was a mistake from us.

“It was stupid of us to give away the penalty. We responded well, I thought. We still had chances to equalise before the second.

“Lincoln got a little bit of luck with the second goal. We didn’t get the press right and he shoots from outside the area. It takes a deflection and at half-time I’m scratching my head as to why we were 2-0 down.

“We changed our formation and players at half-time and we were threatening to get back into the game.”

Blackpool were down to 10 men with 17 minutes to play after Oliver Norburn brought down Ben House prior to Lincoln’s third, and Critchley believed it was the right decision.

“We didn’t defend well enough on the halfway line,” Critchley continued.

“The third goal and the sending-off kills the game. It looked horrible, it feels horrible, but it’s our first defeat of the season so I have to put it into perspective.”

Two penalties and a deflected strike earned Lincoln a commanding 3-0 win over 10-man Blackpool at the LNER Stadium and moved them up to second in Sky Bet League One.

Daniel Mandroui opened the scoring from the spot inside seven minutes after Ben House was brought down in the Blackpool area.

Goalkeeper Lukas Jensen saved from Seasiders debutant Jordan Rhodes when he was through one-on-one and as the rebound fell to CJ Hamilton, the winger could only volley over with the goal gaping.

Five minutes before the break, Ethan Erhahon doubled his side’s advantage. He travelled to the edge of the visitors box and saw his shot flick off Marvin Ekpiteta’s legs before nestling into the far corner.

Oliver Norburn was given his marching orders with 17 minutes to play after fouling House in front of an open goal.

Substitute Teddy Bishop slammed home the resulting penalty to seal the points and extend the Imps’ unbeaten run to four, with Blackpool winless in the league since opening day.

Andy Crosby believes Port Vale lacked a cutting edge in their 0-0 draw against Blackpool.

Gavin Massey came closest as The Valiants controlled the first half, but his powerful shot flew agonisingly wide of the goal.

In the second half, Blackpool took control, but Vale stopper Connor Ripley tipped away Shayne Lavery’s header to ensure the spoils were shared at Bloomfield Road.

The Port Vale manager insists his side had the chance to win the game in the opening 45 minutes.

He said: “We were maybe just lacking that last pass around the edge of their box to really take advantage.

“It was a contrasting game really, I thought first half we had control, especially in possession and we controlled their possession how we wanted to.

“We thought we could counterattack from the midfield if we could nick balls, and we had a few opportunities.

“We nullified them to very little in the first half, we used our numerical advantage in certain areas of the pitch which we spoke about going into the game.

“Second half we lacked a little bit of control, went too long too easy and landed on second balls.

“It’s a really good point against a team who were a league above us last season who have got really good players, but I’ve just said to the players there that I’m going to do this job and I’m going to look at every single way we can win games.

“I’m going to look at how we can approach it, I think I’ve got a really good group of players who are tactically and technically good and who take on information really well.”

The result means The Tangerines are still yet to concede in the league this season after following up a 2-0 home win against Burton Albion with back-to-back goalless draws.

However, Blackpool manager Neil Critchley was frustrated by the result.

He added: “Frustrating with a capital F I think.

“It’s not easy when teams come and put loads of men behind the ball and have a game plan to stop you and they did it very well.

“So, you have to be patient and persevere in what you train to do.

“It might not be how you want it to look in the first 20-25 minutes.

“They were full of energy, but if we keep being patient and persevere with how we want to play you can see what happened in the second half where we had complete control.

“We dominated the game, pushed them right back in their own half and then we just missed that final bit in and around the goal, that cross or that moment the striker gets across someone and finishes tonight.

“I’m not disappointed by the performance just frustrated by the result.”

Blackpool maintained their unbeaten start to life back in League One with a goalless draw against Port Vale at Bloomfield Road.

The Tangerines are yet to concede in the league after following up a 2-0 home win against Burton Albion with back-to-back goalless draws against Exeter City and the Valiants.

It was also a welcome clean sheet on the road for Port Vale after losing 7-0 away to Barnsley on the opening day, but it means they are still without a win away from Vale Park since New Year’s Day.

Gavin Massey came closest to halting Vale’s away day woes in the first half when he pounced on some lapse defending, but his powerful shot flew agonisingly wide.

Vale enjoyed a positive first half but at the other end, Sonny Carey saw his effort blocked.

Shayne Lavery, scorer of both of Blackpool’s league goals this season, saw his header tipped away by Vale stopper Connor Ripley in the second half but the hosts were forced to settle for a point.

Exeter manager Gary Caldwell could not fault the effort of his players as they held much-fancied Blackpool to a goalless draw at St James Park.

The Tangerines are tipped by many to make an immediate return to the Championship after relegation last season, but they were second best against a spirited and largely youthful Exeter side.

In a game of few clear-cut chances, Exeter could have gone in front on the stroke of half-time, but Jack Aitchison took too long to get his shot away when through on goal, while Blackpool could have won it in stoppage time, but Vil Sinisalo made a brilliant stop to deny Matty Virtue.

“I thought the players were outstanding with their energy, their quality and the way they kept going against a team that was in the Championship last season,” Caldwell said. “I thought we looked like the team that tried to win the game.

“We gave them a huge opportunity that we have to be better at, as it came from our throw-in, but they came and showed us a lot of respect and but for a little bit of quality, or the ball bouncing in the right place in the final third, I thought it was a game where we did enough to win.

“I don’t think there was much lacking today, we had 11 shots at their goal and it wasn’t like we were toothless or didn’t create chances.

“We created one great chance from the way that we pressed late in the first half, but every other chance was probably a half chance, or moment in the final third where we have to understand the profile of each player and the relationship between the players, how each player differs and wants to receive the ball.

“I think that part of our game, our understanding, still needs to come, but I can’t fault the players for what they gave me today.”

Blackpool boss Neil Critchley felt the result was about right.

Critchley said: “I am not sure we deserved to win the game but I don’t think we deserved to lose it either.

“We are coming to Exeter’s first game and you can see the belief because of the start they have had and they are playing full of confidence.

“You could see that we were a big flat and a bit leggy. Both teams gave everything, it was a good, honest performance from both teams.

“We weren’t at our best but we defended the goal brilliantly well. We gave away one chance and we nearly nicked it at the end which would have been the perfect away performance. But it is another clean sheet which is a positive.

“We stressed at half-time we would get chances on the break and it didn’t quite happen until right at the death but we defended the goal brilliantly well. A lot of teams would have got beaten today by Exeter.”

Exeter and Blackpool had to settle for a point each in a drab goalless draw with Blackpool at St James Park.

It was a game where defences were very much on top and chances were sparse with neither side really doing enough to take all three points.

Exeter started well with Jack Aitchison’s shot deflecting narrowly wide and summer signing Aitchison should have scored on the stroke of half-time, but fluffed his lines when through on goal and Ollie Norburn got back to make the block.

Blackpool stepped things up at the start of the second half and went close through Shayne Lavery, but his header was punched clear by Vil Sinisalo.

Exeter went on to dominate the rest of the game and had plenty of possession, but Blackpool’s defence held firm.

Substitute James Scott fired high and wide for the home side, but it was Blackpool that should have won the game early in stoppage time when Matty Virtue was played in on goal, but he was denied by a brilliant stop by Sinisalo.

Derby County head coach Paul Warne admitted he was “embarrassed” by his team’s Carabao Cup exit at home to Blackpool.

Warne’s side were booed off at half-time after two goals from Jake Beesley gave Blackpool control they never relinquished.

Beesley pounced in the seventh minute when Derby’s defence failed to deal with a cross from the left and after Owen Dale missed a great chance for a second, a defensive howler gifted Blackpool another.

Callum Elder’s 32nd-minute back header beat goalkeeper Josh Vickers, leaving Beesley to fire into an empty net.

Derby improved after the break and although Conor Washington forced Richard O’Donnell into a save in the 55th minute, a comeback never looked likely.

Warne said: “They were better than us from one to 11, they embarrassed us at times in the first half, we were deplorable with our performance.

“I openly admit I was embarrassed, I’ve never managed a team that’s been booed off at half-time and rightly so. The second half was significantly better but way below what we expect.

“The first half was honestly painful to watch, it’s hard for me to say because they are my team but I can’t sugar-coat performances like that.”

Blackpool head coach Neil Critchley was delighted with his side’s performance at their Sky Bet League One rivals.

“I thought we were excellent first half in and out of possession and played some really good football,” he said.

“Second half I thought we defended very well, I’d just like to see us see the game out with a little bit more possession and keep the ball more than what we did, we turned the ball over too many times.

“But to score two goals and keep a clean sheet, it’s been a good start for us. We had good control, good spells of possession and we were always dangerous.”

Derby County crashed to a second home defeat in four days after Jake Beesley grabbed a brace to give Blackpool a 2-0 Carabao Cup win at Pride Park.

Blackpool outplayed Derby in the first half and although the home side were better in the second, there was no way back.

The visitors went ahead in the seventh minute when Derby’s defence failed to deal with a cross from the left by James Husband and Beesley turned to score from 10 yards.

They should have doubled their lead in the 20th minute after Sonny Carey ran clear on the left and picked out the unmarked Owen Dale, but his shot was too close to Josh Vickers.

But Derby gifted Blackpool a second goal in the 32nd minute through Callum Elder’s back header, which beat Vickers and Beesley fired into an empty net.

Blackpool were quicker all over the pitch and the half-time whistle was greeted with a chorus of boos from the home fans.

Derby improved and Conor Washington forced Richard O’Donnell into a save in the 55th minute, while at the other end, Vickers prevented Kyle Joseph making it 3-0 in the 83rd minute.

Although Derby had plenty of possession, Blackpool comfortably saw the game out.

Burton boss Dino Maamria rued a sloppy first-half passage of play as his side fell to a 2-0 defeat to Blackpool in the opening weekend of League One action.

Shayne Lavery struck in the 19th and 25th minutes to hand the Tangerines an opening victory on Saturday afternoon, a strong response for Neil Critchley’s side after their relegation from the Championship last season.

And, despite an encouraging opening 15 minutes, Maamria rued his side’s inability to regroup after conceding the first goal at Bloomfield Road.

He said: “We expected them to start on the front foot, which they did, and we managed that really well.

“And when they got into the game, we conceded the first goal when we defended a corner and we didn’t squeeze up the pitch. It was a silly deflection which happens.

“Mistakes happen but the big one for us was something that we always speak about. Whenever we score or concede we’ve got to manage the next five minutes, and we didn’t manage that five minutes after we conceded.

“Two goals in about five minutes, when we come to places like this and we give away two goals like that it’s always going to be difficult.

“I thought in the second half we created some chances and if we’d scored one of the two that we had it might have changed the momentum of the game. Josh Gordon had a one-on-one and we had a couple of those.

“We need to be more clinical when we come to places like this because Blackpool are a good team, there’s no doubt about it.”

It was ultimately a strong start for returning Blackpool boss Critchley, though he was not pleased with an at times unconvincing second-half display.

“I thought in the first half we were very good, scored two goals and had another couple of good opportunities as well,” added Critchley.

“We were comfortable and then in the second half it was almost as if we’d forgotten how to win games. I think we allowed them back into the game, we got a bit complacent and we weren’t ruthless enough at the other end of the pitch.

“We could have finished the game off, so we need to improve on our second-half performance, and when I’ve calmed down I’ll reflect on it being three points and a clean sheet.

“I think that’s important psychologically for the group. After last season we needed to get a good start, get the feelgood factor back.

“Shayne does what Shayne does, he’s a goalscorer, he’s a real threat and I’m delighted for him. He’s a selfless boy who works for the team, very humble, and we just have to provide the right style of play to suit him.”

Michael Van Gerwen is ready to carry on breaking the pain barrier in his pursuit of back-to-back World Matchplay titles.

The Dutchman has recently had intensive dental surgery, with more to come, but that has not affected him too much as he won the Poland Masters at the weekend.

He heads to the Winter Gardens in Blackpool aiming to follow up last year’s success and will again give it his all.

“It has been a really tough period, but the most important thing is you have to stand up and you have to battle,” said Van Gerwen ahead of his first-round match with Brendan Dolan on Sunday.

“It costs a lot of energy, but I always say if I am competing in something, I want to win it, and this tournament will be no different.

“I’m looking forward to the World Matchplay already. It’s one of the biggest tournaments we have, I want to play well and I want to defend my title.

“I always have pressure on my shoulders but I don’t mind that. I’m winning tournaments again and that gives you confidence.”

The tournament on the west coast is widely recognised as the second biggest event on the calendar behind the World Championships, which means that world number one Michael Smith is keen to add this title to his collection.

Smith, who plays Steve Beaton, won at Alexandra Palace in January and now wants to taste success at another famous venue.

“It’s an iconic venue. The crowd are right on top of you. It’s special for us as players,” the 2019 runner-up said.

“I’m feeling confident. I’m feeling good. I’ve had a few disappointments in this tournament, especially losing the final to Rob (Cross).

“This year feels different though. I’m going in as the world number one, and I’ve got to prove why I’m in that position.

“I’m feeling comfortable and I’ve got to continue that winning run this year, hopefully starting with the World Matchplay.”