Blackpool boss Neil Critchley said ‘belief in the group is showing’ after his team ended Portsmouth’s 27-match unbeaten record in Sky Bet League One with a 4-0 win at Fratton Park.

Former Pompey loanee Owen Dale, Jack Beesley, CJ Hamilton and Albie Morgan scored the goals as Pompey, who had midfielder Joe Morrell dismissed, were knocked off the top of the table by Bolton.

Critchley said: “It’s a big win for us, coming to the leaders and getting four goals.

“The team was selected to go at Portsmouth and get the win. Even after we went ahead, you could see Pompey’s quality in how they came back at us.

“We’ve got the second early in the second half, and then we’ve seen them go down to 10 and gone on to get two more.

“You could say things have gone slightly for us today, but we played bravely for the whole game.

“We had to defend the goal very well, which we did.

“The belief in the group is showing after a busy summer, and it’s showing on the training ground.”

The Seasiders took the lead in the ninth minute as Hamilton crossed for the unmarked Dale to find the net.

Pompey should have equalised on 23 minutes, but new signings Josh Martin could not beat goalkeeper Dan Grimshaw in a one-on-one situation.

Grimshaw then produced a stunning push out from Marvin Ekpiteta’s sliced attempted clearance a few minutes later.

Blackpool made it two 11 minutes into the second half as Karamoko Dembele’s shot was deflected in by Jake Beesley.

Things got worse for Pompey when skipper Morrell received a second yellow card and was sent off in the 64th minute.

Hamilton got a third 16 for the visitors minutes from time and substitute Morgan sealed the rout with three minutes remaining.

Pompey boss John Mousinho felt Morrell’s dismissal was a key moment in the game.

He said: “The result is obviously very disappointing, and I think there is loads to pick out of the game.

“You’ve probably got to look at it as two separate games really. What happened before the red card and after it.

“We responded well to going behind, and I said to the lads at half-time that we played pretty well.

“We created some chances that we didn’t put away, along with a couple of good saves from their goalkeeper, who we didn’t work enough.

“We were slow to get at it in the second half. Their second goal was deflected off of Beesley, who was blatantly offside, but the officials said he wasn’t interfering.

“I thought Joe’s sending off was correct. He needs to stay on his feet, and I’ve told him that.”

Boss Neil Critchley hailed a patient Jake Beesley as the striker scored twice to help Blackpool to a comprehensive 4-0 League One win at home to Shrewsbury.

Beesley scored once in each half, either side of a Kyle Joseph strike that sealed all three points after Jordan Rhodes opened the scoring from the penalty spot.

It was the striker’s first league goals of the season following on from a double in midweek against Morecambe in the EFL Trophy.

The result halts a three-game winless run in the league for the Seasiders and moves them to within goal difference of the play-offs.

“I’m made up for Jake,” said Critchley. “Four goals in a week is a great way to make your mark. He’s seen players come in before him but kept his professionalism.

“It’s been a good day for us. Scoring four goals and keeping a clean sheet is important as well because we’ve not had one for a while.

“You can become loose and complement, so the message at half-time was to keep doing the basics well.

“We played some good football and it was a comfortable win in the end. Scoring first slightly early in the game makes it easier for you.

“We thought we would go for it at home. We thought Shrewsbury would come with a gameplan to be defensive and stop us from controlling the game, so we went with an attacking team.

“The result gets us back on track and gives us a lift. We needed that in the league.”

While victory leaves Blackpool looking up, Shrewsbury manager Matt Taylor rued his side’s performance that sees their patchy league form continue.

Shrews came into the game off the back of 3-2 victories in both the league and EFL Trophy but Taylor admitted his side were well off the pace at Bloomfield Road to condemn them to a 10th league defeat of the season.

“It’s an unacceptable result,” he said. “The goals that we’ve give away without having the time to go back over them aren’t anywhere near good enough.

“We’ve got to be better away from home, accept full responsibility on behalf of the football club for the results. They’re not good enough.

“Our fans have spent money to come and watch us today and for us to go away and put in a performance like that is nowhere near acceptable.

“You can accept being beaten by a team who have had to work hard for their goals, but that hasn’t been the case tonight so (it’s) extremely disappointing.

“It’s a difficult place to come, but what you can’t do is come here and make it difficult for the opposition and that’s what we’ve done today. It’s not good enough.”

Blackpool were too good for National League high-fliers Bromley as they secured a 2-0 FA Cup first round victory at Hayes Lane.

Neil Critchley’s Seasiders made sure of their place in the draw thanks to clinical first-half strikes from Shane Lavery and Karamoko Dembele.

Bromley made the worst possible start when they conceded after just five minutes as Lavery charged on to Kylian Kouassi’s measured through-ball before burying a super shot high into the roof of the net.

The hosts created their first clear opening in the 18th minute but Corey Whitely could not quite divert his side-footed effort on target.

That was a rare foray forward, however, and it was no surprise to see Blackpool double their lead shortly before the half-hour mark.

The impressive Dembele, on loan from French outfit Brest, tucked a shot past Grant Smith from a tight angle following a tidy one-two with Kouassi.

Bromley had the first chance after the interval, with Ayodeji Elerewe fizzing in a low strike which veteran Blackpool goalkeeper Richard O’Donnell dived full length to beat away.

The Seasiders responded almost immediately and Owen Dale turned smartly inside a defender before forcing Smith into an eye-catching near-post save.

Time was running out for Bromley and Michael Cheek’s near open goal miss in the 89th minute capped what proved to be a miserable evening.

Blackpool boss Neil Critchley was left frustrated after his side were forced to settle for a 3-3 draw in a thrilling Lancashire derby against Fleetwood.

Sonny Carey’s brilliant brace cancelled out early goals from Promise Omochere and Jack Marriott.

Shayne Lavery seemingly secured the bragging points for the Seasiders, but Marriott popped up with a dramatic last-gasp equaliser.

Critchley said: “It’s really difficult to know where to start because there are so many incidents in the game.

“My overriding feeling is that it’s two points dropped and it’s a game we should have won.

“I don’t know how many shots at goal we had, or chances that we created but it’s numerous and as the away team.

“At 3-2 we’ve got ourselves into a winning position after giving ourselves a mountain to climb first half.

“It’s a game we should see out. Even when they equalise we’ve still almost gone on to win the game.

“It’s a difficult one to sum up. We created chances. We constantly got into the final third in the first half and failed.

“We conceded two really poor goals, but if we keep conceding twos and threes it’s going to be difficult to win games of football.”

The Cod Army made a fast start and looked set to land a first Lancashire derby win for five years.

But they eventually had to come from behind to earn a point.

Boss Lee Johnson said: “The boys are disappointed and I’m disappointed.

“Ben Heneghan, to give an example, had told the lads we should have had nine points this week and instead we’ve got five, which is not a disaster.

“We’ve started a bit of an unbeaten run, but we need to deal with oppositions’ spells better.

“I thought there was a lot of character on the pitch, from both teams. And the fans really made it that derby atmosphere, and I love that.

“I want to see that against Exeter when we play them at home. We can create that with our spirit on the pitch and our spirit off the pitch.

“The spell that we conceded three goals, you ask whether they were fantastic or if we were poor. We felt we should have defended those much better.

“They threw caution to the wind, they had bright, busy players but we should have dealt with it better. We can coach it.

“We’ve started to score goals regularly which is really positive. It’s a sign that we’re improving, but it’s a sign we can’t get ahead of ourselves at anytime in any match and we need to stay focused.”