BATTLING Blackpool suffered last minute FA Cup heartbreak as they narrowly missed out on a replay with premiership Portsmouth.
A well-taken Scott Taylor goal looked set to earn a draw and a return match at Bloomfield Road until last minute heartbreak ruined the Seasiders' big day out.
The goal was all the more galling because it was scored by Nigerian international Aiyegbeni Yakubu, a player who had dived like Jaques Cousteau for most of the afternoon, receiving a deserved yellow card for one tumble in the area.
But, after Lee Jones parried Teddy Sheringham's header, Yakubu amazingly managed to stay on his feet just long enough to tap the ball into the unguarded net from two yards out.
Blackpool had been the brighter side in the opening stages, unlucky not to earn a penalty when Simon Grayson was clipped by a Pompey defender, while the hard-working Kirk Hilton forced a desperate save from Harold Wapenaar with an unconventional cross/shot from the left.
But Blackpool fell behind when a rare defensive lapse left Matthew Taylor in too much space on the left wing.
He swung in a good, deep cross which was met by Sebastien Schemmel who lost his marker and headed past Jones.
Lesser sides could have folded at that, but Blackpool hit back. Martin Bullock had Portsmouth on the back-foot all afternoon and his ball found Scott Taylor unmarked in the area. Taylor turned neatly before slotting the ball past Wapenaar, to the delight of more than 2,000 Blackpool fans behind the goal.
The second half saw the Blackpool goalmouth begin to bear a striking resemblance to the Alamo, with Portsmouth laying siege to the goal but struggling to create clear-cut chances.
Jamaican international, Deon Burton, twice hit the crossbar as Blackpool struggled to clear their lines from a corner, while another corner saw Teddy Sheringham ghost in but head well over the bar.
Steve McMahon bolstered his defence, taking off skipper Richie Wellens, the best player on the park -- a fact acknowledged by several national newspapers, to bring on another defender in Chris Calrke.
But, despite one moment of quality from the big man, a delightful flick which took him past two defenders on the left touchline, the Seasiders could not hang on.
Just to rub salt in the wounds, Gareth Evans earned a last minute red card for a second booking after a bad tackle on Schemmel.
BLACKPOOL hope to break their QPR jinx when the league leaders arrive from London on Saturday. The Seasiders have managed just one point against the Londoners in the five games since the two found themselves together in the division. Blackpool's injury problems appear to be easing slowly, with the likes of Wellens and Steve Davis back in the squad at the weekend. Long term casualty, Keith Southern, is still out, but Leam Richardson will hope to be back in action. Steve Elliott is also expected to play after Derby pulled him out of the cup game.
This promises to be a busy month for Blackpool, with a visit to Port Vale scheduled for Tuesday, January 13. Pool are now four points off the play-off zone, with one or two games in hand on all the clubs ahead of them, apart from Vale, who have three more points than the Seasiders.
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