ANY hopes of Blackpool reaching the playoffs were finally put to rest as the Seasiders crashed to a 2-1 defeat at Ninian Park. There was a glimmer of hope before the game especially since it was 17 years since Blackpool last lost to Cardiff.

But goals either side of the break gave the home side a deserved victory and puts Blackpool 9 points from the playoffs with just eight games remaining.

The Seasiders welcomed back Ritchie Wellens to the starting line-up after a one-match ban. The formation changed to accommodate the midfielder, 3-5-2 formation being preferred to the usual 4-4-2. The first half was edged by the home side with Cardiff having most of the possession.

Yet no clear cut opportunities were created from the possession and the back three of Hendry, Grayson and Flynn looked reasonably comfortable.

Pool offered little up front themselves and so it was a real shock when Scott Taylor opened up the scoring in a rare attack on 37 minutes. Receiving the ball from a Murphy knockdown, Taylor rifled home for his 13th of the season.

But the lead was to be short-lived as the Bluebirds equalised five minutes later through the prolific Robert Earnshaw. Pool keeper Phil Barnes could only parry Willie Boland's low shot and Earnshaw was on hand to tap in the rebound and break Hughie Ferguson's 75-year record for a season's goal tally in Cardiff colours.

The Seasiders then found themselves behind just five minutes after the restart. This time it was Blackburn Rovers loan-star Alan Mahon who grabbed the goal after Blackpool had failed to defend a Graham Kavanagh corner. Blackpool failed to mount any kind of fight back and were lucky to keep the score respectable, especially after Earnshaw had missed a penalty on the hour mark.

With the recent signatures of Martin Bullock and Ritchie Wellens, Steve McMahon has the foundations to mount a proper promotion push in the 2003/04 campaign, but the rest of this campaign is likely to be fought out in mid-table mediocrity.

Cardiff 2-1 Blackpool