THREE fine goals allowed Blackpool to overcome a Hull City side which had dominated much of the opening day match which ended Blackpool 3 - Hull City 1. And the two late strikes which sealed three points for Steve McMahon's side were a welcome change from last season's habit of throwing away points in the dying seconds.

Hull could have been two-nil up before Brett Ormerod gave the home side the lead on 33 minutes.

John Eyre squandered two chances for the visitors, with an attempted lob which went over Tony Caig's goal and a tame shot at the keeper when he was clean through.

But, just as Hull began to get a grip on the game, Ormerod picked up the ball in the middle of the Hull half.

After eluding two defenders the former Accrington Stanley striker, returning after a ten month injury nightmare, swerved the ball beautifully past keeper Lee Bracey and into the net.

Ormerod's return proved more influential -- and popular -- than any of McMahon's summer signings. His pace and intelligent running proved difficult to cope with and his excellent finish brought the near capacity Bloomfield Road crowd to its feet.

But the lead lasted barely a minute. Former Seasiders favourite Lee Philpott swung in an excellent corner and Pool failed to clear Mark Greaves' towering header. Mike Edwards needed two bites of the cherry but he eventually managed to fire the ball past Caig to bring the scores level.

The second half saw Hull begin to turn the screw. Jamaican world cup star Theodore Whitmore's ability to draw in defenders created space for Steve Harper to fire wide.

But Blackpool's new look defence coped relatively well, with Blackburn Rovers youngster Steve Hawe linking well with Ian Hughes, and, despite the fact that Hull enjoyed the bulk of the possession, they rarely troubled Caig.

And, against the run of play, Blackpool looked to have taken the lead when Steve Bushell fired past Bracey, only to see his effort surprisingly ruled out for offside.

Mike Newell, who missed an early chance after Ormerod's flick on, found his substitution on 79 minutes greeted with a chorus of boos.

The former Everton striker was caught offside too many times for the home fans' liking, and his replacement, John Murphy, didn't take long to make an impression.

The towering striker stooped to head Paul Simpson's skimming free kick past Bracey in the 87th minute, captured here on film.

And, moments later, Simpson, the brightest of Blackpool's new arrivals despite meeting his new team-mates only 24 hours before the big kick off, secured the points.

The lively little winger picked up on a good run by Ormerod and sped past two defenders before planting a shot under the keeper.