DESPITE a strong finish, Luton managed to hold on to their 3-2 advantage on Saturday (August 14) to bring the Seasiders down a peg after a fantastic Worthington Cup win over Tranmere the previous Tuesday (August 10).

Keeper Phil Barnes gifted the home side two goals, but a poor attacking performance from the Tangerines in the early stages conspired to deny the travelling fans any joy.

Barnes' first howler was an own goal, palming a Matthew Spring corner into his own net on 21 minutes.

For Luton's second, Barnes had no chance, but the Tangerine defence could have coped better.

Some fine passing play resulted in George firing into the back of the net in what was arguably the move of the match.

And George proved more than a handful before Barnes made his second gaffe - but the Blackpool keeper found his form to stop the Seasiders being routed.

Brett Ormerod, a player who has deserved to start finding the net after some superb yet barren performances last season, brought the Tangerines back in the frame with one of the easiest goals he has probably ever scored.

His work was destroyed when David Bardsley left a Taylor through-ball for Barnes to collect or clear.

Unfortunately, Barnes kicked the ball straight into danger man Spring, who promptly rounded him and slotted home to make it 3-1.

Boy wonder Adam Nowland caused some consternation for the home side with a late strike, but Luton shut up shop to try and make the points safe.

Then Andy Couzens supplied one of his deadly accurate corners to Nowland, who slammed the ball home from a tight angle to narrow the scoreline.

The performance from the Seasiders was certainly disappointing after the great display against Tranmere.

Many players were not on form and that affected the team as a whole, with passes constantly going astray and meagre attempts to attack the Luton goal.

Blackpool face Gillingham at Bloomfield Road on Saturday (August 21), kick off is 3pm.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.