BLACKPOOL'S third pre-season friendly on Saturday (July 24) was a game of few chances and little to excite the interest of the 4,549 fans who made the trip to Bloomfield Road to watch a goalless draw against Blackburn Rovers.

Despite the fact that half the crowd was made up of Blackburn fans, their team boasted few famous players.

England goalkeeper Tim Flowers and Northern Ireland right-winger Keith Gillespie were the only instantly recognisable names.

Blackpool fans got to see the new faces in their team's squad for the new season though, with no less than five substitutions made by manager Nigel Worthington to test out different combinations. The most clear-cut chances of the match fell to the visiting side but their strikeforce simply couldn't find the target.

Gary Hamilton saw a shot saved low to Blackpool goalkeeper Tony Caig's left on ten minutes and a shot run just wide after 49 minutes.

Meanwhile fellow striker James Thomas was having no luck either, most noticeable was an embarrassing miss after 16 minutes when he shot wide after Pool's David Bardsley was dispossessed just outside the 18-yard box.

Blackpool put in some well-timed tackles and almost strung their passes together and their nearest shot came after just three minutes when Clarke Carlisle's effort had Flowers beaten and looked like it was heading in, only to rebound off the advertising hoardings behind the goal.

The Seasiders applied some pressure after the break but every chance was either off-target or cleared by the Blackburn defence.

Blackpool played Birmingham City on Tuesday night (July 27), the final score being Blackpool 0, Birmingham City 1.

Their next fixture is a friendly against Crewe Alexandra at Bloomfield Road on Saturday (July 31), kick-off 3pm.

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