Blackpool - Bloomfield Road

21^st October 2003

Blackpool 2-3 Rushden & Diamonds

Up the ‘Pool on a family break, Son and I took the opportunity, as I am sure countless other holiday makers have, to drop in and lend support to the Seasiders.  This was a Bloomfield Road very much in the midst of redevelopment.  There were two completed stands, some inhospitable looking uncovered seating along one side, with the area behind one goal a demolition site.

The south stand in the process of demolition in 2003. 
It would be 2010 before the replacement was completed.



Son outside the main entrance to Bloomfield Road.

Three minutes in, and Blackpool opened the scoring when John MURPHY made the most of some silliness in the visitors’ defence, after which both sides seemed to lose interest in proceedings.  Consequently much of the rest of the half just seemed to drag interminably.  Until stoppage time that is, when Rushden’s Andy BURGESS fashioned an equaliser apparently out of thin air.  

Seconds after the restart the visitors took the lead through Rodney JACK, and I could see Blackpool fans who had left for the refreshment-hut a few minutes early with their side leading 1-0, returning to their seats mightily pissed off to discover they were now down 2-1.

It got worse for the home lot on 55 minutes, when the Pool ‘keeper and one of his defenders left each other to deal with an innocuous looking long ball, allowing Rushden’s Paul KITSON to head into an empty net.  The Blackpool support enjoyed that even less, I can tell you.  

MURPHY then got his second, however, to pull the score back to 3-2, and although the homesters piled on the pressure it was R&D who snuck back down south with the points.   



Panorama of Bloomfield Road, Blackpool.