Blackpool v Scunthorpe United

Sunday, November 13, 2005

Football League One

Blackpool :
Pogliacomi, Warrender, Clarke, Edwards, Armstrong, Wiles (Prendergast 83), Southern, Doolan, Morris, Murphy, Tommy Wright (Vernon 74)
Subs not used:
Jones, McGregor

Scunthorpe United :
Musselwhite, Byrne, Crosby (sent off 20), Butler, Williams, Sparrow, Hinds, Baraclough, Corden (Taylor 74), Sharp, Keogh
Subs not used:
Stanton, Johnson, Richie Ryan, Evans

SULSESC REPORT

by Andy Skeels at Bloomfield Road

THIS match presented something of a dilemma…

Rather bizarrely chosen for live coverage by Sky Sports with a four o'clock Sunday afternoon kick-off, who in their right mind would want to make the long haul up to the North West from London - with all the cost, time and effort that would entail - when what would inevitably be a miserable defeat could be viewed from the comfort of an armchair at home?

A no brainer, obviously. However, I'd backed myself into something of a corner when the fixture list first came out thanks to Ipswich London branch darts captain Phil Loy and his attempt to complete the 92 grounds this season.

Phil needed to 'tick off' Blackpool as one of his last half-dozen or so grounds - and he decided he would do it with Scunthorpe so at least he'd have someone to accompany him… i.e., me!

The match was then put back from Saturday to Sunday afternoon and so it was that I found myself sacrificing the comfort of said armchair to make the long haul up to the North West for the inevitable miserable defeat!

On the plus side, we were able to make a weekend of it, staying over in North Wales on Saturday night and taking in Porthmadog v Connahs Quay in the Welsh Premier League on Saturday afternoon while the 'girlies' were kept happy with some sightseeing in Snowdonia.

In fact, the only down side of an otherwise enjoyable weekend was the bit between 4 pm and 6 pm on Sunday - and the subsequent six-hour journey home afterwards of course.

No point in going over old and depressing ground here though, as I'm sure everyone will have seen the debacle unfold on the telly. Was it as bad on the box as it was live?

For those of us there, the only bit of amusement was Darren managing to miss the kick-off and Sharp's opening goal thanks to yet another over-enthusiastic night on the town the previous evening. Not a bad effort, considering he had only to travel from Manchester for a 4 pm kick-off!

And finally… Being aware of the Iron's terrible record at Bloomfield Road and the fact that I'd missed our win there in 2000 because of a wedding in Scunny, I thought I'd calculate my own personal record of watching the Iron away to Blackpool. It now works out to seven visits, seven defeats and a goal ratio of six for, and 22 against!