BLACKPOOL 0 QPR 3
Hoops were the victors at Bloomfield Road on Tuesday evening as they picked up their third away win of the season with a 3-0 win over Blackpool.
The home side appeared to be missing the presence of Keith Southern in the middle of the park as Hoops overran the Seasiders in midfield. The team never really got going and didn't really threaten to repeat Saturday's performance against Birmingham.
Two goals from Heidar Helguson and an injury time third from Hogan Ephraim ensured that the visitors secured all three points on a night where Stephen Crainey limped off.
The Seasiders started the game well with DJ Campbell looking to spring the offside trap and run through on goal but he was just hounded out by a scrambling Hoops defence.
The link up play between Gary Taylor-Fletcher and Campbell was in evidence again following the Birmingham game as both combined well to open up the R's defence, but the latter just failed to get a clean connection on a great cutback from his strike partner.
Hoops took the lead against the run of play as the R's best player in the game so far Wayne Routledge curled a great ball across for HEIDAR HELGUSON to head the ball into the top right hand corner (17).
The Seasiders looked to find an immediate response as David Vaughan drew a parrying save from Lee Camp before DJ Campbell looked to poke the ball home from a tight angle but was also prevented by Camp.
Hoops had only won two away games all season but as the game progressed it was easy to see that the goal had given them a new lease of confidence in their play. The outstanding Wayne Routledge was a constant thorn in the side and you could sense that any further threat was bound to come from the right.
It was no surprise to see that it was Routledge who did in fact cause more problems with seven minutes to go before half-time. The winger evaded the attempted challenges of both Ian Harte and David Vaughan to race clear down field, but as the attack developed further Heidar Helguson was flagged offside.
After the earlier goal Hoops were by far the better team and looked the more likely to score a second goal in the game. It would need a far better effort in the second-half if the Seasiders were to get something from the game.
HALF-TIME SCORE - BLACKPOOL 0 QPR 1
There were two changes at the start of the second-half, one for the Seasiders and also the referee. Graeme Owens replaced Joe Martin to make his home debut for the club and Graham Laws was replaced as the man in the middle due to injury.
Following a pretty low key start to the second-half Hoops also made their first change of the game by bringing on striker Hogan Ephraim for midfielder Liam Miller.
Action had been few and far between but the visitors were given a chance to double their lead in the 58th minute after Ian Evatt brought down Heidar Helguson in the area. The Icelandic striker stepped up from the spot to score his and Hoops second of the night.
Prior to the second goal being scored new loan signing Krisztian Nemeth was getting himself geared up to make his Blackpool debut. The striker finally managed to get on the field following the goal and replaced Roy O'Donovan.
The R's could and probably should have made it three on the hour as Wayne Routledge flicked the ball past Ian Harte and raced clear on goal. Fortunately for the Seasiders his effort was tame and easily collected by Paul Rachubka.
The threat of Hoops counter attack forced Tony Parkes into his third and final change as Harte was replaced by Stephen Crainey 65 minutes in.
Dexter Blackstock was the next substitution to arrive on the field as Heidar Helguson was replaced following his two goals. The play in the second-half never really got going and the constant changes meant that there was no flow.
Stephen Crainey's bad luck with injury continued after just over 15 minutes on the field following an earlier block collision when attempting to tackle Wayne Routledge. All three substitutions had already been utilised so the Seasiders were forced to play the remainder of a home game with ten men for the second time in the space of three days.
David Fox became the first Blackpool player to have any real notable effort on goal in the second-half when he forced a fine save from Lee Camp with 11 minutes remaining. At the other end Dexter Blackstock saw his drilled effort deflect onto the crossbar and out as the visitors pressed for a third.
The margins between going for a goal and conceding another were becoming ever closer as the Seasiders pressed for a way back into the game. The counter attacking abilities at Hoops disposal were looking ominous.
Former Blackpool player Kaspars Gorkss was never really tested in the centre of the visitors' defence with the Seasiders a shadow of the team that performed so well against Birmingham. The short space of time between games and the effort put in at the weekend appeared to have taken a lot out of the team.
To add insult to injury Lee Cook played in HOGAN EPHRAIM in injury time to give the visitors a three goal advantage.
Attendance: 6,656 (202 away)
