Blackpool had to show a great deal of resolve according to manager Neil Critchley as they held on to beat Blackburn 2-1 in a Lancashire derby.
Goals from Shayne Lavery and his replacement Jerry Yates had given the Tangerines a comfortable 2-0 lead after a dominant first half.
But Ben Brereton Diaz pulled one back for Blackburn after the break and the home side were hanging on a little by the end.
But it was that ability to hold out that most impressed Critchley despite a host of injuries including keeper Chris Maxwell being forced off just after the hour.
He said: “I am very pleased. I thought it was a good game, a good derby full of energy and drama. I thought we were fantastic first half, played some good football and were deservedly winning at half-time.
“Second half we’ve had to show a lot of character, plenty of resilience and a little bit of misfortune with players going off. It disrupted us, no doubt about that but the players that came on gave good performances as well.
“Overall, it’s been a good few weeks and we’re delighted with the three points. We’ve got a nice little break to look forward to.
“He’s (Lavery) a real threat. You can see when he gets down the side of defenders, one versus one he is very hard to handle. He’s always moving across the lines and his movement can cause lots of problems.
“I thought the second goal was a great goal for us. I’m made up for Jerry (Yates), he’s been out of the team, his reaction to being out the team has been outstanding, wants to do more and wants to improve and I’m made up for him.”
Blackburn looked off the pace in the opening 45 minutes and were made to pay for it as Lavery fired home the opener with some help from a deflection off Daniel Ayala.
He was forced off soon after, but Yates seized his opportunity immediately, poking home after Gary Madine’s header was saved.
Rovers were better after the break, with Brereton Diaz pulling one back and Tayo Edun almost grabbing an equaliser.
But it was not to be, and Blackburn manager Tony Mowbray admitted his team will have to learn from this experience.
He said: “We prepared the team for what we expected, let’s give Blackpool some credit for the way they came out of the blocks.
“Were we second best in the first half? Undoubtedly. There was frustration in the dressing room at half time.
“Because the team are young, and have been doing alright, these are harsh, but good, lessons that not every game is a nice game of football, there are days when you have to roll your sleeves and it becomes man on man.
“Collectively we didn’t compete well enough in the first half and the frustration was that we talked a lot about how this game was going to be.
“Their (Blackpool’s) mentality would have been as an underdog, rightly or wrongly, and that’s how I portrayed it to the team and how an underdog fights and scraps for every ball.
“There were too many turnovers, too many balls going towards our own goal rather than theirs, and we managed to turn that around in the second half and if anything that’s a slight on the team that they can lift it so much.”
