Blackpool staged a spirited second-half comeback to secure a 3-3 draw at Burnley after falling 3-1 behind at Turf Moor where both teams finished the game with 10 men.
Sonny Carey and Ian Maatsen were both red-carded by referee Keith Stroud in the 85th minute as a thrilling Lancashire derby boiled over.
Carey was dismissed for a cynical late trip on Maatsen, who retaliated by pushing the Blackpool defender in the back – an incident that provoked an ugly melee with several players involved.
It was Burnley’s third successive home draw and manager Vincent Kompany will be frustrated that they threw away their two-goal advantage after a dominant first half when Nathan Tella, on loan from Southampton for the season, scored twice on his first start.
Josh Brownill gave the Clarets a third-minute lead with an unstoppable shot. Jay Rodriguez flicked Taylor Harwood-Bellis’ long ball into Brownhill’s path and the midfielder struck a first-time right-foot shot into the top corner from 25 yards for his second goal of the season.
Harwood-Bellis then provided the lofted through pass to set up Tella for his first after 11 minutes. The winger controlled the ball on his chest and held off the challenge of Jordan Gabriel to slide a shot past Daniel Grimshaw.
Burnley’s slick passing and high pressing were impressive but they were guilty of over-playing when they gifted Blackpool their first goal after 20 minutes.
Goalkeeper Ari Muric played an ill-advised ball to Josh Cullen on the edge of the penalty area and he was dispossessed by Theo Corbeanu, who struck his shot calmly past Muric.
Blackpool should have been level after 29 minutes when Shane Lavery sent a good chance well wide after running in behind Burnley’s defence to connect with Dominic Thompson’s deep cross.
But Tella restored Burnley’s two-goal advantage with his second goal after 33 minutes.
Lavery intercepted Brownhill’s through pass with a touch back to Gabriel, but he stumbled before he could clear the ball – leaving the alert Tella to cut inside Marvin Ekpiteta and curl a shot into the top corner with the aid of a slight deflection off the Blackpool defender.
Blackpool came back strongly in the second half. Lavery atoned for his first-half miss by scoring at the near post from Gabriel’s cut-back.
Then three minutes later Jerry Yates tapped home after being set up by Kenny Dougall to pull Michael Appleton’s team deservedly level and set up a tense finish.
Both teams went for the winner but a fiercely competitive contest was marred when Carey and Maatsen saw red.
