Ian Evatt delighted to see Blackpool defeat ‘really good team’ Cardiff

New manager Ian Evatt was delighted to have seen off title contenders Cardiff as his Blackpool side triumphed 3-1 at Bloomfield Road.

The Seasiders downed their visitors thanks to Ashley Fletcher’s brace and Tom Bloxham scoring their third.

After witnessing Blackpool’s first back-to-back league wins of the campaign, Evatt hailed his players’ efforts.

“It was a difficult game,” he said. “They’re a really good team, in the first half they asked us a lot of questions and, at times, we got the press right. In the first 15 minutes we should have been ahead, we had some big chances and big moments that we didn’t take.

“In the second half I thought we deserved to win the game comfortably, we dealt with everything they threw at us and defended the box incredibly well and we had some massive chances, we should have scored more.

“I’m just so proud of the players for the way they executed that game plan. Two and a half weeks in it’s been a huge physical effort and a huge mental effort – not just today, throughout the week – and they’ve all applied themselves incredibly well.

“Bailey (Peacock-Farrell) made some top saves in the first half and he deserved a clean sheet. I’m gutted he didn’t get that, and they’re gutted as well and that’s a good sign.

“We’ve a long way to go, this is only another win, another three points. Yes, we’ll enjoy it because it’s a good win against a good team but we’ve got lots of games to come.”

Cardiff boss Brian Barry-Murphy could not hide his disappointment after his side, who began the day in third, fell well short, with Yousef Salech’s late consolation their only plus point.

“It’s a very disappointing result for us, obviously” he said. “We would have liked to do a lot better in a lot of the game.

“The first half was end-to-end stuff. We created a lot of chances throughout the course of the game. The way that we play and the way that we attack so much is not an excuse for us to defend in the manner we did in the moments that we had to defend.

“We want to be as disciplined a team in defence as we are in attack, and today we weren’t.

“We created multiple chances, but it doesn’t really matter. We’re looking to score the goals and dominate the game. We could have defended the situations that we conceded from much better. Today it wasn’t good enough, and we have to swallow that and accept it. We’ll feel the pain of it and come back strong and do better.

“We’ve a very talented group but we have to stay disciplined throughout the course of the game. If the score stays 2-0 and we score that goal, we have a chance to salvage an equaliser. But to give away the third goal in the manner that we did was a real lesson.”