Accrington Stanley suffered late heartbreak at home to Blackpool as an added time equaliser from Matty Virtue earned Simon Grayson’s side a 1-1 draw, after an own goal from Curtis Tilt had given Stanley the lead in the first half.
The visitors were the better side for the opening minutes of the game, but the goal for Stanley came on 16 minutes when Sam Finley crossed superbly into the box and Tilt’s attempted block saw the ball bounce off him and loop into the far corner over goalkeeper Jak Alnwick.
Following the goal, Blackpool striker Joe Nuttall found himself through on goal but he thought about his shot too much and was tackled just before he was about to fire an effort at goal, with the ball then coming to Ryan Hardie, who forced an excellent save from Dimitar Evtimov.
The chances continued to come for both sides as the first half progressed, with the best chance coming from Dion Charles, as the striker’s header crashed against the crossbar following another superb cross from Finley.
After the break, the visitors started piling on the pressure on John Coleman’s side, but the Stanley defence remained strong.
On 56 minutes, multiple objects and a flare were thrown onto the pitch towards Evtimov from the visiting supporters in what can only be described as unacceptable scenes, which led to there being a lengthy stoppage in play as the objects and flare were removed from the pitch.
Stanley had an excellent chance to double their lead on 76 minutes when Charles squared the ball for Sean McConville, but the latter just couldn’t reach the ball.
McConville again came narrowly close to grabbing a goal as he beat his man before firing an effort wide of the target, with the referee then adding five minutes of added time at the end of the second half.
It was during those five added minutes that Blackpool enforced late heartbreak on Stanley, as Virtue hit an impressive effort at goal and it bounced into the net off the post.
Next up for Stanley is an away trip to Southend United on Saturday 28th September, 3pm kick-off.