Platt- Missed chances nearly costly

After Adam Johnson's 33rd minute goal put City ahead, captain Carlos Tevez missed a string of chances to leave his side hanging on through a nervous finish. Joe Hart had to make a number of saves to keep City ahead, and the defending got desperate towards the end.

"What we didn't do was to take advantage of some good opportunities to get that second goal, which in recent games we've managed to do," City first-team coach Platt said.

Tevez missed a penalty only three minutes after Johnson's goal, and that would make it a much harder afternoon's work for City.

"If you can get a second goal straight away that cushion enables players to play with a bit more freedom, but we didn't take the opportunities that playing a team like Blackpool will give you," Platt added.

"They come at you and attack you. They give you respect but they do that by taking the game to you. That leaves room for you to create and exploit but it also leaves you on a knife edge because they can get a goal. We were definitely the happier team to hear the final whistle."

For Blackpool, the disappointment of defeat was tempered by another strong display from a team that continues to defy all pre-season predictions.

"We threw just about everything we had at them, which I wasn't sure we were going to do in the first half," manager Ian Holloway said.

"We looked a bit hesitant early on, and we don't normally look like that, but maybe it was a hangover from the other times we've played away against one of the top teams and got a bit of a pasting.

"I think putting Matty Phillips on at half-time gave us some hope and some belief because he's not scared of anything. He ran with it and turned someone inside out who got taken off straight away. Then he did it to the new bloke and I wondered if they had any more left-backs."

Source: PA

Source: PA