Coventry City reward the 3,000 strong travelling Sky Blue fans with a 1-0 win at Bloomfield Road to end their winless run.
Marc-Antoine Fortune was the hero of the day, having scored the only goal of the game as City claim their first three points in five League One matches.
City held on to a narrow lead and ended the game with 10-men, after Chris Stokes was stretchered off and substitute Andy Rose was forced to take up his position at right-back.
Tony Mowbray elected to make one change from the team that started against Shrewsbury in midweek.
James Maddison came in to attacking midfield ahead of Joe Cole, who was afforded a rest after starting two League One games on the bounce.
Marc-Antoine Fortune took up a role in attack alongside Adam Armstrong, having delivered an impressive 90-minutes on Tuesday evening.
After an uneventful opening 20 minutes, Coventry City’s pacey winger Jacob Murphy sparked in to life. The 19-year old found the ball in space and fired toward goal from 20-yards. The shot failed to hit the target but was a sign of mounting pressure from the visitors.
The breakthrough came in the 25th minute as Marc-Antoine Fortune pounced upon a spillage from Colin Doyle in the Blackpool goal. The error fell kindly for the City forward and he made no mistake from 3-yards as he smashed the ball in to an empty net.
Fortune, validating his selection, was in action again shortly after as good link-up play between him and Murphy invited fullback Chris Stokes in to the attacking third. Stokes pulled the ball back for John Fleck who got his shot off early, but the midfielder couldn’t find a way through the Tangerine defence.
Blackpool attempted a response midway through the first-half, with Jack Redshaw looking the likeliest scorer for Neil McDonald’s side. After gaining some meaningful possession, the home side were nearly punished on the break by City’s Jacob Murphy.
A breakaway attack, instigated by Murphy, created the games first sight of goal for Adam Armstrong. Murphy carried the ball 30-yards and played a square ball for an advancing Armstrong to hit first time. The shot took a nick off Lloyd Jones and ran for a corner, before the referee called time on the first-half.
City began the second-half on the front foot as they looked to build on their 1-0 lead. A hard-working Armstrong was making clever runs off the ball and creating space for Murphy and Maddison to move in to.
Tony Mowbray looked to add some legs to his midfield on the hour mark, as Andy Rose replaced Maddison. Shortly after, Joe Cole was introduced in place of Murphy as the City manager attempted to protect his narrow lead.
Rose, deployed on the right as Mowbray reverted to a 4-4-2, started brightly and was getting forward as well as providing some cover in defensive areas. The substitute was a threat in the opposition box, as he continued to creep in at the back stick before seeing a headed effort saved by Doyle.
Mowbray’s men began sitting deep as 80-minutes had passed on the clock and the precarious scoreline encouraged a nervy last 10-minutes. Blackpool’s Brad Potts saw an effort fly over the bar and Uche Ikpeazu was full of running off the bench.
Seven minutes of added time wasn’t enough for Blackpool to find an equaliser and City ended their run of four games without a win.
Teams
Coventry City: Charles-Cook (GK), Ricketts (C), Stephens, Martin, Stokes, Vincelot, Fleck, Murphy (Cole 68'), Maddison (Rose 60'), Fortune (Tudgay 74'), Armstrong.
Subs: Addai (GK), Lorentzson, Lameiras, Henderson.
Blackpool: Doyle (GK), Boyce, Aldred, Jones, Higham, Smith (Osayi-Samuel 58'), Potts, Norris (Ikpeazu 75'), McAlister, Redshaw (Cullen 58'), Philliskirk.
Subs: Lyness, Aimson, Rivers, Paterson.