A crowd of 11,393 saw Blackpool fall to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Cardiff City in their first Championship game since 2015. 

It was a jubilant atmosphere as supporters returned to Bloomfield Road in full for the first time since March 2020 to watch their side following play-off promotion last May.

Despite defeat, manager Neil Critchley was full of praise for the supporters who attended the first home game of the season. The home side were well beaten by Mick McCarthy's Cardiff City, but that didn't stop Critchley applauding the returning fans.

He told the Blackpool Gazette: "It was fantastic [the atmosphere], I can’t thank them enough.

“I’m just really disappointed we didn’t give them a goal because I so wanted to give them the three points.
“They’ve turned up in their numbers and even when Cardiff went 1-0 up, our supporters got up and it felt like we scored. It was unbelievable – the same happened at 2-0."

The Verdict

Neil Critchley will be hoping to turn Bloomfield Road into a fortress this season. However, this wasn't the ideal start. They were well beaten by a strong, well organised Cardiff side and were unable to produce many moments for the home fans to cheer about.

Blackpool have recruited well this summer and added some exciting young players to the mix including Tyreece John-Jules, Shayne Lavery and Josh Bowler. The new additions, as well as the current squad will have to settle into the second tier quickly if they are to avoid relegation back to League One at the first attempt.

However, if the fans keep returning in their numbers and getting behind the side, results will soon come.