Stephen Dobbie can’t fault his Blackpool players despite defeat to West Brom

Stephen Dobbie felt his Blackpool side “couldn’t have done any more” in the 2-0 defeat against West Brom which left them on the brink of the drop from the Championship.

Morgan Rogers struck the post and saw another shot well saved in a first half which also saw Jerry Yates and Keshi Anderson go close.

But promotion-chasing West Brom gave their hosts a lesson in ruthlessness and goals either side of the break from Brandon Thomas-Asante and Taylor Gardner-Hickman sealed the three points and moved the Baggies into the top six.

Blackpool remain four points from safety and have played more games than the teams around them but Dobbie had nothing but praise for his side.

“I thought first half we were excellent and how we go in at half-time 1-0 down I’ll never know,” he said.

“That’s what football keeps throwing up at you.

“I can’t fault the lads. They were fantastic the whole game and especially first half.

“It’s a different game if we don’t hit the post and it goes in. At this level you’ve got to take the chances and defend them in your own box as well.

“We unfortunately don’t get that goal and then concede from a corner with the second phase, which we knew they would be a threat like that with the way they play.

“They got the goal at the right time. But I can’t fault the players and the fans were fantastic, they kept going.

“They saw what we’re trying to do and the way we want to play and it was just unfortunate with the result.

“I said to them in the changing room that they should be proud of themselves. I know we lost the game 2-0, but the way they played they couldn’t have done anymore.”

Baggies boss Carlos Corberan praised the way his side dealt with the threat of the determined hosts.

“It was a very combative game against a team who are fighting to survive in this league,” he said.

“We knew that today was one of the last opportunities that they had to earn valuable points, especially playing at home. We knew it would be tough and demanding.

“They are very aggressive and they make us play with a lot of concentration in terms of the needs of the game.

“Blackpool started the game really well but I thought our players handled the game with maturity.

“The goal gave us more confidence. After that, we needed to manage the game and we did that well. We put in a lot of work to achieve the result we wanted.”