A spirited second half performance was not enough for Oldham Athletic as they fell to a 2-1 defeat at Bloomfield Road against Blackpool.

Sean Longstaff and Kyle Vassell put the Seasiders two goals ahead in the first half but Latics responded in the second half.

Darius Osei got Athletic back in the game on 70 minutes but the home side managed to hold on for the three points.

Due to injuries, manager John Sheridan could only name three players on his bench for the game against the Seasiders.

Latics struggled in the early parts of the game and the home side took the lead on seven minutes.

Sean Longstaff found space 25 yards from goal and he fired into the top corner to put the Seasiders ahead.

Latics had the perfect opportunity to equalise on 13 minutes as a Rob Hunt cross fell perfectly for Dummigan but on his weaker foot, he volleyed wide.

Athletic would come to rue that missed chance as Blackpool doubled their lead on 15 minutes.

A neat one-two on the edge of the box found Vassell inside the penalty box and he struck low past Ben Wilson to give the Seasiders a two goal advantage.

Blackpool had a spell of dominance afterwards as they kept the ball and forced a couple of openings.

Callum Cooke almost extended Blackpool’s lead on 26 minutes but he could not find the bottom corner after connecting with a low cross.

Longstaff, scorer of the first goal, was having a real effect on the game and almost managed to wriggle free in the penalty area on the half hour mark but Hunt was back to make a superb intercepting challenge to halt his run.

Bright Osayi-Samuel forced a great save from Wilson before the break as Latics looked to get a foot hold in the game.

They enjoyed a bit more possession before the end of the first half but it would be Blackpool who had the final chance of the half.

Vassell received space on the edge of the box but his effort deflected wide of Wilson’s post before the referee blew for half time.

Latics could and maybe should have been awarded a penalty in the opening minute of the second half.

Dan Gardner’s corner found Peter Clarke in the box who was hauled the ground but the referee awarded the free kick in Blackpool’s favour.

Latics started to control the second half and the momentum started to shift in their favour.

Clarke met a corner into the box on 54 minutes but fellow defender Anthony Gerrard could not steer it goalwards.

Sheridan made a double change with Gerrard and Ousmane Fane making way for Mason Fawns and Kallum Mantack and that had a positive effect for Latics.

On the hour mark, Mantack’s driven cross was almost turned into his own goal by Ollie Turton but it went just wide.

Minutes later, it was Mantack himself who had a chance to pull a goal back for Latics. Holloway fed the winger inside the penalty area but he dragged his shot wide of the post.

Latics forced a succession of corners but they were susceptible to a counter attack.

After Fawns was thwarted at one end, Vassell raced up the other end and struck the crossbar from the edge of the box.

Latics deserved a goal for their second half dominance and persistence and they got that on 70 minutes.

Clarke’s ball over the top found Holloway unmarked, he struck from close range which Ryan Allsop saved, but the ball fell to Osei who thrashed home to get Latics back into the game.

Mantack made a huge difference on the right hand side, as on 75 minutes, he received the ball at the far post but his goal-bound shot was blocked.

Latics huffed and puffed for an equaliser but were struggling to breakthrough the stubborn Blackpool defence.

The home side had a few chances in the final 10 minutes of the game with Viv Solomon-Otabor and Armand Gnanduillet both striking wide of Wilson’s goal.

In the final minutes of the game, Latics forced a number of set pieces but they could not fall right for Athletic.

It was a spirited second half performance from Latics who can feel aggrieved, based on the second half display, to come away pointless.

Blackpool: Allsop, Robertson, Vassell (Gnanduillet 84’), Ryan, Longstaff, Tilt, Solomon-Otabor, Turton, Osayi-Samuel (Delfouneso 78’), Daniel, Cooke (D’Almeida 78’).

Subs not used: Williams, Mellor, Taylor, Quigley.

Oldham Athletic: Wilson, Dummigan, Wilson, Clarke, Gerrard (Mantack 55’), Hunt, Fane (Fawns 55’), Banks, Gardner, Osei, Holloway.

Subs not used: Edmundson.

Goals: Blackpool (Longstaff 7’, Vassell 15’) 2-1 Oldham Athletic (Osei 70’)

Attendance: 4,642 (1,647 visiting supporters)