Blackpool Steady Nerves and Seize Momentum with 2-1 EFL Trophy Victory over Nottingham Forest U21

BLOOMFIELD ROAD — On a chill October night by the Irish Sea, Blackpool found welcome respite from recent turbulence, halting their slide in front of an expectant home crowd by edging Nottingham Forest U21, 2-1, to open their EFL Trophy campaign with a vital three points.

An early flash of brilliance from Emil Hansson just six minutes in set the evening’s tone. Sent darting into the box by a neat, measured through ball, Hansson controlled with his first touch and finished with his second, the ball caroming into the net just beyond the outstretched gloves of Forest’s keeper. For a Blackpool side whose scoring touch has been absent in League One play—just one goal in their previous four matches—Hansson’s opener electrified a crowd hungry for optimism.

But for every sigh of relief drawn from the Tangerines faithful, Nottingham Forest U21 offered a rebuttal. Though the visitors arrived at Bloomfield Road shadowed by five consecutive defeats across all competitions, their young legs and technical movement unsettled a Blackpool defense still short on confidence. The breakthrough came with the final kick of the first half: Forest’s K. Thompson pounced on a moment of penalty-area hesitation, steering home an equalizer as the referee checked his whistle, sending Forest’s touchline into jubilation and rendering the interval tense.

What followed was a second half played on a knife-edge, both teams chasing a first win in weeks and neither willing to risk unraveling. Forest’s youth, playing with freedom and little to lose, carved out spells of possession that threatened to tilt the tie. For Blackpool, experience and desperation collided—a side determined to reclaim direction amid a campaign threatening to drift.

The decisive act arrived in the 75th minute, courtesy of a player who has so often made Bloomfield Road his stage: Josh Bowler. His return from injury was an injection of energy, and his goal a reminder of what Blackpool have missed—a surging run, sharp cut inside, and curling shot arrowed low into the far corner. The eruption from the South Stand spoke to a collective exhale; suddenly, a side battered by recent setbacks found cause to believe.

Bowler’s goal not only sealed victory but also gave new shape to the EFL Trophy group table. Blackpool’s campaign, momentarily adrift after a run of losses in League One to Stockport, Wimbledon, and Bradford, now steadies with three points and a place behind early group leaders. A look at the standings—Blackpool second with three points after one played, Forest U21 third with one point and no wins—reveals the slender margins at play.

For Forest U21, the defeat extends an agonizing run—six games now without a win, the promise of their vibrant possession matched all too often by costly lapses in both boxes. Yet in these games, results often mask the greater value: the steel won in defeat, the lessons absorbed when the margin for error is razor-thin. For manager and academy staff, signs of individual progress—Thompson’s composure, the resilience shown after falling behind—will be small but vital returns.

There were no sending-offs, no wild flashpoints; the contest, for all its urgency, was fought cleanly and with mutual respect. Instead, the narrative hinged on moments—an early strike, an equalizer on the stroke of halftime, a moment of individual quality to decide it all late.

In recent years, meetings between these two teams have been rare, separated by divisions and differing priorities. Yet matches such as this, in the EFL Trophy’s unique cross-generational landscape, offer a glimpse at both the urgency of the present and the promise of the future.

Looking forward, Blackpool will hope Bowler’s spark lights a fire under their faltering league campaign. A side with promotion ambitions cannot afford too many more stumbles, but tonight, at least, brought a reminder that the tools remain within reach.

For Nottingham Forest U21, the fixtures come thick and fast—another chance to right the ship in league play, another test of their ability to turn progress into points. The road is long, the lessons only just beginning.

On a night when tension could have curdled into anxiety, Blackpool found enough nerve—and enough quality—to start their EFL Trophy journey on the front foot. In football, sometimes, a single win is all it takes to remind a team what is possible.