Blackpool boss Neil Critchley admitted his side are lacking in the final third after they were held to a third successive goalless draw.
The unbeaten Tangerines shared the spoils with Leyton Orient at Bloomfield Road, the promoted visitors claiming their first point of the season as a result.
Home striker Shayne Lavery came closest to finding a breakthrough, hitting the post in the 56th minute and seeing a late effort flash wide, while Orient goalkeeper Sam Howes was also in fine form.
And Critchley knows his side will have to find their cutting edge if they are to start turning draws into victories.
“Similar to the other night [against Port Vale], we’re just lacking that last bit in the final third,” he said.
“That little bit of quality, intelligence, a bit of luck, something falling for us.
“It is a frustrating 0-0 in a game we’d really be looking to have taken three points from.”
Despite having the better of the chances overall, Blackpool were grateful to goalkeeper Dan Grimshaw for keeping out Ruel Sotiriou’s header as Orient threatened.
Grimshaw also denied Theo Archibald from the edge of the area just after the half-hour mark as the hosts recorded a fifth clean sheet in as many matches in all competitions this season.
“I thought we started the game really well, we were on the front foot with a lot of regains,” Critchley added.
“We created good chances, forced a great save from the goalkeeper, and then we didn’t quite maintain that.
“They had a couple of chances, one through our mistake, one through a good bit of play from them.
“So the game wasn’t quite the way you’d want it to be.”
Critchley’s opposite number Richie Wellens hopes the hard-fought result turns into a turning point for his side while he felt they could have had more, with a penalty appeal turned down and George Moncur spurning a late opportunity.
“That was more than a fine display,” Wellens said.
“I think at times, in patches, we were really, really good.
“Our season starts now with the first point and first clean sheet.
“Defensively, we performed a lot better than what we have done in recent weeks in terms of our intensity getting to the ball, making sure there is no free headers or no free shots in or around our box.
“There a lot of positives to take from that.
“I think we should have won the game. We had the two best chances, one where Joe Pigott is about to put it into the net, and I think it’s a penalty, and George Moncur, with five or six minutes to go. We should score that.”
Kurzawa to follow Mbappe through PSG exit door
Defender Layvin Kurzawa will leave Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season after nine years with the Ligue 1 giants, he announced on Monday.
Left-back Kurzawa joined PSG from Monaco in 2015 for €23million and has made 154 appearances for the Parisiens.
However, the 31-year-old has fallen out of favour in recent years and has played just eight minutes in one match throughout the 2023-24 campaign.
Kurzawa was loaned out to Premier League club Fulham in the 2022-23 season after not playing for the French side for more than 11 months, but he made just six appearances for the English outfit.
"I've had some great times, as well as some tough ones," he wrote in a post on X. "But I want you to know that my love for Paris Saint-Germain is sincere.
"I know that our relationship has sometimes been complicated, but I want you to know that I can only take back the positive and that I have been privileged to have called the Parc des Princes my home for all these years."
Kurzawa's announcement comes after Kylian Mbappe played his final home game for PSG on Sunday, a 3-1 defeat to Toulouse.
Mbappe is widely expected to join Champions League finalists Real Madrid after opting not to activate a one-year extension clause in the big-money deal he signed with PSG in 2022.
Manchester City's success is "not boring" or purely determined by financial reasons, head coach Pep Guardiola insists.
The Citizens are on the hunt for an unprecedented fourth successive Premier League title, and could become the first team to win back-to-back doubles should they also prevail in the FA Cup final later this month.
Once again, City appear to be hitting form at just the right time, winning each of their last four matches by an aggregate scoreline of 15-1.
Guardiola's side are a point behind leaders Arsenal heading into the final week of the campaign, and will leapfrog the Gunners should they win their game in hand against Tottenham.
But the Spaniard rejected the claim City's success is becoming too predictable - or that it is down to the money they have spent - believing other teams would have lifted more silverware than his side had that been the case.
"It's not boring," he said. "It's difficult. Before, it was the money. For that reason, Manchester United should have won all the titles, Chelsea - all the titles, Arsenal - all the titles.
"They spent as much money in the last five years as us. They should be there. They are not there.
"For that reason, Girona shouldn’t be in the Champions League [next season] and Leicester should win the Premier League."
City will take a giant step towards that fourth straight Premier League crown with victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Tuesday.
While Guardiola admits the achievement was not at the forefront of his squad's intentions at the beginning of the campaign, he is well aware of it's significance.
"In the beginning of the season, we didn't think about it," he added. "But then we were in February, March and April, we were still there [in the title race]. After that, it ignites something in all our heads.
"No team has done it. That shows how hard it is. Liverpool in the 1980s, Alex Ferguson's [Manchester] United in the 1990s. Chelsea with [Roman] Abramovich and Jose [Mourinho], Arsenal with [Arsene] Wenger didn't do it."
Barcelona pleased to have second-place battle with Girona in their own hands
Barcelona face a tough battle to secure a second-place finish in LaLiga but are pleased to have their fate in their own hands with three games remaining, says defender Inigo Martinez.
Barca leapfrogged Girona into second with Monday's 2-0 home win over Real Sociedad, going one point clear of their Catalan rivals after they drew 2-2 with Alaves on Friday.
Lamine Yamal put Xavi's team ahead in the 40th minute when he coolly slotted home from Ilkay Gundogan's pass after a quick breakaway, then Raphinha's stoppage-time penalty made certain of the win.
The Blaugrana go to Almeria on Thursday before hosting Rayo Vallecano in their final home game of the season on Sunday. They then bring their campaign to a close at Sevilla on May 25.
"There is still a long way to go. It will be a battle to the end. Girona are very strong," Martinez told Movistar after Monday's game.
"It's in our hands now. I think the team is very good. It's three valuable points. We had some mistakes in the first half, but in the second half I think we could have finished it off earlier."
Teenage winger Yamal believes Xavi's side – who are some 14 points adrift of champions Real Madrid – may need maximum points to hold off Girona.
"It was an important game to regain second place and we have to try to make it a nine-point week," the 16-year-old said.
"La Real did very well in the first half but then we were able to improve. There was a good feeling in the whole team."
Xavi, meanwhile, was pleased to see his team pass a difficult test, saying: "La Real always make it difficult for us.
"They are always very organised, aggressive, you don't create danger for them. It's an important victory for us. We played a good game in general."
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