Blackpool put themselves into the hat for the fifth round of the FA Cup at the final hurdle against a stubborn Sheffield Wednesday outfit at Bloomfield Road.
Kevin Phillip’s dramatic last-gasp penalty cancelled out Clinton Morrison’s opener to salvage a replay at Hillsborough in a week's time as the League One Owls came agonisingly close to causing a hoot against their Championship opponents for the second time this season after knocking them out of the League Cup on penalties.
"He'll still be scoring when he's 80-odd," Ian Holloway said of 38-year-old top-scorer Phillips, who came in to start his first game since October.
“He’s a robot, a machine, he’s like the Terminator. It’s his brain that gets him on the end of things and as long as your team is crossing, and as long as defenders keep pulling off him, he will score goals.”
The Seasiders, who have not qualified for the next stage of the competition in 22 years, looked on course to continue their dismal run until they were awarded a contentious spot-kick in the dying seconds after Gary Taylor-Fletcher was tugged back in the box by Danny Batth.
"I didn’t think it was a penalty," contested Wednesday manager Gary Megson.
"It looked really, really soft. It’s a poor decision."
Keith Southern, who had missed the last five games due to testicular cancer, returned to Blackpool's starting line-up alongside much of the side that convincingly dispatched Fleetwood Town 5-1 in the last round including Neal Eardley, Danny Wilson, Bob Harris, Billy Clarke, Angel and Kevin Phillips.
The first meaningful chance fell to the visitors, as Ryan Lowe’s close-range effort was punched away by Gilks before Clinton Morrison slid the rebound agonisingly wide from point-blank range.
The home side responded by going straight up the other end and nearly opening the scoring themselves, but Bywater produced a fantastic save to deny Keith Southern’s bullet header from Eardley’s floated cross.
Lowe, who was proving Wednesday’s most dangerous outlet, had a dangerous shot on the turn tipped wide by Gilks as the deadlock looked increasingly likely to being broken.
But the former Bury man wasted a glorious chance minutes later after seizing upon Southern’s suicidal back header and racing clear through on goal, but Gilks saved his bacon by spreading himself to remarkably block his lobbed effort as he looked on in despair.
An even more clear-cut chance fell for Blackpool in the closing stages of the half as Matt Phillips accelerated down the wing and delivered a teasing cross for Billy Clarke six yards from goal, but Bywater produced heroics once again to miraculously keep the score level at the interval.
The opening goal finally arrived six minutes after the break though, when Morrison curled an accurate effort into a gaping goal after Gilks had saved Lowe’s initial effort to send the travelling fans into delirium.
This sprang Blackpool into life and the home crowd thought an equaliser had arrived when Kevin Phillips’ long range drive sailed a whisker past the of post.
Recent loan signing Nouah Dicko was introduced in place of Billy Clarke to make his debut for the remainder of the game, as Blackpool went in search of an all important breakthrough.
The visitors defended resolutely though, and nearly doubled their lead on the counter-attack when Chris Sedgwick crossed for Chris O’Grady, who swivelled and struck a tame effort straight at Gilks.
With the addition of five minutes injury time, it looked like fate had been sealed until Wednesday finally caved in when Batth tugged back Taylor-Fletcher in the area with referee Darren Deadman pointing straight to the spot.
The ever-reliable Phillips stepped up to explosively fire his ninth goal of the season into the top-left hand corner, giving the beleaguered Bywater no chance.
Holloway's side then pressed for a dramatic winner, but the game ended all square.
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