
Blackpool boosted their survival hopes with a timely victory against Bolton Wanderers in a Premier League thriller at Bloomfield Road.
The game ended in exactly the same scoreline when the Seasiders beat their Lancashire rivals to FA Cup glory in the famous 1953 Matthews Final, and this result could possibly rank alongside that in the club's history.
The Seasiders now lie one point from safety with their fate lying in their own hands with a final day trip to Old Trafford, a place where newly crowned Premier League champions Manchester United have only dropped two points all season.
A victory would be enough to retain their top flight status, but a point could also prove sufficient depending on the outcome of other fixtures.
"Maybe the old man up there has written a story greater than Cinderella," joked Seasiders boss Ian Holloway.
Backed by a roaring tangerine faithful, Holloway's men produced a stirring performance to grind out only their second victory since the turn of the year.
The game certainly saw more twists and turns than the Crazy Mouse at the nearby Pleasure Beach.
"It was breathtaking. That sums up our season at this level," beamed a jubilant Holloway.
Jason Puncheon came into the side after his impressive display against Spurs in the side's only change.
The fixture was dubbed a must-win for the hosts prior to kick off, but they got off to the worst possible start when Kevin Davies capitalised on some slack defending to fire beyond the reach of Matt Gilks with the game barely six minutes old.
Heads didn't drop though and Blackpool showed immense resolve to instantly respond when DJ Campbell ran onto Gary Taylor Fletcher's header and showed great composure to lob the onrushing Jussi Jaaskaleinen from 10 yards.
Campbell was in the thick of the action once again soon later when his header from Adam's corner cannoned off the underside of the crossbar and back out to safety.
Blackpool kept threatening on the break and took the lead on the 20 minute mark when some neat interplay between Taylor-Fletcher and Campbell resulted in Puncheon executing a fine finish past Jaaskaleinen from the corner of the box.
Three minutes later both teams were level once again when Matty Taylor struck a superb 20 yard shot that went in off the post.
Gilks came to the rescue soon after to save from the prolific Sturridge who was clear through on goal before Davies' speculative effort from distance rattled the crossbar.
Campbell restored the home side's lead with his second just before the break when he coolly tapped home Adam's fantastic cross.
The second half was as high-octane as the first and Sturridge levelled once again when Lee Chung-Yong rounded Gilks and sent in a pinpoint centre for the on-loan Chelsea man to nod into an unguarded net.
With the momentum now firmly with the away side, Gilks was called into action to tip over Taylor's dangerous effort.
But Blackpool broke again through Charlie Adam who raced 40 yards before playing a one-two with Taylor-Fletcher and whipping the ball into the top corner beyond a despairing Jaaskaleinen.
With ten minutes remaining, Holloway introduced three changes to run down the clock with want-away skipper Adam coming off to a rousing reception in what could possibly be his last home game in a Blackpool shirt.
The last few minutes saw Bolton frantically trying to conjure an opening but Blackpool held on to seal a vital three points.
"It's [Premier League survival] going right to the wire," claimed Holloway
"What a wonderful opportunity we have ahead of us. We need to try and beat United and I'd rather we need a win than a draw."
"I'm disappointed to leave with nothing," claimed Wanderers boss Owen Coyle.
"I've got a lot of time for Ollie and his players though and all credit must go to them."
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