Blackpool heaped more pressure on struggling Northampton with a convincing 3-0 win at Bloomfield Road to pile the pressure on Cobblers' caretaker manager Dean Austin.
In an even first half, both goalkeepers stood out, with Northampton's Richard O'Donnell plunging to his left to deny Viv Solomon-Otabor and then punching clear a Jimmy Ryan volley.
Blackpool in turn were indebted to Joe Lumley, who saved a close-range Kevin van Veen header and denied Chris Long when through on goal.
The Seasiders took the lead on the stroke of half-time through Armand Gnanduillet's instinctive side-footed finish when he was played in from the right.
Northampton then wilted under Blackpool's second-half dominance, with Solomon-Otabor particularly effective on the left wing.
Gnanduillet hit a post and David Buchanan cleared a Nathan Delfouneso effort off the line before Sean Longstaff doubled the lead after 62 minutes with a sweet strike from 25 yards.
Curtis Tilt also hit a post from point-blank range, but Blackpool sealed the game 15 minutes from time when Ryan's free-kick deflected off the wall to leave O'Donnell stranded.
English League One Standings
| POS | Team | GP | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blackpool | 4 | +5 | 10 |
| 2 | Lincoln City | 4 | +7 | 9 |
| 3 | Coventry City | 4 | +3 | 8 |
| 4 | Wycombe Wanderers | 4 | +3 | 8 |
| 5 | Ipswich Town | 4 | +2 | 8 |
| 6 | Sunderland | 4 | +2 | 8 |
| 7 | Fleetwood Town | 4 | +2 | 7 |
| 8 | Shrewsbury Town | 4 | +1 | 7 |
| 9 | Burton Albion | 4 | +1 | 6 |
| 10 | Milton Keynes Dons | 3 | +1 | 6 |
| 11 | Rotherham United | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| 12 | Doncaster Rovers | 3 | +1 | 5 |
| 13 | Rochdale | 4 | 0 | 5 |
| 14 | Portsmouth | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 15 | Peterborough United | 4 | -1 | 4 |
| 16 | Oxford United | 4 | -2 | 4 |
| 17 | Bristol Rovers | 4 | -2 | 4 |
| 18 | Tranmere Rovers | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| 19 | Gillingham | 3 | -1 | 2 |
| 20 | AFC Wimbledon | 4 | -3 | 1 |
| 21 | Accrington Stanley | 3 | -3 | 1 |
| 22 | Southend United | 4 | -9 | 0 |
| 23 | Bolton Wanderers | 3 | -7 | -11 |
| 24 | Bury | 0 | 0 | -12 |
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