Preston North End reserves were beaten 3-0 by a much more experienced Blackpool side in the Central League.
PNE’s Lancashire rivals, fielding a number of first team players, went ahead just nine minutes in through Karamoko Dembele before the likes of Felipe Rodriguez-Gentile and Kitt Nelson came close to an equaliser for the young Lilywhites before the break.
The Tangerines doubled their lead in the 62nd minute courtesy of Marvin Ekpiteta and a third soon arrived via Dannen Francis.
The visitors were the side on top in the early stages with Tashan Oakley-Boothe and Jake Beesley forcing Tommy Davis into action in the opening six minutes.
There was nothing the goalkeeper could do, though, moments later when Dembele’s effort from inside the area took a huge deflection and looped into the back of the net.
North End grew into the game from that point and could have levelled three minutes after the opener through Rodriguez-Gentile – back from international duty with Argentina U17 – but Mackenzie Chapman was equal to his effort.
Chapman again produced a decent stop just short of the half-hour mark when Nelson tried his luck from distance after driving through midfield.
The rest of the half was pretty evenly-contested with North End showing a good account of themselves, and Kian Best could have equalised inside 15 seconds of the restart, but he chipped an effort over the bar.
Beesley struck the woodwork with a powerful strike at the other end, before he then headed back across goal in the 62nd minute for Ekpiteta who nodded into an empty net.
The influential Beesley had another chance to get on the scoresheet soon after, but Davis came up with a great stop to deny the tall forward.
Blackpool did get their third in the 73rd minute as a ball from left to right found Francis, who cut in onto his left foot before firing into the top corner.
Josh Miles missed two presentable opportunities to make it four for his side before time was up and the visitors left Springfields with a 3-0 victory.
After the match, coach John Welsh said: “I think once the teams came out and we saw who was playing, we knew it was going to be a tough afternoon.
“Having said that, we probably still expected a little bit more from the lads. We always get the work rate, but I think at times we just lacked a little bit of quality in possession.
“Ultimately I think it’s good for our lads to come up against what we have today. It’s the type of experience we want them to have.
“It’s probably more beneficial for us than going and winning 6-0 on a Saturday morning because you learn so much about yourselves.”
PNE line-up: Davis; Wilkinson (Brindle, 87), McGhee, Pasiek; Seary (Eccleston, 17), Wilson (T.Mawene, 65), Kamara, N.Mawene, Best; Rodriguez-Gentile (Khan, 78), Nelson. Subs not used: Stowell.
Attendance: 103.
Referee: Mr A Hussain.