Rochdale made it three wins from three games with a 1-0 win against Blackpool.

Ollie Rathbone’s second-half strike earned Dale three points to keep alive their hopes of avoiding relegation.

Visitors Blackpool could have no complaints as they were second best all evening.

A teasing ball into the area by Aaron Morley posed the first threat on goal, his delivery evading Jake Beesley but forcing Chris Maxwell to leap towards his left-hand post and scramble the ball behind.

Jimmy Keohane and Conor Grant had shots blocked by the visiting defence, while Stephen Dooley saw a shot diverted wide as the home side applied pressure to Blackpool’s backline.

Ellis Simms forced a good save out of Jay Lynch at the start of the second half as Blackpool briefly showed signs of improvement on a poor first-half display.

But the home side took the lead in the 69th minute, Rathbone cutting infield from the left and curling a side-footed effort wide of Maxwell and into the bottom corner of his net.

Dale withstood some late pressure but limited Blackpool to shots from distance as they held on for victory.