'Murphy is back' was the cry from the stands as Bloomfield Road's cult hero scored within moments of his shock return to first team action at Edgeley Park on Saturday.

The Seasiders camp had been making optimistic noises about John Murphy's return from injury in the last few days, but it was still a major shock to see the big man lining up amongst the subsititutes.

His half-time warm up on the pitch delighted the Blackpool fans and gave the travelling supporters a lift after another disappointing first half.

Ricky Lambert, a former Pool trainee, scored with a superb free kick halfway through the half but Blackpool struck back 10 minutes after the break when sweeper, Simon Grayson, ghosted in to convert a deft Richie Wellens cross.

Blackpool were ahead within five minutes, when a Neil Danns corner found Chris Clarke who headed home from close range.

The third came four minutes later when the outstanding Wellens slotted the ball to Scott Taylor who squared it to Murphy to score from close range.

Danns earned himself a silly second yellow card and now faces another suspension. The Blackburn midfielder now misses the long-distance trips to Brighton and Colchester in October.