A LONG, long time ago in a stadium far, far away, Wanderers travelled home with three points from an away game.

The wait, 492 days to be exact, continues, and they only have themselves to blame.

With the game in the palm of their hands at Bloomfield Road after Jamie Proctor’s first-half header, the Whites conspired to concede two goals in four minutes and throw this EFL Cup tie away. Kaiyne Woolery forced extra time after latching on to a defensive mistake but Jamie McAllister and John Herron scored in the added 30 minutes to ensure the Whites’ amazing hoodoo continued on this ground.

The last time a Bolton team came away with a win at Blackpool was December 27, 1977, the same day the original Star Wars movie was released in the UK.

And despite making seven changes to the team which beat Sheffield United on Saturday, Phil Parkinson’s side had more than enough force to have booked their place in round two.

The demoralising sight of seeing their home support outnumbered three to one is something the Blackpool players are becoming more accustomed to in these parts as fans continue their crusade against Tangerines owner Karl Oyston.

Wanderers, by comparison, were vociferously backed by a full stand whose repertoire of songs was arguably more entertaining than the football at times.

Mark Davies led a Whites midfield who dominated possession but struggled to make inroads on Sam Slocombe’s goal.

If anything, the Whites were guilty of over-playing in their own half. Ex-Bury striker Mark Cullen and midfielder Mark Yeates both had half-chances which were dealt with smartly by Ben Amos.

Josh Vela entered the game after just 26 minutes – Derik Osede walked off the pitch to a consoling hug from his manager suggesting he may have aggravated a hamstring injury.

No sooner had Davies lifted a shot over the bar, than Blackpool fluffed another good chance in front of the travelling fans. This time only the back of Vela’s heels prevented Jamie McAllister from side-footing home Kelvin Mellor’s right wing cross.

Parkinson has invested a lot of time in improving Wanderers’ work at set pieces and on Saturday we saw the effectiveness of the long throw. In this swirling wind, corners were somewhat of a lottery but within a few seconds of each other Mark Beevers had a shot cleared off the line by Clark Robertson and youngster Alex Finney hit the bar with his follow-up header.

Parkinson was possibly preparing a stern team talk as the break approached, especially after watching another header from Cullen drop just over the bar.

But his mood would have been improved as Trotter produced the cross of the night for Proctor to nod home from close range.

Tails up, Wanderers should have had a penalty immediately after the restart when Mellor appeared to handball Trotter’s goal-bound volley.

Davies started to pop up in more dangerous areas. One scintillating run down the left presented a great opportunity for sub Gary Madine, whose shot was blocked by a sprawling home defender.

Wanderers were dominating but after Yeates troubled Amos with a free kick, the Tangerines somehow pulled themselves level. Colin Daniel escaped down the left and his cross was turned in at the far post by Mellor.

The tie unexpectedly turned on its head. From out of nowhere sub Brad Potts crashed home a second goal in four minutes at the far post. The smattering of Blackpool fans who had ignored the call to boycott sprang to life, too.

All of a sudden it was a rescue job. Wanderers went desperately close – Finney rattled the post with a header – but to no avail.

Then, in the last minute of normal time, Will Aimson undercooked a back-pass to allow sub Woolery to dance around Slocombe and pass the ball into the net to send the travelling supporters into delirium.

If cup football isn’t supposed to matter this season, no-one told them.

Parkinson will have had mixed feelings about extra time. Some of his players – Davies, for example – could do without a gruelling 120-minute slog before an away double-header at AFC Wimbledon and Bristol Rovers.

Taylor’s volley on the stroke of half time was the closest either side came in the first half but soon after the restart Blackpool regained their lead – McAllister slotting home after some neat football on the edge of the box.

A few minutes later the game was safe. Wanderers gambled too many men forward and John Herron was set free to lift a delightful shot over Amos for the fourth.