Substitutions well and truly changed the game as West Brom scored three goals in the last ten minutes to come from a goal down in style.
They were always going to score sooner or later, it's just a shame they had to do it sooner as Blackpool were ten minutes from a monumental win.
With Kevin Phillips brought on towards the end, the visitors were fielding three strikers and the Seasiders couldn't hold out.
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When Hoefkins was clipped by Stephen Crainey in the 81st minute, Phillips dispatched the penalty with ease.
It was heartbreaking and it got worse. A couple of minutes later Phillips scored again after Rachubka had saved an effort by Ishmael Miller.
And then Miller himself got in on the act in the 87th minute, taking advantage of Rachubka's hesitancy to deftly chip over the Blackpool keeper.
It was too much for the home fans to bear and for the first time this season, a large number of home supporters left Bloomfield Road early.
What made it so unbearable was the fact that Blackpool had been 1-0 up for most of the game and had matched their opponents.
They began the game brightly, with Burgess heading against the bar and McPhee hitting wide when clean through.
Albrechtsen, who had McPhee under control for the opening period, had to go off and was replaced by Barnett. This unsettled West Brom and unlocked the door for the Tangerines.
Then, on 35 minutes, Blackpool were awarded a slightly suspect free kick which Crainey swung into the box for Burgess to head home.
It was a neat goal and it set the tone for a spell of Blackpool dominance.
But with the attacking threat of a team like West Brom, they needed that second goal and it never came.
Gorkss forced a save from Kiely and the resulting corner was juggled around in the area until Burgess headed just wide.
Even Ian Evatt had a go, with his ambitious attempt from the halfway line almost having Kiely worried.
McPhee broke through and squared to Flynn who shot just wide, while a Burgess nod-down to McPhee a minute later went straight at the keeper.
Then in the 52nd minute, Gary Taylor-Fletcher seemed to be dumped to the floor by a clumsy block right on the edge of the area.
Now if any of these chances had come to something, Blackpool may have gone on to win this match convincingly. But this is no excuse for that ten-minute capitulation at the end.
Okay, so no-one could see that West Brom were suddenly going to start playing like the Premiership team they aspire to be, and certainly Hoefkins didn't hesitate to go to ground when he could have stayed on his feet, but it was a rare display of naivety from Grayson's men in a season where they have refused to be in awe of the bigger boys.
The result of this late collapse? Hordes of home fans leaving the ground early to the sound of "we are top of the league" chants, and a team stuck on 50 points.
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