Gary Owers could afford a chuckle when the full-time whistle blew after Alan McInally's 3-3 pre-match prediction in the press room came true.
It was a ridiculously thrilling game of football that encapsulated all the emotions inside 90 minutes. Frustration, hope, euphoria, pride and deflation as City came from behind to almost make it three on the spin before a defensive error was punished at the end - how many times have we said that last season?
Although in truth, this game was nothing in comparison to last February. It couldn't have got much worse following a 3-1 defeat in baltic conditions with a performance that left the manager questioning the desire and quality of his squad.
The sun was shining on Bloomfield Road, albeit still nippy in the shade, but Pleasure Beach could at least live up to its namesake despite conceding in the 90th minute to drop what would have been an extra two hard-earned and deserved points.
There were certainly a lot more positives than negatives on show and manager Nigel Pearson recognised that when speaking to the press at the full-time whistle. Here's the talking points as City extended their unbeaten run to six matches in all competitions.
Chalk and cheese
"I suppose in some ways it's whether players can deal with the pressures of being first-team performers and that's going to be something which we may have to put up with in the short term because that's where we are at the moment.
"Unfortunately we have players who keep making the same mistakes. Ultimately, if players aren't able to find that sort of solution then it's about changing players."
Those were the quotes from Pearson in February when his side were humbled on the coast. They were outfought, outplayed and outwitted a City's winless stretch on the road stretched to four months.
It was so much different this time around. If there was an example of the progress that has been made both on and off the pitch then yesterday's performance encapsulated it.
Yes, the defending was far from good enough if City are to achieve their ambitions this season but unlike February, when they conceded and crumbled under the intense pressure of Blackpool's direct play and boisterous support, Pearson's side showed togetherness and confidence to come from behind twice to almost pull off three points.
Pearson summed it up nicely at the full-time whistle. He said: "I recognise that in the past we would have lost that game definitely. We have more substance to our collective spirit and I think that's really important to recognise." Notice the difference?
Although stats don't particularly tell the full story, it's worth highlighting a couple of them that reflect the game. City won 19 tackles compared to Blackpool's 14 with Nahki Wells picking up four of those - the joint highest out of any City player alongside Joe Williams. City also enjoyed 58.5% of the ball and there was a purpose to their passing, a quality that was rarely seen last season.
Unfortunately, City were punished for overplaying it at the end when Naismith's poor ball put Vyner in trouble and in the blink of an eye, the victory was snatched away in an instant.
There will be those who will say nothing has changed in regards to the individual errors and defensive performance when, in fact, it's abundantly clear plenty of progress has been made.
A big week for Semenyo
The return of Semenyo can be considered a catch-22. It's obviously brilliant to have him back among the goals but with the transfer market closing on Thursday evening, he's sending a timely reminder to the Premier League of what he's all about.
It's two goals in 47 minutes now for the forward after marking his return from injury against Wycombe with a goal in the cup. He appeared understandably rusty in the week but yesterday, he looked as though he had never been away.
It took him around a minute to drag City level after coming off the bench when he fired a brilliant strike across the keeper into the far corner. Despite his goal, his overall play was outstanding. Blackpool couldn't deal with him.
While sidelined, it would be no surprise if Semenyo was working tirelessly on his strength because the opponents could not shrug him off the ball. There's no doubt about it, top flight sides will be taking note of his comeback to the team and the impact he has made.
Crystal Palace appear the club most interested while Bournemouth are also admirers. After being thumped 9-0 against Liverpool on Saturday, manager Scott Parker is going to be demanding signings this week if they are to stand any chance of staying in the division.
From a selfish point of view, it's almost a shame Semenyo's recovery didn't last an extra week because he's hitting the ground running. Pearson was asked about his immediate future after the game and he responded it "was out of his control" including it would take a lot of money for City to sell.
Not quite the reassuring message that he will be a City player on Friday morning but the manager's a realist and he knows the club are likely to sell if an offer of around £20million comes in.
That does then pose the question about how little time is available to reinvest in the rest of the squad. Defence and the midfield remain the priority and you would only assume that if a big pot of cash did become available, City have their targets in mind and will move quickly to spend it wisely.
Either way, it's going to be an interesting next few days in the window.
Super Tommy
It's fair to suggest a number of fans predicted Conway to be the one breakthrough player from the academy this season. Although I'm not sure how many would have guessed the impact he's had.
His progress has been nothing short of remarkable in such a short period of time. Having seen him in action for the Under-23s last season, Conway was the standout player but there wasn't a suggestion that he would be making himself undroppable after six league matches.
Conway's pace and energy instantly caused problems all afternoon in the Blackpool defence. His movement in and around the box makes him extremely difficult to mark.
There was a sense in the first half that his goal was coming. Early on in the contest, he drilled a strike against the keeper's legs before Andi Weimann fired the rebound over the bar.
Moments later he picked up Wells' pass in the box and took one second too long before deciding to pull the trigger, by that time the Blackpool defender managed to get his toe on the ball.
His movement and finish for the goal were pure instinct and a clear sign that City have a top striker on their hands. He got himself a yard of space in the area and was brilliantly picked out by Scott before finishing it first time beyond the reach of the keeper.
That's five goals and two assists now in eight matches and five starts. You do have to wonder whether Conway would have had this opportunity had Semenyo not picked up his injury in pre-season. The answer is probably not.
It also wouldn't come as much of a shock if Conway's form had also taken City's coaching staff by surprise. Before the start of the season, Academy Director Brian Tinnion revealed in an interview how there was a plan in place to send either Conway or Sam Bell out on loan with the option of recalling one in January and letting the other leave temporarily.
Semenyo's injury and City's lack of transfer activity may have impacted that decision but it's been a blessing in disguise because Conway is grasping his opportunity with both hands. Pearson said after the game: "Tommy was great, Nahki was excellent and Antoine is so difficult to play against. It's nice to have different options and even when we can put Weimann in a wide position, he nearly got in two or three times."
A case for the defence
It was a bad day at the office for the defenders, there's no getting around that. Rob Atkinson was unusually off the pace, Kal Naismith will be kicking himself with his pass at the end and Zak Vyner will also feel he was at fault for Blackpool's third.
Considering the recent history from last season of individual errors and lax defending from set-pieces, there's every right to be worried about the performance on show at the back. Although you have to remember City were coming into this game on the back of consecutive clean sheets in the league - something they failed to achieve last season.
Credit to Blackpool. They changed their tactics by playing three strikers in Gary Madine, Shane Lavery and Jerry Yate and went direct - their plan was to win the second ball high up the pitch.
It worked and gave City's defenders all sorts of problems and the players will undoubtedly sit down and watch the footage on how they can improve. Atkinson needed to be stronger for the opening goal while he also lost the initial header from the corner for the second.
The less said about the third goal the better and Naismith's reaction to needlessly putting Vyner under pressure with a really poor pass tells the story. It's a fine line and last season, Pearson would have been spitting feathers at the way his side threw away two points at the death.
Although the game did have that feel about it - any chance looked like going in and sometimes you have to sit back and enjoy the sheer madness of how it panned out. Pearson didn't appear overly concerned about the defending - "mistakes were made but that's life."
Treat it as a brilliant advert for the Championship ahead but there will be an extra focus on the defence for Wednesday's home game with Huddersfield.
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