Wrexham knew that three points were a must in their trip to Bloomfield Road.
The Red Dragons were looking to recover from their 1-1 draw against Bristol Rovers at the Racecourse Ground, a result that left them trailing Wycombe by a point in the League One promotion race.
George Dobson and James McClean returned to the side and Phil Parkinson chose not to risk the injured Eoghan O’Connell as Dan Scarr made a rare start.
Wrexham had the better of the first half with efforts from McClean and Jay Rodriguez well saved by the Blackpool keeper Harry Tyrer.
The skipper did eventually make the break through with a bending strike into the far corner that deceived Tyrer before Ollie Rathbone doubled the lead from a wonderful lay off from Rodriguez.
Blackpool grabbed a late consolation to prevent another clean sheet as Robert Apter scored with a fine finish with just seconds left on the clock.
A brilliant performance and result from Wrexham and promotion is once again back in their hands following Wycombe’s defeat at home to Charlton Athletic.
Wrexham produced a fantastic display to move into second place, here are the winners and losers from Wrexham’s clash with Blackpool.
Four winners from Wrexham’s clash with Blackpool
James McClean
McClean was left out of the side to face Bristol Rovers with the fresher Ryan Barnett taking his place but the captain played like he was out to prove a point from the very first whistle.
He was a constant outlet on the left flank but also attacked the box well from crosses from the right and perhaps should have had two goals to his name before he did make the break through.
Experience pulls through in vital moments of the season and McClean certainly showed up in his side’s hour of need with a sensational display.
Jay Rodriguez
Wrexham fans were furious with Rodriguez after the Bristol Rovers clash and many would so rightly so as he failed yet again to make any impact on the game.
However, he has brushed that criticism off with a display of real maturity and quality in helping his team to a vital three points.
He played further forward alongside Sam Smith and was a real thorn in Blackpool’s side, culminating in an excellent assist for Rathbone’s goal.
Ollie Rathbone
Showed glimpses of real class in the first half with some exquisite touches without having any real impact on the game.
That all changed second half as Rathbone was the real driving force behind Wrexham’s surge to victory and he capped off his outstanding display with a wonderful finish to seal the points.
Rob McElhenney
He was in attendance from his usual vantage point at the Racecourse Ground to witness a disappointing draw with Bristol Rovers but Rob McElhenney got his long-standing wish of watching a game in an away end.
He joined the Red Dragons supporters from the off and watched on as his players treated him to arguably their most complete performance of the season, especially in a scintillating second half show.
Two losers from Wrexham’s clash with Blackpool
Arthur Okonkwo
Okonkwo produced another impeccable display in the sticks for Parkinson’s side and made a crucial stop just before half time with a finger tip save over the bar.
His distribution was phenomenal, some real raking passes out to McClean and Longman in the first half in an area that he has developed over recent weeks.
However, he visibly showed his frustration at conceding a late goal to prevent yet another clean sheet for him this season however, his manager will love the fact that it means so much to his superb goalkeeper.
Ryan Reynolds
Rob was part of an amazing afternoon for the Red Dragons and Ryan Reynolds may well be regretting not making the trip with his co-owner.
Reynolds missed his troops show that they are well and truly up for the promotion fight and have wrestled the initiative back in their favour thanks to a commanding performance.