Hamilton Strike Earns Blackpool Late Victory at Reading on Final Day

Blackpool FC closed their League One season with a narrow 1–0 win away to Reading FC, thanks to a decisive second-half goal from Christopher Hamilton on matchday 46.

In a tight contest with limited clear-cut chances reported, the breakthrough arrived on 75 minutes. Hamilton struck for the visitors to put Blackpool 1–0 up, a lead they would not relinquish as Reading were unable to find a response in the closing stages.

League One FINISHED

2026-05-02 14:00

Reading FC

0 - 1

Blackpool FC

Matchday 46 REGULAR_SEASON

The game’s key moment came after a flurry of substitutions from both sides. Blackpool reshaped their side from the 65th minute, introducing Joel Randall for Leighton Clarkson and Zac Ashworth for Hayden Coulson. Further attacking tweaks followed as Tom Bloxham replaced Dale Taylor in the 72nd minute and Niall Ennis came on for Ashley Fletcher a minute later, giving the Seasiders fresh energy just before Hamilton’s winner.

Reading turned to their bench in search of control and creativity, bringing on Matt Ritchie for Haydon Roberts in the 69th minute and Finley Burns for Ryan Nyambe a minute later. Late in the game, Emmanuel Osho replaced Kelvin Abrefa on 82 minutes, and Luke Howard came on for Liam Fraser in the 87th minute as the hosts chased an equaliser that never arrived.

The visitors did pick up a caution when Oliver Casey was shown a yellow card in the 81st minute, but Blackpool otherwise managed the final minutes effectively to see out the win.

Beyond the confirmed goal, one booking and a series of substitutions, detailed minute-by-minute match statistics and further incidents were not available in the provided data.

For more information on League One, visit the League One page on Ballaxy. Full match details can be found on the Reading vs Blackpool match centre.

View full match page

League One Standings

Season: 2025/26

#	Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Form
1	Lincoln City FC	46	31	10	5	89	41	48	103	W W W D W
2	Cardiff City FC	46	27	10	9	90	50	40	91	L W W W D
3	Stockport County FC	46	22	11	13	71	58	13	77	W L W L D
4	Bradford City AFC	46	22	11	13	58	51	7	77	W D D D L
5	Bolton Wanderers FC	46	19	18	9	70	52	18	75	L D D W L
6	Stevenage FC	46	21	12	13	49	46	3	75	W D W D L
7	Luton Town FC	46	21	11	14	68	56	12	74	W W W D W
8	Plymouth Argyle FC	46	22	7	17	75	63	12	73	W W D W D
9	Huddersfield Town AFC	46	18	13	15	74	64	10	67	W L D D D
10	Mansfield Town FC	46	16	17	13	62	50	12	65	W D W W D
11	Wycombe Wanderers FC	46	17	12	17	69	58	11	63	W L L D L
12	Reading FC	46	16	15	15	64	60	4	63	L D L L L
13	Blackpool FC	46	17	9	20	54	65	-11	60	W W W W L
14	Doncaster Rovers FC	46	17	9	20	50	69	-19	60	W D L W W
15	Barnsley FC	46	15	14	17	68	73	-5	59	L W L L D
16	Wigan Athletic FC	46	14	14	18	49	58	-9	56	L L D W W
17	Burton Albion FC	46	13	15	18	50	60	-10	54	D D D W D
18	Peterborough United FC	46	15	8	23	64	68	-4	53	L D L D L
19	AFC Wimbledon	46	15	8	23	51	72	-21	53	L W L L L
20	Leyton Orient FC	46	14	10	22	59	71	-12	52	D L L D L
21	Exeter City FC	46	12	13	21	52	61	-9	49	L D D D W
22	Port Vale FC	46	10	12	24	36	61	-25	42	L W L L D
23	Rotherham United FC	46	10	11	25	41	71	-30	41	L D L W L
24	Northampton Town FC	46	9	8	29	39	74	-35	35	L L L L L