Former Hearts and Hibs pair help Blackpool to promotion

Former Hearts defender Demetri Mitchell and ex-Hibs goalkeeper Chris Maxwell have helped Blackpool win promotion to the English Championship after a 2-1 victory over Lincoln City in the League One play-off final.

Demetri Mitchell, left, and Chris Maxwell tasted play-off success at Wembley with Blackpool

Captain Maxwell, who played 17 times for Hibs during the 2019/20 campaign, has played more than 50 games and kept 26 clean sheets this season while Mitchell, who scored two goals in 34 outings for the Tynecastle Park side over two loan spells in 2017/18 and 2018/19 has made 38 appearances and set up two of Blackpool’s three goals in the second leg of their League One play-off semi-final against Oxford United.

Ostensibly a left-sided defender / midfielder, the former Manchester United youngster has been deployed on the right in recent weeks after CJ Hamilton was ruled out for the remainder of the season and he continued deputising at Wembley.

The Seasiders got off to a nightmare start with Ollie Turton turning a cross past Maxwell in the opening sixty seconds but Neil Critchley’s side rallied with Australian midfielder Kenny Dougall equalising ten minutes before half-time and completing the turnaround ten minutes after the break.

In the lead-up to the final Maxwell told the Evening News’ sister title the Blackpool Gazette: “My day in, day out focus is ensuring Blackpool are successful and playing a part in something here.

“I’d swap my Golden Glove tomorrow if it meant we’d get promoted.”

There were further Hibee connections in the Lincoln side, with goalkeeper Alex Palmer having had a trial in Edinburgh during Neil Lennon’s tenure while former Easter Road centre-back Adam Jackson is currently on the Imps' books although wasn’t involved in the final.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our sports coverage with a digital sports subscription.