A reasonably entertaining Yorkshire derby produced no goals but several problems for Town as double Dutch trouble further weakened an injury ravaged squad.
The welcome returns of Hodge, Evans and Hogg provides Duff with better midfield options, but the loss of his most influential player of the season in Kasumu coupled with Lonwijk suffering a hamstring injury in the opening minutes and new signing Roosken, brought in to fill the long term Miller absence, seeing red and accruing a likely 3 match suspension, adds unwelcome disruption, yet again.
It all added up to a disappointing afternoon for the Terriers, who failed to convert a sustained period of dominance in the second half of the first half into a lead.
Overall, the performance was no better nor worse than the one which brought 3 points against Stockport, and despite their lowly position, the South Yorkshire opponents were a little superior.
With Hodge deputising for Kasumu and Radulovic in the starting line up, Town were already having to adjust to new personnel when Lonwijk pulled up after just 2 minutes and was replaced by Turton, necessitating a change in shape.
An opening 25 minutes with little incident quickly confirmed that the game was going to be far from easy for the hosts, but once they settled and gained ascendancy, they failed to take advantage of some excellent opportunities.
To his credit, Radulovic played a big part in the creation of opportunities with some deft link up play and significantly more physicality than previously evident. It seems unlikely that the Serbian will recover from his early form in the eyes of the supporters, and his potency in front of goal remains tepid at best, but he played a full part in this game and couldn’t be faulted for effort.
A couple of routine saves by Phillips from Koroma and Marshall after decent build up play by the Terriers signalled the start of what could have been a pivotal period, but they failed to turn the pressure in to a lead.
Wiles wasted a good free kick position, awarded after Marshall was clattered following a good link up with Radulovic, firing over. A volleyed Kane effort shortly beforehand had been closer and well executed, but the best chance came soon after.
A quick clearance from Chapman was laid off by Radulovic, despite being fouled, into the path of Wiles, who played Marshall in for a good effort on goal which Phillips pushed out for a corner.
From that corner, Helik saw his header cleared off the line and a scoreless first half ended with some regret for the home side who deserved to be in front.
Sadly, the second half descended in to a rather dour battle, with the visitors looking the more likely to prevail for long periods but, in similar fashion to their hosts in the first half, they failed to capitalise on their best spell of the game with a Chapman stop from close range to thwart Wilks followed by a slightly overhit cross just failing to find Powell at the back post.
Town’s big chance came midway through the half when Wiles out jumped an opponent to set Radulovic free. The Serb made exactly the right decision to pick out the unmarked Koroma in the box but instead of hitting the ball first time, which would have neutralised the keeper rushing out towards him, he took a touch and was unable to force the ball past recovering defenders on the line.
It was another moment that could have turned a disappointing draw in to more pressure on the 3 above them, but with 10 minutes to go, a poor but not malicious challenge by debutant Roosken, who had been on the pitch for 7 minutes, was punished by a red card which seemed harsh at the time but not upon reflection.
To Town’s credit it was they rather than their numerically advantaged opponents who nearly won the game at the death.
With probably the stand out moment of the game, the incredibly hard working Marshall simultaneously prevented a Rotherham break and created an excellent opportunity with a beautifully executed challenge which cleverly anticipated his opponent’s touch.
Breaking forward, the West Ham loanee curled a superb ball in to the box but neither Radulovic at the front post nor Helik further back could convert and a just reward for Marshall’s endeavour was spurned.
A less than convincing performance, which nevertheless contained very presentable chances, followed a similar pattern to other home displays in the current unbeaten run.
The lack of natural goalscoring instinct is always going to blight Duff’s charges and until that is addressed, which doesn’t seem very likely in the notoriously difficult January market, Town will not be able to mount a viable challenge for a top 2 place. Indeed, it is to Duff’s considerable credit that the possibility even remains given the lack of fire power and a revolving door of injuries to key players.
There were some positives to the game. The players have shown they can adapt to adversity recently and they were tested again with both an early and late change to well laid plans and they dealt with the double Dutch problems quite seamlessly.
Long term absentee Evans made a good impression on his return as a second half substitute and while Hodge looked a little rusty, he had good enough moments to suggest he can grow into form.
A very different, sterner test faces the team at Wycombe, with the unbeaten record at considerable risk, but it is a challenge a team with automatic promotion ambitions should relish.
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