Blackpool Rock Town back

Blackpool Rock Town Back

Within 12 minutes of a torrid first half by the seaside, Huddersfield Town’s encouraging, if not flawless, start to the season was called into serious question as the home side exploited errors in a previously solid defence and thwarted the visitors with some comfort for around an hour, despite being a player short.

It had all looked very different in the opening stages as Town completely dominated their under-pressure and vulnerable hosts, taking the lead early and justifying their top spot in the nascent league table.

The home support must have believed that their woeful start to the season was about to deteriorate further as a deflected Wiles effort beat their under-fire keeper, Peacock-Farrell.

Scenting blood, Town flowed forward with confidence and rhythm, ready to exploit their hosts’ lack of belief and turn the jittery home crowd against them.

Alarmingly, at the first sign of a setback, Town crumbled.

Whatmough, who has previously escaped punishment for some errors, notably in the opening game, entirely misjudged a ball that looped towards him from a Ledson swipe at a loose midfield pass. Rather than dealing with it by simply meeting it with his head, the ex-Preston man, presumably to the delight of the tangerine faithful, allowed the ball to bounce and Ennis was presented with a clear path to goal.

With Whatmough beaten, Low inexplicably decided not to move towards the ball to challenge the Blackpool striker, and by the time he did, he only succeeded in making the situation worse by deflecting a shot that was probably going wide, completely negating any action Goodman was taking.

Other than putting a question mark over the two centre-halves—and with plenty of time to recover from the errors, given the numerous options available to Lee Grant—the equaliser was also a test of the team’s previously unquestioned resilience.

That test was failed, quite horribly.

A collective panic seemed to settle over the whole team, and while Blackpool’s hungry grasp of the lifeline presented to them was admirable, Town’s implosion was immediate and worrying.

All control, which had been established and held so firmly that the concession marked the first time Blackpool had entered Town’s penalty area (indeed, the first time they had gone anywhere near it), evaporated.

The lack of composure and poor decision-making spread like a particularly virulent virus. Though the home side’s second goal was very well struck, and had been set up by a delicate touch, the half-hearted attempts to quell Blackpool’s threat contributed to the home side’s resurgence and lead.

Worse was to follow. A clearly rattled away side continued to encourage their opponent’s exuberant release from early-season struggles, and a lost contest on the edge of the area saw the ball land at Ennis’s feet, who had the simple task of beating Goodman one-on-one.

Shell-shocked, the players took a water break as the seaside sun belted down onto the playing area, and the intermission seemed to benefit the Terriers as they re-established control to an extent and soon reduced the arrears owing much to Roosken’s determination on the left.

Alfie May scuffed an attempted shot, but the ball squeezed through perfectly into the path of Gooch, who slammed home.

The American had been ridiculously ignored too many times given the space he regularly found, but the goal was a reward for his persistence.

At this point, a goal fest seemed inevitable with both defences showing glaring fragility, but the nature of the contest was about to change dramatically as double goalscorer Ennis launched a reckless challenge on Whatmough, earning him a well-deserved red card.

Veteran Town supporters know that having a man advantage has rarely been a precursor to an easy victory, but this was an opportunity for the latest group of players to change that perception.

With about 10 minutes to go until halftime, Town had the chance to capitalise on the home side’s readjustment, but their best opportunity was squandered by Alfie May, who chose to try an audacious lob from just inside Blackpool’s half rather than exploit a three-on-one attack. His effort was wastefully harmless.

It should have been no surprise that the hugely experienced Bruce—who has lost only one encounter against Town since escaping the car crash of the Rubery era—would implement a disciplined and effective low block to thwart the numerically disadvantaged visitors.

A half of ponderous, inaccurate, and barely threatening torpor duly ensued.

Despite calling upon every scrap of creativity at Grant’s disposal, with Castledine and McGuane introduced for their league debuts, there was a complete lack of imagination across the pitch as Town failed to register a shot of any note until a late effort by Castledine went narrowly wide.

If anything, the home side looked more likely to score through either a breakaway or an error at the back by Town. Low had to rescue more than one dangerous situation caused by misplaced passes from his central defensive partner, who also gave away an entirely avoidable corner when set pieces were the most obvious threat from a depleted opponent.

Frustrating barely covers a second-half performance devoid of guile or intensity. While there is an argument that the dismissal focused the home side’s energy and purpose—something they carried out admirably—Town’s approach of doing the same thing over and over, like trying to thread a needle in a storm, was entirely predictable and manageable.

On the rare occasion a cross was attempted, it invariably found a home defender’s head. Surely, even as a last resort, changing Low’s role from strolling forward to make the same sideways pass into an attacking disturbance in the area was worth a try?

In these days of statistics, meticulous planning, and over-coaching, is such a solution to Town’s ineffectiveness considered gauche?

By the last 15 minutes, the away support’s ire turned to an admittedly fussy referee, but it was hardly his fault that Town players made it ever so easy for opponents to win free kicks through their predictable and ponderous play.

A first defeat of the season held too many parallels with last season’s reversal at Rotherham—a game that should have been won but was deservedly lost, leading to a collapse in form which was never truly rediscovered.

Grant needs to ensure that Saturday’s setback does not set the tone in the same way, with two tricky upcoming home games.

Changes should be expected, with perhaps Whatmough paying the price for a far-from-convincing performance, even if Low probably survives scrutiny. Kane’s lack of pace and intermittent carelessness also puts him under threat from potentially better midfield options, while the ever-quiet Wiles may also have to make way.

Lots of issues for Grant to grapple with, then—with solutions needing to be found very quickly.