Sodden Mediocrity
To win when you have played badly is, according to the cliche and, indeed, Martin Drury, a sign of a good team.
The flaw in this observation, just 3 games into the season, is that the level of the performance bar isn’t known and optimism is not a message to which the supporters of Huddersfield Town should be particularly receptive, given the failures of seasons past.
Cambridge United away in the tight constraints of a small stadium and pitch, on a soggy Bank Holiday weekend with a physically imposing opposition rather used to home success was never going to be a straightforward mission, but it was one that an aspiring club needed to meet.
Perhaps the only credit Town can take from a dismal display was to somehow conjure a thoroughly undeserved win, yet even this was tainted by a helping hand from some very generous officiating.
Almost certainly a result of the tactics employed by the hugely experienced Neil Harris, Murray Wallace spent far more time on the ball quarter backing than was comfortable and hardly conducive to creating threat.
Wallace, of course, carried out his principal duties very effectively and relished the battles against robust opponents; despite Drury’s protestations that the Scot is better on the ball than given credit for, it is unlikely to be a hill he’s prepared to die upon.
An almost entirely forgettable first half for both sides was littered with errors, bereft of goalscoring chances and rarely interrupted by notable incident. A slick surface didn’t help, but the complete absence of quality numbed the entertainment starved crowd to a stupor.
An early effort from Fletcher grazed the post from distance while the hosts caused a brief moment of concern when a back post header into a dangerous area caused Young to scramble the ball away.
The rest of the half was an amorphous blob of soggy ineptitude from both sides.
As the heavens opened again to herald the second half, it was the home side who gained ascendancy and they outplayed Town for the majority of it.
Young had to make a spectacular, if routine, save from a well struck free kick and with the momentum at their backs, Cambridge probed and tested the Terriers with nothing going the other way to relieve the pressure.
The hosts finally broke the flimsy deadlock when a long ball down the right channel saw a chase which appeared to have been won by Bowat only for him to fall under the pressure of a slight push which would ordinarily have been given as a foul – not just as a general rule but within this very match.
The rather marvellously named Ra’ess Bangura-Williams took full advantage of the referee’s leniency and set up Bradshaw to bundle home for a deserved lead.
The belated withdrawal of Fletcher, who should have been subbed at half time, for Radulovic (along with Collins replacing the ineffective Sway) paid dividends as Town struck back immediately with an equaliser of a quality completely out of place in the overall performance.
Taking advantage of a retreating home defender slicing an attempted clearance, Taylor got enough power into a shoulder pass to reach Radulovic who played in his teammate to smash an unlikely equaliser.
It was the Serbian sub who then made a good challenge just inside the opponent’s half which freed the otherwise subdued Sanchez Fernandes to play a lovely weighted pass in to Taylor’s path.
The striker’s burst of pace forced a lunging tackle which, as disputable as it was geographically, prompted a joint decision from referee and linesman resulting in a penalty.
Thoroughly undeserved, hugely unfair on Cambridge and very welcome for the travelling support, Taylor despatched the spot kick for the win.
An excessive 9 minutes of injury time passed with just one scare when a loose ball from a corner was ballooned over the bar, and Town could celebrate their ill gotten gains.
With two home games upcoming, Drury has the chance to find his best midfield options which, for various reasons, has rather eluded him to date. The appearance of Collins for an unspectacular debut provides an important opportunity to do just that.
townreports 