It’s never promising, is it, the first round of the Milk cup or whichever sap has been persuaded to sponsor it this year?
Striking the balance between giving youth an opportunity, getting minutes in to legs and completely disrespecting a competition you aren’t ever going to win is difficult and, for years, Town shamelessly haven’t really bothered grappling with the conundrum, and insist upon charging people to watch an enhanced training session, which they invariably lose.
All evidence is pointing towards Michael Duff abandoning the strategy of never reaching the next round of any of the cups, with a refreshingly intense touchline display, urging his charges to defeat a team which was vanquished within 45 seconds anyway.
It would be foolish to draw anything other than mild satisfaction that Town hadn’t metaphorically soiled themselves yet again.
A final score line of 3-0 entirely flattered the hapless visitors whose brave/barmy supporters (delete as applicable) sang defiantly to the end in a cause they knew was monumentally unlikely. If ever there was a football equivalent of pulling the wings off flies, this was it.
That the score wasn’t the pummelling the hosts’ emphatic dominance should have delivered was the only concern from a night which featured some very good performances.
Marshall, on debut, recovered from a shaky start to finish a ball in from the lively and excellent Sorensen for Town’s second and worked hard to regain lost possession, drive in to the area and feed Ward who smartly converted the third.
Sorensen had already assisted Headley’s chested opener with a great ball across in the opening minute and tortured Morecambe’s left hand side until he was withdrawn in the second half.
The Shrimps’ right hand side fared little better with Headley constantly running at them and often times turning them inside out. While the dire quality of the opposition has to be fully acknowledged, the outing confirmed that this could be a breakthrough season for a talent which has been evident but far too often wayward.
Another emerging talent, Iorpenda, showed the touches of class which has persuaded Duff not to send him out on loan. We should expect to see more of him as the season progresses, despite the depth of midfield options available.
Those options include Kasumu, who looks to have put his distinctly average form of last season behind him, with an energetic 15 minutes at Peterborough followed by a dynamic display in this game. Again, praise must be caveated given Morecambe’s shortcomings, but he is another who will play a big part for Duff.
Kane caught the eye with his intelligence and use of the ball, with passing ranging from probing to sumptuous, including a perfectly weighted ball to Ward who appeared to be fouled as he took his subsequently off target shot.
The second half was little more than a procession, but the visitors did cross the halfway line with something approaching threat a couple of times only to thoroughly waste one decent shooting opportunity and then squander a dangerously situated free kick by hitting the first defender.
Town could have scored a hatful, with Koroma the main culprit despite playing well when he came on for Ward. His first effort was unfortunate as he shot past the keeper on an angle only to see the ball hit the inside of the far post before bouncing out instead of in. There was no excuse for hitting the keeper, though, when an awful ball across his own goal by a Morecambe defender fell at his feet.
Koroma was also brought down just outside the box as he was clear on goal, leading to a second yellow card for Harrack and a Herbie Kane free kick which elicited an “ooh” from the crowd despite always going over the bar.
With 15 minutes plus stoppages against 10 men, the Town of old stepped up and failed to score against depleted opposition, despite the aforementioned Koroma chances being in this period.
A second win, a second clean sheet and a professional dismissal of an inferior but battling opponent bodes well.
Significantly more difficult challenges lay ahead, beginning on Saturday.
A while since a comfortable, drama free away victory.
A while since the team looked coherent, unified and competent.
Caution abounds, of course, and the first 20 minutes of the opener were far less comfortable than the remainder of the game, but there were so many positive pointers it is difficult not to get slightly carried away.
Peterborough are historically tough to beat at London Road, regularly compete at the top end of League 1 and hold more than a few demons for their visitors, but to say they are a work in progress would be being quite kind to an ultimately weak display. It is also fair to say that they have significant injury problems at the back, which were exposed on a regular basis after the break.
Their initial, and predictable, early enthusiasm rather pushed Town on to the back foot, whose cause was not helped by constantly conceding free kicks for niggly, often unnecessary, infringements, easily spotted by an unfairly maligned referee.
The majority of promising openings in the first half hour fell to the home side though Nicholls, a commanding figure throughout, was barely troubled by the resultant attempts on goal.
The seeds of Posh’s destruction were evident, however, even during their most productive period, as Town constantly undermined their attempts to play out from the back with an effective, if too often illegal, press.
With a makeshift, youthful, back four, the strategy looked fraught with danger from early on and, commendable as it was to stick to their identity, it increasingly stifled the hosts’ threat on the counter. When they did go more direct, they looked a little more threatening.
But goals change games and Town’s opener, a little against the run of play, signalled a massive power shift.
Evans, the most impressive Terrier across the piece, latched on to an excellent pull back from Wiles and though a deflection added a slice of luck to the opener, he hit it cleanly and purposefully and profited from finding the space in the first place.
Posh never really recovered from the blow while Town grew in stature and landed a second blow just before half time to demoralise their opponent even further.
A corner found its way to Koroma who wriggled around to create a shooting opportunity only for it to be blocked before falling very nicely for Wiles to drill home emphatically.
Flattering as the scoreline was at half time, the 15 minutes of dominance all over the pitch after the half hour mark was very encouraging, as was the shape and substance of a midfield, in stark contrast to last season’s mess.
Miller and Sorensen offered width which was a little under utilised, while Evans and the resurgent Wiles provided guile in front of Hogg’s energetic (if too often misplaced) graft.
With a throttle hold on the contest, Town dominated after the break with an aggressive and hugely effective press forcing Peterborough in to error after error, and other than a brief scare when Spencer conceded possession carelessly which led to a half chance, the home side were entirely subdued.
Town chances didn’t particularly flow from their superiority, but Helik looked a little unfortunate to have a third ruled out for offside, possibly against a colleague and substitute Ward eschewed at least 2 opportunities to shoot when put through late on.
Healey and Koroma worked hard up front without seeing many opportunities, but strengthening forward options, as evidenced by the loan move late last week and continuing interest in Luton’s Joe Taylor suggests, is essential if a realistic promotion challenge is to be maintained.
A lack of pace at the back, very nearly exploited on occasion by a generally becalmed opposition, also needs to be resolved but, for the moment, it is enough to enjoy an ultimately comfortable away win after the deluge of misery the past few seasons have delivered.
Kane’s late cameo in place of Evans was a welcome reminder of the depth of midfield options now available to Duff, who should also have been impressed with Kasumu’s short deputisation of Hogg, who will surely be used more sparingly in this campaign. His experience was worth utilising here as the team finds its competitive legs, but progress will be evident when it isn’t needed at all.
When I was a boy, reading The Examiner, a broadsheet at the time, was a sumptuous pleasure, before I knew what sumptuous meant.
The type print, the sober and serious stories, the import of local news which weaved like an invisible thread through a community with it’s liberal tone and innate decency which endowed an unassailable authority on an institution we took for granted for so long.
Selling in it’s tens of thousands, from a plethora of local newsagents throughout the town and the myriad villages up hill and down dale, stretching across housing estates, work places and rural areas, the local paper’s power, carried with a natural responsibility, was palpable and, seemingly, eternal.
Reporters and columnists became known and respected through carrying on traditions rooted in civic pride, a sense of duty and the certainty of righteousness.
Central to the ethos of The Examiner was coverage of sport.
Town and Fartown were covered extensively and respectfully, of course, but if you played in goals for your school and played well despite conceding 9 goals, someone told the local paper about it and your name was put up in lights.
The District, Works and Sunday football leagues were assiduously recorded and elevated.
Local cricket was reported upon comprehensively, accurately and with no little reverence.
Bowls, squash, tennis, rugby union and all other forms of sporting endeavour were recorded and, more importantly, celebrated.
Day in, day out and week in, week out, The Examiner accumulated history, recording the triumphs, failures, tribulations of a Yorkshire town with diligence and compassion and was a huge part of each member of the extensive community’s lives, whether we embraced it or not.
The final ever Huddersfield Town report by a dedicated reporter will be filed in response to the club’s well earned victory at the Stadium of Light, Sunderland, and the tragedy of that fact will only be fully realised in the years to come.
Steve Chicken’s far too short tenure in the footsteps of Alan “Longfellow” Driscoll, Martin Hardy, Paul Clark, Mel Booth, Doug Thompson and others did, at least, end with a victory, but the melancholy will linger hard for those of us whose lives encompassed Examiner coverage of Huddersfield Town over decades.
The loss was, perhaps, inevitable in a world where information is cheap, but that loss will reverberate in ways not immediately apparent.
The resource; wide, deep and, above all, trustworthy, is disappearing fast as the conglomerate which owns local newspaper legacies displays little interest in maintaining investment in the assets which create a continuous, compelling witness to the events which shape our lives, including the fortunes of our local football club.
It is too easy to lapse in to nostalgia, and there is much to be nostalgic about, but every citizen of Huddersfield should feel sorrow at the emaciation of a hugely important institution and find ways of supporting those people trying to keep the spirit of local news alive.
Huddersfield Hub (https://huddersfieldhub.co.uk) are very worthy of support, and from a Town perspective, Steven Chicken, with colleague David Hartrick, is now taking the Huddersfield Town torch independent with a Substack venture. Go to https://weareterriers.substack.com and subscribe.
The service, including their excellent and well established podcast plus Town articles is a snip at £5 per month. Recording the history of Huddersfield Town is massively important and a fiver per month a very small price to pay for its continuance.
A significant community asset was extinguished this week and should be rightly mourned.
For me, a love of words, Huddersfield and Huddersfield Town grew out of reading Driscoll, Hardy, Booth and the rest in the pages of t’Examiner, every day of the week bar Sunday.
In case you’ve been wondering where the Town match reports have gone, and I can tell you that at least 3 people have made this enquiry (though 2 of them just asked without suggesting they were missed), they are the victim of Carlos Corberán’s squad’s relentless winning.
It’s not that I don’t like Town triumphs, it’s just that it has become monotonous and I find the style of play disconcertingly bloodless despite the occasional burst of excitement.
In the context of following a football team, this is an extremely first world problem and almost entirely assuaged by the phenomenal points total achieved. I just stopped wanting to write about it and will wait until we revert to being mediocre again (where all the nuggets lay).
However, I am moved to put down thoughts on the upcoming play off final; the culmination of a remarkable season which was supposed to be about anchoring ourselves to mid table and away from any drama.
A slow, Covid impacted start – not helped by having to face Fulham with a threadbare team and a keeper with a reverse Midas touch – culminated in a win against an equally dire Preston without having a shot on target.
The bad news pretty much ended there. A low cost, highly motivated and together group of players gradually won over a support ground down by the unabated drudgery of defeat and failure. 2020/2021, a season followed over laptops and tablets, was the final straw for many but most of those who resolved to stay away are probably, and happily, back in the fold now.
As ever with Huddersfield Town, the greatest success comes with barely a price tag and the ingenuity of Bromby and his recruitment team has paid off in spades, burying the understandable scepticism of most as one uninspiring signing after another trudged through the doors. How wrong we were.
Inevitably, a low cost squad lacked the free flowing flair of the top 2 in the division. Probably some of the bottom 6 too, but dips in results were few and far between all the way through and often predicated on matches falling too soon after travel.
The two league defeats in 2022 – more on the cup defeat later – fitted this pattern with a confidence shattering draw at West Brom preceding an entirely flat performance in South London and the traditional battering by Bournemouth. Then I returned from the States and there have been no defeats for me not to report upon, and just one draw.
Despatching Luton in the play off semi-final with less than convincing displays nevertheless broke the spell of never recording a home play off win without penalties. It has been a major feature of the season to break several voodoos, including a win at Middlesbrough which pretty much confirmed an extension to the season.
And so, to Forest. Excitable, hugely enthusiastic and desperate Forest.
Back in the early Spring, Town drew the Tricky Trees in the 5th round of the FA Cup. A rather mundane tie between 2 clubs from the same division, both with more pressing concerns than a competition they wouldn’t win. Then the 6th round draw was made, before the tie, and the East Midlanders’ unbridled joy at the prospect of a home game against Liverpool rather drowned out Town fans’ mild stirrings.
This outbreak of Tiggerish excitement was explained by the fact that Forest hadn’t played Liverpool for around 40 years and the collective memories of Clough inspired glory days were triggered to slightly uncomfortable levels. This is not to disparage the emotions – Town fans of a certain age will remember being drawn against a Gaza and Lineker inspired Spurs side in the 90s before losing to Blackpool in a rearranged tie. The disappointment was not only palpable, it is still remembered.
Town’s commitment to the game at a ground where they had rather robbed 3 points a few months previously seemed less than convincing and a fairly weak team was quite easily beaten despite taking the lead. The disappointment was fleeting and rather subsumed by astonishment at the endearing but vaguely odd celebrations of Forest fans.
Playing celebration police is never a good look and we have endured such crap before, but it was a little weird to see a famous and undoubtedly big club prostrate itself at the feet of the Premier League giants and compound it by desperately searching for evidence that the Scousers cared that it had been so long.
The build up to Wembley is taking a similar shape. It matters enormously to Forest that they are promoted to a league they have been away from for so long and, again, this is understandable. It is, however, nearly a quarter of a century since they disappeared from the top table and despite the delusions of some of their fan base, there hasn’t been a massive clamour for their return.
Premier League clubs care about just one thing. Themselves. Most of them look at promoted clubs as likely fodder who will keep them afloat and away from relegation. They couldn’t give a toss about the City Ground’s capacity, history or atmosphere and once the first few months of unending patronisation is over, neither will anyone else.
Forest’s own play off semi final rather betrayed what could well be their Achilles’ Heel. An excellent hour at Bramall Lane saw them dominate and run roughshod over an injury hit Sheffield United, who wouldn’t have been able to complain if they had been 4 down, but they weren’t and a late goal pulled the tie back from a Forest formality to competitive.
At home, the expectations of their swelled support overheated the team and despite Forest grabbing a lead, they were second best for long periods as the weight of expectations bore down. A fortunate save by the excellent Samba near the end kept Forest in the game and Sheffield United crumbled in the penalty shoot out as badly as they did 10 years ago.
Man for man and £ for very little £, Nottingham Forest have better players than Huddersfield Town and this was evident in both league encounters.
In the first one in West Yorkshire, the stifling presence of Houghton had been banished and the visitors were entirely convincing 2-0 winners and collected their first 3 points of the season under a caretaker manager.
It was a different story at the City Ground. As with a fair number of games this season, Town fans left at the end wondering how a win had been achieved and they particularly rode their luck on this occasion. However, one of the most difficult away games had been successfully negotiated and Town’s unbeaten streak of 17 was well underway.
At Wembley, Town fans can’t really lose. A defeat will be disappointing, of course, but a season where their presumed doomed team finished 3rd and reached a play off final is nothing less than an outstanding success. And we know what is in store for the winners.
For Forest, it is difficult not to sense that they are putting themselves under enormous pressure with their untrammelled belief in their destiny and they will not be helped by a media who very much like the look of Forest’s history and desperation for Premier League football.
Next Sunday will rest on a few factors; the quite fascinating clash of 2 of the best coaches in the game (not just the Championship), Forest’s attacking intent from the start and how Town cope with that, how Forest react to frustration if they can’t get past a stingy Town defence and at what point the favourites begin to tire as they are want to do.
Most of all, however, will be how Forest cope with all the self inflicted pressure. If they don’t let the occasion overwhelm them, they are the more likely to win but it is just as likely that Town’s stifling and pragmatic style can pile on the pressure and create the few openings they need to win.
For many Town fans, defeat will be met with stoic disappointment. Memories of the sheer ruthlessness of a brutal league rather tempers the excitement this time around and it just isn’t convincing that inevitable and grinding defeats will be accepted on the altar of earning lots of money.
Regardless of the consequences of winning, however, win we must.
The stakes are much higher for Forest and you rather fear for them if they fail. They are reliant on a few too many loans, the obvious talent of some they do own will be gone and the estimable Cooper will have something of a rebuild to do. Winning will resolve these issues but the other problems begin.
For both sets of fans – enjoy it and remember it’s only a game.
Scoreless draws take a few forms. The one in Lancashire midweek was a poor example of the genre, while yesterday’s Yorkshire derby was a stalemate at it’s best.
This was despite only one save of note being made by the keepers and genuine chances being at a premium; it was the spectacle of two pretty decent teams going toe to toe for a win which created an edge of the seat drama right through to injury time.
With both teams in form – though the much nicer Sheffield club’s rise up the table has been built on wins while Town’s admirable unbeaten run has relied on resilience and draws – a tight contest was expected, in which the visitors began as favourites.
Carlos Corberán sprung some selection surprises with the inclusion of Russell in midfield and Ruffles at left back in place of Toffolo. The former had thrilled and intrigued supporters in the cup against Barnsley, though some remained sceptical about his pace and ability to compete against the better midfields in this division, while Ruffles’ elevation over a pretty subdued incumbent has possibly been too long coming.
Russell, whose languid style is at once thrilling and alarming, produced a first class, if not flawless, Championship debut and would have celebrated his arrival with a goal but for the incompetence of officials who incorrectly interpreted a tussle in the 6 yard box which should’ve been a penalty, not the cause of disallowing Russell’s excellent header.
Not long afterwards, United appeared to illegally prevent Russell meeting another corner.
The referee, who had a very poor first half with both the big decisions and the more mundane ones, which included leaving unpunished a ridiculous number of niggly and cynical fouls by the Blades in the opening 15 minutes, managed to balance out the generous calls Town have had over the past few weeks.
It was unfortunate for Berge to collect the booking his team deserved, but the overdue caution settled things down and the game was all the better for it.
An excellent start by the hosts yielded too little threat with a tame Ward header from a difficult angle and a wild shot from Pipa being the meagre return for some otherwise enterprising play.
Once the Blades stopped infringing and started playing, their quality began to emerge and a dominant 10 minutes rather unsettled Town who found it difficult to gain possession and gave it away cheaply when they did. However, and like their hosts, United were unable to turn superiority in to genuine chances.
The pendulum swung back in Town’s favour once they got to grips with United’s surge and it was noticeable that this followed O’Brien giving Russell some forceful positioning advice as the debutant’s defensive inexperience had been a little exposed.
Getting back on the front foot, Town put together some decent combinations to create some shooting opportunities for Ward but the top scorer failed to connect with one effort and hit the other tamely wide.
Down the left, Ruffels was having an excellent Championship full debut, attacking with energy and defending well against Sheffield’s dangerous right side. Sadly, his left side partner, Koroma, was not up to speed and wasted good attacks with poor choices; a failure which was to recur badly in the second half.
It was Ruffels who won the corner from which Russell scored the disallowed effort. An excellent Thomas delivery was superbly met by the soaring debutant only for the nonsense on the line – Baldock wrestled Ward to the ground and Fotheringham fell over him – to be misinterpreted by the referee, linesman or fourth official (or a combination of the 3). The referee was clearly happy with the goal and allowed celebrations to go on longer than it usually takes to dawn.
Doubly annoying as it was, a goal for Russell would have capped a very good first half, Town haven’t much room to complain about referee decisions recently, though this looked entirely like a cop out for officials unsure what had happened on the line.
To their credit, Town didn’t collectively sulk and finished the half strongly with intent and a flurry of corners. They had been the better side and more than unfortunate to be going in level.
The second half proved to be much more even as the Blades’ quality came more to the fore. Berge, in particular, saw more of the ball though perhaps more could be expected of a clearly talented player than neat, tidy and very safe passing.
It was Town, however, who should have made much more of an excellent break with United found short at the back. No fewer than 3 players gave Koroma options to left and right only for the out of form winger to lose the ball to an outnumbered defender.
A rare poor ball from Hogg, who is looking far more like the influence he is in the past two games, saw Russell robbed midway in his own half which allowed United to break. A rare opportunity for McBurnie saw him loop a header towards goal, but the attempt was comfortably gathered by Nicholls, who also saved a reasonable Berge effort minutes later.
For Town, Pipa and Thomas were combining well down the right to cause the visitors’ problems but the openings were always thwarted by good defending. The combination, however, augurs well for the final run in.
Koroma was finally, and mercifully, replaced by Holmes just after the hour and the Anglo-American made a big difference with a performance brimming with energy and intent, in stark contrast to his midweek efforts.
The awkward McBurnie’s elbow found the face of his captor, Matt Pearson. Town’s central defenders, augmented out of possession by Hogg, were excellent throughout and Sharp was similarly subdued by Lees with an off target shot his only contribution of note.
By this point, Russell’s vision and range of passing came to the fore. He regularly released his colleagues down right and left with perfectly weighted balls, some of which were things of beauty.
As the last 10 loomed, Corberán tried to make changes to win the game and replaced the excellent Ruffles with Sinani, but the adjacent decision to move O’Brien to left back, which had unwelcome echoes of last season’s campaign, took a while to be exposed and Toffolo, rather than the original choice of Rhodes, was chosen to replace Ward and get O’Brien back in midfield.
The confusion very nearly became a catastrophe when Toffolo made a complete hash of a routine clearance and presented the Blades with an opportunity they rather wasted.
Another penalty shout, this time from Pipa who went down under a double challenge, looked optimistic in real time but pretty conclusive on replay. At the other end, Pipa gave away a needless corner which nearly resulted in a late winner for the South Yorkshire men.
A practised routine found Fleck unmarked just outside the box and the Scotsman caught the ball very sweetly. Nicholls saw it through a crowd of players and finger tipped it on to the post and then off his leg for a corner. A wonderful save from possibly the player of the season so far. It preserved his 14th clean sheet, and it is testament to his abilities that those are all founded on his mastery of the basic goalkeeping skills which he carries out with supreme simplicity. Throughout this derby, his confident, calm collection of crosses, headers and any other threats was massively influential.
A Russell header, easily saved by Fotheringham was Town’s last attempt for a winner and an absorbing, entertaining encounter came to a close.
Both clubs remain in contention for a play off position and, from a Town perspective, it was gratifying to equal a very good Blades outfit. The return of Colwill, the intriguing arrival of Anjorin and the emergence of competition in midfield and at left back could prove crucial in the imminent run in.
Maybe this squad can avoid ritual humiliation at Craven Cottage next week or even better. After all, they have got to 50 points before Valentine’s Day and secured Championship status far earlier than many, or any, of us believed in August.
A desperately poor game at Deepdale, venue of Huddersfield Town disappointment since 1969, saw the Terriers’ unbeaten run maintained but did nothing to enhance their play off credentials.
While a rare point in this corner of Lancashire was welcome and the defensive display admirable, the complete lack of threat to the Lilywhites throughout was disappointing for a team high in the table, and the final flurries of a game which had stalemate stamped all over it belonged to the home side who had a credible penalty shout in and amongst being thwarted by the excellent Nicholls.
Desperately poor performances by Sinani, who constantly made wrong decisions and lost possession on far too many occasions, and Holmes, for whom nothing went right on a frustrating evening, rather undermined Town’s efforts going forward and it was left far too late to replace one or both of them to try and create some change.
Ward’s hard work, touch and energy were entirely wasted through lack of support and his withdrawal in favour of Rhodes was a huge signal from Corberán that the point was to be preserved, rather than trying to win the game by putting two up front.
Rhodes is not an effective lone striker, which must be known to Town’s management, and losing Ward’s unselfish endeavour simply handed the initiative to Preston and the visitors ended up fortunate to gain a point which had looked reasonably comfortable until the last 10 minutes.
As an attacking force, Town were virtually non existent. Thomas managed a couple of runs and crosses but there were too few colleagues in the box as conservatism pervaded the team. While Sinani and Holmes’s ineffectiveness was key to a poor offensive performance, O’Brien’s surging was largely snuffed out too.
The attack and defence seemed unbalanced all evening, and cohesion suffered accordingly. To gain a point when playing poorly, because several defensive players came out of the game very positively, is not to be sniffed at but the spectacle did nothing to dispel the feeling that Town are a little, and possibly more, short of play off quality.
The return of Colwill after the weekend and the imminent arrival of his Chelsea colleague on loan may well change the dynamic and will certainly give Corberán better options for the final run in. The current squad battles on, and while the Deepdale showing was pretty dire, they are maintaining momentum.
Sheffield United present a stiff lunchtime test on Saturday, and Town can suffer with early kick offs following a midweek Wednesday game, and a big offensive improvement will be needed.
The football gods have heaped more than a fair share of good fortune on Town this season, which continued in midweek as Wayne Rooney’s Derby County came looking for more points to aid their unlikely survival bid.
If you hold your nose against the stench of over spending cheating going back to Frank Lampard’s Derby County and beyond, there is something rather heroic in their efforts to claw back the penalties imposed upon them and their support is clearly rallying around the flag in times of adversity. The visiting support was particularly vociferous all evening.
Town’s good fortune continued as a reckless challenge on O’Brien by his erstwhile colleague Stearman, following an excellent early press which forced a big error, had the referee producing a fairly straightforward red card. It was just as reckless, and probably more so, as Koroma’s on Friday night but this time the referee was competent.
It has been a regular feature down the years that Town are often comically inept when facing 10 men, though they did take advantage when Blackpool were reduced a few weeks ago; even so, Stearman’s departure was not quite the gift outsiders would assume.
Naturally, the Rams were limited by the decision and what promised to be an open and exciting game became a frustrating and attritional affair with the visitors, not unnaturally, digging in for a point and Town struggling to make their numerical supremacy count for long periods.
The initial euphoria of seeing an opposition player dismissed usually wanes fairly quickly as it dawns that the advantage is more marginal than assumed and frustration, on and off the pitch, follows on behind. Town didn’t deserve the boos of a small amount of supporters, but their attempts to pick their way through a deep defensive wall were not particularly inspiring and creating good chances proved difficult.
Not that the home side lacked energy and, if anything, it was over elaboration which saw them falter as they sighted goal. One intricate move involving Sinani, Toffolo and O’Brien opened up the visitors at last only for Holmes’ effort from a fairly tight angle to be well saved by Allsop (a dead ball was mistakenly awarded).
Overall, though, Town were restricted to half chances and thwarted by a very good defensive performance by the visitors.
Unsurprisingly, Corberán’s half time change saw Pearson replaced by Eiting who finally saw a peopled stadium as his second Town career begins. With Hogg moving to defence, Corberán was signalling good intent, but Eiting’s stumbling introduction to the game with 3 consecutive poor passes failed to provide the desired momentum.
In fact, the first chance of note fell to Derby and Town only escaped considerable embarrassment because Sibley just failed to bring the ball under control when he was heading for a one on one with Nicholls.
The scare did prompt a reaction from Town, though they still failed to threaten as the final 20 minutes approached. They should have been further aided by another sending off when Ebosele, who impressively snuffed out Thomas’s threat pretty much entirely, fouled O’Brien to stop a break having already been booked for kicking the ball away.
Rather belatedly, after nearly half an hour of insignificant threat from the home side, Corberán replaced Hogg with Rhodes and gave the Rams something different to think about. By this point, Pipa had revitalised the right flank having replaced the dependable Turton and he helped Thomas find more space with his surging runs.
On the three quarter mark, good fortune shone on the hosts again as a move involving simple passing by Sinani, O’Brien and Eiting found Holmes on the edge of the box. At the point of taking the shot, Bielik threw himself at the ball which diverted it in a loop over the beaten keeper.
The relief of the home contingent contrasted sharply with Derby’s despair as they saw all their hard work undone by a deflection. Cruel.
With nothing to lose, the visitors pushed forward and were always vulnerable to the counter, with their defensive shape necessarily abandoned and, sure enough, an incisive Town attack freed Ward to shoot at Allsop who parried in to the path of Rhodes to register his first goal of the season and his 74th for the club.
Rhodes could have added a third late on but inexplicably got his legs tangled up and the chance was gone.
So another 3 points gained, the unbeaten run extended and a strengthened squad with 2 Chelsea loanees to be added over the next few weeks. It wasn’t particularly pretty, often frustrating and far from straightforward against a valiant opponent but Town maintain their challenge with momentum and promise.
An excellent transfer window gives Town a very good platform for the rest of the season; carpe diem.
Despite being the beneficial recipient of two outrageously poor refereeing decisions in a first half they largely dominated and deservedly won, Town yet again paid the price for a hopelessly supine 2nd half allowing Stoke, who outplayed their hosts comprehensively, to equalise late on.
The first decision in Town’s favour was to leave a high, dangerous though probably not malicious tackle by Koroma completely unpunished. No red, and the no yellow and no free kick. Within 5 minutes, Koroma celebrated his remarkable reprieve with an opening goal which Town deserved after harassing the Potters for long periods.
Just after the goal, Stoke had a huge appeal for a penalty as Lees took out Campbell in the box and it was difficult to imagine a more straightforward decision for the referee to make. Paradoxically, a Stoke equaliser at that point may have aided Town by preventing the nonsensical retreat back to the penalty area which occurred in the second half.
Bright and full of intent, Town nearly took the lead early on as Koroma easily outstripped Stoke’s right back for pace before finding Ward at the near post who flashed a decent glancing header just over the bar.
With O’Brien dominating midfield and regularly surging forward, Town dominated from the off though actual chances on goal were rare and pretty tame. It took Stoke a long time to get in to the game but Pearson, who had a rare off night, made an error on the byline which allowed Fletcher to gain possession and a few seconds later Nicholls was having to make a smart, instinctive save.
Pearson himself was sold short by Hogg on the halfway line and a breakaway could have resulted in an equaliser but Lees did well to slow the pace of the attack and Nicholls was equal to the eventual shot.
Town finished the half strongly but, again, the quality of opportunities was poor and a second goal rarely looked like coming.
Stoke brought on Joe Allan after the break and when Powell replaced the injured Vrancic on the hour, their superior bench turned the tide of the game.
A quiet first 15 minutes saw Town slowly adopt the defensive mindset to cling on to a single goal lead until it became entrenched. Just as surely, they retreated as a unit and left the stage entirely free for the talented, if injury prone, Powell to dictate the tempo at will.
It would be churlish not to acknowledge that the strategy has collected points both home and away, but it is neither edifying nor enjoyable to watch and in 3 of the last 4 home games, unsuccessful.
Town’s cause was not helped by some fading legs. Sinani, Ward and Koroma, who had led the highly effective pressing in the first half seemed to lack energy and O’Brien’s probing ceased. Hogg, who was physically ill on the pitch during the second half, played far too deep and Pearson didn’t recover from a poor first half and gave a rare duff showing at centre back.
Stoke didn’t create a great deal for all their dominance but the pressure was increasingly intense and inexorable. Nicholls made a few routine saves and Pearson continued to make poor decisions on the ball and it seemed obvious that Town needed to make a change to their shape and personnel.
Although Corberán’s options were not particularly numerous, and a struggling Ward needed to be replaced, the like for like moves he made were unimaginative and simply didn’t move the dynamic. Rhodes is simply incapable of playing the role Ward has made his own; not just now, in his 30s, but in his entire career. Had he been brought on to play in a two, with someone pushed further forward, this may have worked but, as it was, the substitution was a waste.
Holmes for the anonymous Sinani was more acceptable and the American nearly scored a vital second following excellent work by the criminally under utilised Thomas but couldn’t adjust his body to take full advantage of the headed chance.
At the other end, Pearson finally made an error which was fully punished, trying a short pass out of an area flooded with Stoke players instead of aiming for the proverbial row Z. Baker smashed his shot against the post with Nicholls beaten, O’Brien made a fantastic block to prevent Campbell scoring but Brown, on for Fletcher, hit an unstoppable drive in to the top corner for a deserved leveller.
Rather irritatingly, Town stepped up a gear after the setback but a comfortably saved effort from High was the only notable attempt and another home draw was played out over 7 minutes injury time.
Perhaps the switch to a back 4 has unsettled Town’s defence with neither Pearson or Lees as comfortable as they have been though it should be noted that Turton, at right back, was probably Town’s man of the match. With Stoke playing a lone striker in Fletcher, perhaps utilising Sarr as the central man of 3 would have been more sensible. But definitely not on the left!
Corberán insists that the steady retreats backwards when in front is not planned and arises as players tire, passes go astray and the opposition encouraged, but he needs a solution to the issue.
Still, unbeaten run continues even if it has a Lee Clark feel about it.
Town’s unbeaten run stretched out to 9 after a chaotically entertaining encounter with troubled Reading with another double chalked up largely through Danny Ward’s first hat trick since 2014, which he registered for Town at Watford in a dead rubber. That was also Town’s last hat trick in the League by any player, but this one was far more valuable than the one at Vicarage Road.
Still without Holmes and Colwill, Town’s trip to Berkshire was considerably more tricky than assumed by too many against a Reading side admittedly in indifferent form but who had players returning from injury, including regular Town nemesis Joao, and from the AFCON tournament. They only succumbed to defeat in the final minutes at Middlesbrough last time out and in their last home game, they should’ve seen out a routine win against Derby but imploded late on. Not that the Royals looked much of a threat in the first five minutes as Town hit their straps early and flew at their hosts in a terrific opening spell which forced a couple of promising situations only to be thwarted by timely blocks.
Unfortunately, the flaw in Corberán’s bold strategy to get on the front foot and have two marauding full backs but only two central defenders was immediately exposed in Reading’s first venture in to the visitors’ half.
With players isolated and out of position, neither Hogg nor Pearson could affect any influence on the momentum of the attack and wide spaces opened up leaving Lees wholly exposed. Toffolo’s whereabouts can only be speculated upon though he did make a very late appearance in the box as Joao tucked away the simple opportunity for a 1-0 lead.
Town responded with a devastating spell of attacking football with Pipa surging down the right, excellent centre forward play by Ward and intelligent support from Sinani who injected creativity in to an impressive period which turned the game on it’s head.
Sinani was found by Pipa after the Spaniard drove at the Reading defence and the Luxembourger, who had already tried his luck on a couple of occasions, took a couple of steps inside before hitting a defender’s chest which took the ball past the flat footed keeper.
If there was an element of fortune about the equaliser, it needs to be set in the context of Town’s total domination of possession and territory. Reading’s opener felt like a minor setback, particularly with our recent history of games turning sour on the scorer of the first goal, and the Berkshire outfit looked extremely vulnerable at the back.
Town took the lead after 15 minutes with a decent run by Koroma down the left being poorly dealt with in the box allowing Thomas to shoot against a defender and then shoot again only for the ball to fall in to Ward’s path, who instinctively turned it past Southwood.
It was no less than Town deserved and their ambition wasn’t diminished by taking the lead with Reading still only creating sporadic and relatively tame threat, despite having a goal ruled out for offside, but Koroma, who had a poor game overall, carelessly lost possession, and less than a minute later Town conceded an equaliser.
For the near 1,000 visiting supporters, the concession was disturbing and annoying. Corberán’s teams had shown tremendous guts at the City Ground and Ewood Park to earn deserved clean sheets and now the discipline, shape and resilience had somehow been replaced by a rabble without a cause.
In a near carbon copy of their first goal, Reading moved the ball quickly and simply through the spaces an over committed opponent laid out for them and Puskas slotted home with little resistance.
Within minutes, Town regained the lead. Thomas was pulled back near the touchline and delivered a teasing ball from the free kick but one which was easy for a keeper to take, and Southwood duly did. Unfortunately for the custodian, as he fell to the floor he let go of the ball which fell to Ward who buried it past the myriad defenders in front of him.
By this point, Corberán had abandoned the back four, pushing Toffolo inside to form his usual 3 centre backs. Thomas switched to the left with Koroma on the right, though the latter’s display didn’t discernibly improve and he messed up a great opportunity to forge a two goal advantage which would have represented a chasm for a team struggling at the wrong end of the table with 6 punishment points to make up.
Instead, and with particular bad timing, Town conceded another equaliser when Morrison was allowed to attack a corner unchallenged, nay, unnoticed, and his header deflected in to even up the score on good fortune.
So came to an end a half of dreadful defending by both sides, 6 goals and the certainty that the second half would almost certainly not yield the same number of scores; indeed, a goalless second half could feasibly be expected.
As it happens, the game needed just one more goal to determine the destination of the 3 points and it was a strike which brought Danny Ward a hat trick and the match ball.
Toffolo had been fouled near the touch line after releasing the ball from about half way in his own half. The decision, made by a linesman pretty close to the action, brought more outraged howls from the scattered home support which spent much of the afternoon decrying a pretty competent referee, though they may have had a point that the free kick was taken from the wrong place.
Pearson lifted the ball forward and Ward won an excellent flick on which Koroma fought well for and either he, the defender or a combination of both managed to get it in to Ward’s path as the striker followed up his own aerial victory. His stride was perfect and he struck an unstoppable shot past the keeper with his weaker foot.
At this point, Ward deserves yet another eulogy. His poor season, when it really did feel that Town were trying to reheat a soufflé which wasn’t that great the first time around, can be forgotten now, with his contributions since late Autumn being exceptional.
Looking fitter than ever, Ward expends masses of energy leading the line, his ability to hold up the ball and, crucially, move it on with threat and precision is now a feature of his game rather than the frustration it once was and, of course, his scoring record is now very acceptable. A real asset and a major reason behind Town’s unlikely challenge for the play offs, which is looking less and less ludicrous as the weeks go by.
Reestablishing the lead before the hour mark, Town were significantly more conservative in their approach to defending it in this half and low blocked their hosts with relative ease in retrospect. Despite lots of possession, Reading simply weren’t good enough to break down a Town side which had closed the spaces so freely surrendered in the first half.
Nicholls, booked for time wasting yet again, had to scramble a bagatelle ball following a corner which could have fallen kindly for the home side but didn’t have a real save to make as Reading ran out of ideas and, as the game wore on, energy.
Sorba Thomas, slowly getting back to his best over the past few games, and playing with the naive enthusiasm so effective earlier in the season, had the best chance of the half after the goal but shot too near to the keeper when Ward was an option in the middle.
There were far too many errors in possession as Reading tried to increase the pressure as time slipped away, but the back line and Hogg held firm. O’Brien, who made some decent forays forward, was rather wasteful at times and was responsible for a couple of half breaks which Reading failed to exploit.
Rhodes replaced Ward, who looked to have taken a knock, and was very good running down the clock in 5 minutes of injury time and the whole team rather comfortably saw out the last quarter without a real scare to earn the 3 points.
Scoring 4 goals away from home should always mean winning, but the outcome was a little too close for comfort at times though the defensive organisation in the second half was much more like the Huddersfield Town we have come to know this season.
With a schedule much more straightforward than most, who will be crowbarring postponed fixtures in for some time to come, a squad with greater options than in recent seasons and a healthy points total in the bag, Town’s season continues to hold promise. Most will temper optimism with the lingering feeling that this group of players are over achieving, but we have seen that scenario before.
It is some consolation that despite being overwhelmingly outplayed in a disappointing 2nd half, Town’s unbeaten run continues as does their unlikely challenge for a play off place.
Swansea’s hunger for possession was known and predictable as were the recent failures they have suffered despite quite astonishingly high numbers in control of the ball and had the second 45 followed a similar pattern to the first half, Town would still be in the top 6.
Unfortunately, an enforced change of personnel at half time, with goal scorer Sinani being replaced by Scott High, seemed to unhinge the hosts’ dynamics and they were simply incapable of escaping the stranglehold Swansea created with a higher quality of possession than their first half efforts.
There was an air of possession for possession’s sake about the men from South Wales in that first 45 and most of it fizzled out on contact with Town’s solid back four. Nicholls had to make one very good save following an effort by Manning which was the result of a fortunate run of the ball rather than the conclusion of a 35 pass move from back to front.
Town’s patience and discipline allowed them to easily cope and despite their own forays forward being relatively limited, they looked far more likely to score than the visitors and duly did on 15 minutes.
It was just reward for an energetic start which pushed the visitors backwards and a high press which panicked them in to errors. O’Brien rushed his former colleague Hamer in to a wild clearance, and then brought an excellent save from him with an effort which looked destined for the top corner.
The subsequent corner was put in to the net by Koroma but he was offside after Pearson had won the aerial battle.
The Terriers’ superiority in the opening 15 minutes was rewarded with the lead when Pearson’s excellent ball forward to Ward was expertly taken by the striker and, in one movement, he released Koroma down the left and carried on to the penalty area to receive the ball back. Ward’s effort was blocked and Hamer denied O’Brien again with the follow up only for the ball to deflect to Sinani who couldn’t miss.
The reversal prompted an improvement in the Swans and the aforementioned Nicholls save was made soon after the goal, but the home team appeared very comfortable with defending the visitors rather rambling possession.
Soaking up the pressure, such as it was, with ease it was only a matter of time before the home side broke forward again and an excellent move just before the half hour should have seen a doubling of the lead and a completely different game would have ensued.
Ward was at the heart of the move again with a superb take and turn followed by an inch perfect ball to Thomas who fed the rampaging O’Brien in the box only for Hamer to thwart his former team mate with a remarkable save which was undoubtedly a turning point for his team’s fortunes.
An entertaining half with Town deservedly in the lead seemed to augur well for the hosts but Sinani’’s injury, and the absence of Holmes to provide a like for like solution, derailed the team to such an extent that escaping with a point became cause for relief.
For their part, Swansea became far more potent in possession and, since they had the ball almost uninterrupted, it was always likely that Town’s increasingly desperate resilience would break.
The visitors’ intensity also improved substantially with their assaults on Town’s defence having far greater purpose than their efforts before the break. Town had no answers to their opponents’ movement and precise passing to the consternation of a large crowd enticed by the offer to watch for a fiver.
That Town lasted until the final quarter was far more to do with the heroics of Nicholls, who had to make many saves and interventions, and the rugged determination of Pearson who blocked and tackled throughout to pull his colleagues out of self inflicted trouble.
Poor Scott High, who was sent on to do a role which looked like duplication, suffered a torrid half which included giving the ball away twice in ludicrously dangerous areas, one of which led indirectly, but indisputably, to Swansea’s deserved and overdue equaliser.
Town were simply unable to escape out of their own half. Ward, excellent in the first half, was isolated and superfluous, the midfield chased shadows as their superior opposition passed them in to oblivion and having been starved of the ball for such long periods, brief moments of possession seemed to come as a surprise to too many and given away with startled regularity.
As he admitted post match, Corberán made the wrong call at half time but there was more than a hint of too much hindsight and insufficient action taken to rectify the error. Hogg, who will need time to get fully back up to speed, should’ve been replaced for a more progressive option. On at least 3 occasions, the returning skipper halted rare moments of promise with a backwards pass.
Not that he was alone. Only O’Brien, with some scintillating breaks, played with bravery and risk. The introduction of Pipa produced better things on the right at times, though it moved Thomas over to the left in place of the disappointing Koroma and minutes after the switch, the Welsh international missed a tackle which allowed his opponent to feed Downes for an excellent finish to equalise.
Corberán then went two up front after the equaliser but not before Swansea nearly took the lead with an effort which Nicholls did well to keep out. Rhodes arrival, for the last 5 minutes and injury time did result in some long overdue pressure from the home side and they proceeded to ask decent questions of Swansea’s under worked keeper and defence.
Hamer produced yet another save to deny O’Brien, who must have been heartily sick of him, and the final flourish in search of an unlikely and undeserved winner did, at last, provide some entertainment for a restless home crowd.
The final act, however, saw Swansea come close to taking the 3 points which few would have begrudged as Pirhoe headed just wide with Nicholls scrambling.
One point closer to survival and likely safe before the Spring is not to be sniffed at, but it wasn’t a day upon which that Corberán will look back fondly. Far too late in reacting to a game in which his team were barely competing, hopefully it is a lesson learned.
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