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Fearless Town swept aside a distinctly moderate Brighton side who were harassed in to oblivion and pointlessness as the hosts once again harnessed the energy coming from the stands to record a vital win in their quest for survival.

With four consecutive defeats behind them, the Terriers had to seize this opportunity – they couldn’t allow rot to set in, the opposition was reasonably modest and home comforts a significant advantage. It should be said that the preceding defeats need some context – they included one set in train by an incompetent referee, a brave home display against a formidable opponent, a far from unexpected defeat at the Emirates and an admittedly poor display against Everton. The sequence was disappointing but hardly season defining.

The absence of Knockaert, for disciplinary reasons, was a boost before the game – the Frenchman has the talent to win games – and few in the home camp would have been disappointed to see Solly March and Izqueirdo on the bench as Chris Houghton signalled a conservative approach to the contest.

With Palmer failing to make Town’s match day squad and Van La Parra serving the final game of his suspension, however, the home side were relying on the idiosyncratic Quaner and the so far less than impressive Kachunga to provide the spark for ever elusive goals, which demanded a little optimistic imagination.

On a bitterly cold, grey day with occasional snow flurries, Town’s identity came roaring back. The hesitation and trepidation of much of November was banished as the home side, finally, attacked their challenge on the front foot with intensity and energy nullifying the opposition so comprehensively that they not only failed to register a worthwhile attempt, they rarely got near the last third; when they did, Murray – who spent the game complaining to the excellent referee – was invariably offside.

The incessant and highly effective pressing, the key feature of Town’s success under Wagner, can mitigate against quality of play by forcing long balls, misplaced passing and poor judgement, but it was a delight and a relief to witness Mooy’s mojo returning as the Australian maestro controlled the tempo on the back of the tireless work of his team mates.

Without the quality to resist the pressure and turn it back on their hosts, Brighton looked vulnerable from the start and Mounié forced a decent save from Ryan with an effort from outside the area to signal the start of a devastating period for the visitors.

With Smith and Kachunga finally gelling on the right in the Premier League as they had in the Championship, the home side were turning the screw very early and the dominance of possession was building the type of foundation for a win we have seen so many times before and the prerequisite of an opening goal was not long in arriving.

From a Löwe corner, Schindler – or, to give him his full name, the awesome Schindler – made his now trademark run to the near post and flicked it on. In a change to the normal routine, the ball found an unmarked Mounié on the back stick rather than forcing an own goal and the French striker became Town’s top scorer by allowing the ball to hit his thigh.

With the all important lead, Town strangled the Seagulls without creating much further threat but with Hogg, who was everywhere, and Mooy controlling midfield the home side were seeing out the half with increasing comfort.

Izzy Brown, who received a warm welcome on his return, was largely anonymous in his role on the left and found it hard to escape the attentions of the Smith/Kachunga combination – his threat would surely have been more potent from the middle of the park but as it was he looked unhappy and ineffective.

Just before half time of a game with a Championship feel, Town had Ryan to thank for a second goal which pretty much secured the points. The Aussie custodian misjudged a Mounié header – the returning front man generated as much power as he could after Zanka had headed the ball back in to a dangerous area, but Ryan’s misjudgement was a poor effort.

Despite the gift, few could argue that Town were not good value for their lead. Feeding off the apparently limitless enthusiasm of the home crowd – even the disappointments of the last few weeks have failed to dim them – the Terriers sensed the opportunity in front of them, believed in themselves and nullified Brighton’s threat almost entirely.

It hadn’t been particularly pretty, but they had gone back to basics and delighted the crowd with their commitment and passion. They were rewarded with two goals, dominance and the prospect of a comfortable second half. This needs to be translated away from home, but the freezing stands had warmed to the effervescence.

It is no exaggeration to suggest that the final margin of victory could and should have been much greater. If the first half had been characterised by effort and destruction, the second added much more quality to the mix.

By not succumbing to a drop in performance at the start of the second half which has blighted them in a couple of recent games, confidence grew. Hogg and Mooy continued to dominate – the former with incessant tackling, intelligent interceptions and excellent passing to get the team going forwards and the latter with his sublime vision and range.

Out wide, the Smith/Kachunga partnership blossomed and flourished creating constant danger for the south coast team while Quaner produced probably his best performance in a Town shirt on the left. Mounié’s hold up play and linking is a little more subtle than Depoitre’s, but his much improved performance augurs well – adding 2 goals to his total after his injury will hopefully increase his confidence.

At the back, Zanka and Schindler had a straightforward day but did everything with consummate control and effortless efficiency. It shouldn’t be overlooked that 4 of our 5 clean sheets have been achieved with yesterday’s back four – Löwe was excellent too.

Which brings us on to Tom Ince. And scoring goals.

Tom’s commitment to the cause, ability and value to the team are pretty unquestionable – a couple of misplaced passes and a period of relative anonymity in the first half aside, his performance was good, approaching very good, particularly in the second half when all of his chances presented themselves.

He was a little unlucky when he connected with an excellent first time ball from Smith which hit Ryan at close range and he saw a couple of attempts blocked but his big chance came late on as Bruno (who must hate the John Smith’s stadium) misjudged an attempted interception, setting the Town man one on one and on his left. Ince’s shot was hit well but too close to the keeper and a glorious chance to break his duck, after many, many attempts.

Tom is a very good footballer, he contributes a lot to the team wether we win or lose and has a natural elegance which makes him good to watch but the failures in front of goal are becoming a huge burden and you sense the crowd’s longing for him to score and throw off the enormous monkey on his back.

Other than Tom’s efforts, Smith curled a left footer just wide, the hugely influential Kachunga had a shot saved from a tight angle and couldn’t quite control a header at the back post following a deep Mooy cross and there were times when the visitors were besieged by a home side throwing off the shackles.

The number of chances and opportunities created outweighed the disappointment of not adding to their tally in a wholly convincing win which also enhanced the hope that home form will see us through.

Overall, it was a vibrant display against a comprehensively demoralised side who rarely escaped Town’s suffocating game plan.

Next up is a hugely talented Chelsea side who will present an altogether different challenge but a similar commitment to Town’s core values will give us a chance before less daunting opposition appear on the horizon.

 

Town’s away form is becoming, or has already become, tedious. The travelling support remains loyal and loud even as the hours between goals on foreign soil grows inexorably, the creation of chances remain few, far between and unconvincing and going behind is an inevitable precursor to defeat.

The backing given to the team is admirable but now demands reciprocation before that loyalty starts to feel like naive foolishness, which never ends well.

Losing 5-0 to Arsenal after a reasonable performance in the first hour is one thing; losing to a distinctly average Everton without troubling their goalkeeper is another.

The home side, who should have been buoyed by a 4-0 win over West Ham in midweek and the arrival of a new manager, were lethargic in a first half of limited quality and Town‘s neat and tidy approach play and suppression of the Toffees promised reward at last on the road.

Perhaps nice is the most damning adjective to apply to the visitors’ first half performance. It promised a fair amount and delivered virtually nothing. Malone, Smith, Kachunga and Quaner got themselves in good situations to cross but invariably found a defender rather than the hard working Depoitre, who had often been instrumental in feeding the wings in the first place.

Mooy managed to deliver one looping cross early on but Kachunga couldn’t generate any power and his header fell softly in to Pickford’s arms. The obsession with statistics will put this down as an attempt on target, of course.

Depoitre also had a weak attempt easily saved later in the half and a scramble following an Ince near post corner caused some consternation for the home side following a Schindler flick on, but a goal never looked remotely likely.

For Everton, Martina forced Lössl in to a regulation save but their performance was summed up by 3 shocking free kick deliveries from Sigurdsson which all ended up in Lössl’s clutches under no pressure.

Largely uninspiring, the game lacked any sort of spark but the sight of Palmer clearly warming up with the other subs and dressed for a return to action at half time created a stir amongst the away support. For some time, the lack of a genuine number 10 has been cited as a significant explanation for Town’s poor goal scoring record – not only would creativity increase, Ince could move wide and be more effective. That was the theory, anyway.

Sure enough, Kasey replaced Quaner to line up for the second half and within 45 minutes, the theories looked ridiculous. He will need time to get back up to speed, and he is a genuine talent, but his performance in the second half was pretty damned terrible. Often robbed of possession, his passing was generally woeful and his decision making very suspect. He wasn’t helped by the displays of people around him in a second half Town will want to quickly forget.

They were not helped by yet another early concession in a half – the last 3 games have seen the Terriers caught cold after a kick off (at Arsenal, kick offs seemed to be the catalyst for losing goals). Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Everton’s best player in their disappointing first half, cleverly released Sigurdsson in the area with a flick and the Icelander proved far more effective with a moving ball than a dead one and beat Lössl for the opener.

It was almost a facsimile of Arsenal’s opening goal in midweek – a touch of quality barely fitting the rest of the game which saw Everton grow in confidence and comfort and finally give home supporters something to shout about occasionally.

Any threat Town carried came from breaks, and one shortly after Everton had taken the lead should have produced an equaliser. Ince was set free down the right and the home side were stretched. Instead of finding one of 3 Town players in the box, loosely marked if at all, he decided to shoot from an angle which while not impossible, certainly unlikely. Desperate for an away goal before snow falls, some Town fans were fooled by the rustling of the side netting.

A decent Kachunga cross was narrowly too far in front of Depoitre, but the visitors’ attacking deteriorated in to incoherence after that and a mix up between Malone and Mooy on the left inadvertently lead to Everton’s second, also assisted by Ince, who was not having his finest three quarters of an hour, being robbed on half way.

With men committed forward, the impressive Calvert-Lewin was set free and despite Zanka’s best efforts to get back, the Everton striker’s shot deflected off him and over Lössl.

Instinctively, the away fans knew that the game had been lost with the first goal, with the second merely sapping them of any vestige of hope foolishly remaining, but they still backed the team throughout.

Town are not the first nor will they be the last to find away games difficult in their first season in the Premier League, but a big opportunity was missed at Goodison Park. Everton will climb the table and finish in the top half given the players they have available to them and Allardyce’s ability to organise which will make them difficult to beat, but they looked vulnerable in a poor first half – a vulnerability Town never really looked capable of exploiting.

With two tough away assignments at Watford and Southampton coming up before the turn of the year, Town’s travelling support will need to exercise even more patience, keep faith with Wagner’s ability to solve problems (however acute) and hope that the home form reverses a run of 4 defeats.

Despite the poor performance of the team, Danny Williams deserves a mention. Easily Town’s man of the match, his energy kept the visitors in the game, with only Depoitre’s first half display making a slight challenge to the German-American.

Otherwise, this was another eminently forgettable away game.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nobody said it would be easy. Quite the opposite.

Faced with 3 games in 6 days, including two huge physical and mental challenges pitting an inexperienced, thin squad against an array of world class players, David Wagner’s pragmatism came to the fore with a team selection showing 6 changes from the admirable effort against Manchester City (with one enforced).

Wagner, rightly, always says that he trusts every one of his players and all will be needed across the season, but the team sheet betrayed that both of his eyes were on the more winnable trip to Merseyside on Saturday (he wasn’t to know that Everton would be galvanised by the presence of Big Sam).

Within 3 minutes, his gamble backfired as Town gave up far too much space and allowed the excellent Ramsey to feed Lacazette with a touch which would have bamboozled the best of defences.

At this point, it was clear that Town would lose. The ability to recover has been largely absent throughout Wagner’s tenure; a source of constant bemusement. Added to that is a propensity to collapse once games are deemed to be beyond them. Wagner’s teams – and we have enough range to judge – slump alarmingly in adversity.

It is, on its face, preposterous to criticise the German – a relatively inexperienced but hugely charismatic and intelligent coach who creates miraculous results with relatively thin resources. However, both of these flaws seem to be accepted or, at least, are not being addressed successfully.

Had collapses and failure to recover only occurred when faced with the quality of an Arsenal or Liverpool, it could be looked upon more sympathetically, but the examples are abundant and cover a wide range of opposition in 2 divisions.

To their credit, Town’s undoubtedly weakened team responded reasonably well to Arsenal’s early strike, though for the first half hour the home side dominated and their comfort on the ball was spellbinding at times. However, they created relatively little and wasted what half chances came their way.

A decent shout for a penalty was, predictably, waived away as Mustafi collided with Mounié in the area and the visitors enjoyed more parity with their illustrious hosts in the final quarter of an hour of the first half. Both Mounié and Quaner had efforts blocked – the former delayed his effort too long and an earlier strike may have proved fruitful, while the latter’s effort was impeded by clumsy control.

Mounié forced a regulation save from Cech as Town finally pressed higher up the pitch and disrupted Arsenal’s control of the football – despite an evident, nay yawning, gap in individual quality, the latter stages of the first period offered some hope for the goal starved away support who gave the team the usual loud support.

Encouraged, the visitors followed up their encouraging spell with an even better one in the early part of the second half, but they had to repel some early Arsenal pressure which saw Özil’s shot blocked by Cranie.

The turning point of a game in which Town had become increasingly competitive came when Quaner was unable to beat Cech from a hugely promising position. It was a good save but the type of chance that must be scored if we are to avoid a rapid descent towards the bottom. Mounié also had a shot blocked with Cech slapping the deflection on to his own bar with an unorthodox piece of goalkeeping.

Perhaps stung in to action by the Yorkshire upstarts, the Gunners then took complete control as Town slumped to a heavy defeat following three goals in just four minutes as the hosts produced some scintillating football to inflict harsh punishment on the demoralised Terriers.

The floodgates opened as Özil and Sanchez combined with devastating affect to set up Giroud – who had replaced the injured Lacazette and had already hit the post earlier in the half with his first contribution.

Immediately from the kick off, Arsenal won possession, took Town apart down the right and fed Sanchez for the third.

Within minutes, the red and white shirts were swarming all over again and a lightning fast move freed up the impressive Özil to grab a fourth.

The demolition of Town’s resilience was frightening; Arsenal’s pace and precision was a joy to witness despite the pain felt in the away section and with nearly 20 minutes left, greater humiliation looked inevitable.

While the visitors held out for ten minutes, they could barely get on the ball never mind retain possession and with Arsenal free to express their considerable talent – their three substitutes were Giroud, Wilshire and Welbeck (Town responded to the last 2 named with Dean Whitehead!) – a fifth was inevitable. Giroud grabbed it but it was mainly down to some outstanding work by Kolasinac which set up the French international.

Arsenal’s sublime quality following the scares at the other end cannot be denied, but they were helped in no small way by Town giving up the ghost once their chance of an unlikely result disappeared and the capitulation was greatly worrying.

With Mooy somewhat off his game since returning from his global travelling, Hadergjonaj not being able to cope with a defensive wing back role and Mounié proving much less effective as a lone striker than Depoitre, it was something of a miracle that the visitors survived for so long, but the opportunity to put some pressure on the Gunners with an equaliser was missed and simply served to wake them up.

The lack of goals, especially but not exclusively, away from home is now an acute problem and one which will start to test the patience of those who travel and provide great support – it must be solved, and soon.

There is no disgrace in losing at the Emirates – Arsenal have won their last 12 home games now and came in to the match with a morale boosting victory over their hated neighbours – but the manner of the collapse was alarming. Being competitive for 70 minutes is commendable, as was the performance at the back end of the first half and the early period of the second, but there is no excuse for the lack of fight following Arsenal’s second.

Wagner’s changes were also understandable, but the lack of depth at his disposal was cruelly exposed as the goals flew in.

Character is going to be needed to quell their next opponents who will be responding to the appointment of Allardyce and newly confident after demolishing West Ham. Everton will believe that their horrible start is over and will undoubtedly see a home game against a non scoring, newly promoted Huddersfield Town as the perfect game to continue their revival.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the end, a hugely fortunate, if deserved, deflection preserved Manchester City’s unbeaten start to the season which has seen them drop just 2 points while scoring at will against often traumatised opponents.

Given the disparity between the two competing clubs – in finance, experience and recent history – the unrestrained celebrations of City (which shouldn’t be begrudged) at the final whistle spoke volumes about a feisty, enthralling game where the winners had to strain every sinew and draw deep on their considerable reserves of talent to overcome their relentlessly dogged hosts.

The petrodollar funded City have created a formidable squad of world class players, Delph and Walker notwithstanding, and look to be marching towards the title virtually unopposed with a scintillating style of play which forces even the best in the division in to defensive shells. Those who don’t are routinely annihilated by City’s ruthless exploitation of space – the most improved team in the Premier League, Watford, didn’t adapt their own refreshingly expansive style and conceded 6 at home.

Faced with his most formidable challenge to date, David Wagner devised a plan to have a chance of being competitive. With an opponent containing threat from all areas and a penchant for playing between the lines, the strategy he adopted was far more complex than simply putting everyone behind the ball and the cliché “parking the bus” completely under estimates the planning required to execute it.

Foregoing possession and ensuring that players do not over commit in rare forays forward was essential to the containment plan with obvious detrimental impact on the home team’s threat – but added to the essential values of hard work and tenacity were the rather more cerebral qualities of intelligence, concentration and patience.

City’s threats are legion. In De Bruyne and Silva they possess two of the best and most creative midfield players in the world. Out wide, the much improved Sterling and Sane offer outstanding pace and trickery (with Sterling’s wing supplemented by the very swift Walker), Aguero is amongst the best penalty box strikers on the planet and Fernandinho is more than capable of hurting teams when he arrives in the area.

The scale of the home team’s task was monumental and a narrow defeat a huge achievement considering the gulf in quality.

Wagner’s plans worked particularly well in the first half with the midfield triumvirate of Williams, Hogg and Mooy largely stifling De Bruyne and Silva and restricting City’s usual intricate moves between the lines – the number of overhit passes by the visitors was no coincidence as their range was disrupted.

On the rare occasions that City broke free from the shackles, Malone prevented Sterling a clear shot at goal, Schindler crunched in to Aguero when it looked like the Argentinian would add to his record City goal haul and Fernandinho was forced in to an additional touch before firing over, failing to capitalise on Sterling’s excellent movement which created the chance.

Lössl had little but routine work to do, other than a good stop from Aguero before Sterling’s miss, as his colleagues frustrated their illustrious opponents.

Transition, however, was inevitably difficult and largely rested on the huge shoulders of Depoitre. Unable to provide quick support to him, the Belgian’s hold up play was essential if Town were to trouble the visitors in any meaningful way, but other than an ambitious Smith effort which sailed over the bar, Town were entirely on the back foot for the first 40 minutes as they concentrated on repelling.

The final 5 minutes of the half turned the game on it’s head. A rare attack resulted in a corner – the first of 3 in a spell where City’s intensity appeared to drop off – and Schindler’s flick on presented a good chance at the far post which his central defensive partner Zanka was unable to convert.

Town then broke up another City attack and Depoitre skilfully flicked the ball around his compatriot Kompany before waiting for just the right moment to release Ince down the right. The immediate threat was cut out by Delph at the expense of a second home corner from which, Kompany nervously headed over his own bar for the third.

Ince swung this delivery to the near post with Schindler timing his run to perfection for another flick on. This time, Otamendi was unable to get out of the way and the ball cannoned off him in to the net. Incredibly, Town were in the lead and the noise levels, already tremendous, reached a crescendo.

The lead came against the run of play, but not against the run of the plan. Subduing City’s talent had taken immense amounts of courage and resilience but also had the effect of frustrating the visitors and impacting on their concentration. The 3 corners unsettled the champions elect – up to that point, Kompany and Otamendi had enjoyed relatively comfortable lives and maybe complacency set in as Schindler created two chances from them.

Despite rarely getting forward, it was probably Wagner’s finest 45 minutes as Town manager; City is on a different football planet, with a world class manager, wealth beyond imagination and a depth of squad to make eyes water.

The second half was a little different. Transition, already difficult, became tortuously improbable – though it should be said that City illegally prevented breakaways on several occasions without incurring punishment from a referee who, while getting most decisions right, failed to apply equal justice – and even Mooy’s vision was severely impaired by the lack of options available to him.

While the same fundamentals were in place, incessant pressure invariably brings reward and the restart seemed to catch Town a little cold as Sterling – the stand out player for the visitors – got the better of Van La Parra and Malone twice. Both occasions resulted in penalty appeals and both were legitimate. While Lössl’s interruption of the England international was deemed, rather generously, fair, Malone’s was not – even if it was the softer of the two. City’s targeting of Town’s left had paid immediate dividend and Aguero rolled the penalty in after waiting for Lössl’s dive.

To their credit, Town stuck to their task despite the blow of seeing their lead wiped out within a couple of minutes of the restart and the expected flow of goals from the visitors failed to materialise.

The defensive plan continued to work, though City’s penetration of the box increased and pressure on the excellent Schindler and Zanka intensified. Williams, Mooy and Hogg remained effective against the disappointing De Bruyne but the equally masterful Silva exerted more influence.

Desperate clearances became more prominent, as did the feistiness of the contest. A coming together between Walker and Van La Parra resulted in no free kick or booking, perhaps correctly, but lead to a spat between the £50M man and a furious Wagner. Despite a string of obscenities directed towards Town’s coach, only Wagner was spoken to by the referee whose curious interpretation of appropriate punishment baffled and enraged the crowd throughout the half and even after the final whistle had blown.

The raucous atmosphere, interruptions and the increased ugliness helped the home team, however, as City’s flow was impeded and their frustration mounted.

It was perhaps inevitable that the home side became more ragged as time passed and a clumsy challenge by Hogg – punished, of course, by a booking – gave Sane a chance from a free kick. With Lössl motionless, the young German’s effort cannoned off the bar (and actually achieved a better level of transition than Town had created, only for an unpunished De Bruyne to try to prevent the counter with a hand). De Bruyne’s body check of Van La Parra, again thwarting transition was also unpunished while a similar offence by Malone saw the full back yellow carded. The inconsistency was hugely frustrating.

Fernandinho was booked for an outrageous dive, however.

Last ditch challenges and scrappy play from City restricted the visitors but the pressure on the home side was unrelenting and clever balls in to the box became more prevalent, even if composure was strangely lacking in players of such talent.

When it came, late in the game, the winner was more than a little fortuitous. The ever dangerous Sterling attempted a one two with De Bruyne, the Belgian’s attempted return deflected in to the path of Aguero whose shot was saved by Lössl only for the ball to hit Sterling and loop agonisingly in to the net.

Cruel as the circumstances were, City’s fortune had been earned and, indeed, Sterling’s was too.

A late Mooy free kick, a half chance for substitute Mounié and a decent run by Quaner which lead to a corner saw Town come back in to the game a little in the latter stages but their inability to capitalise on the spaces left by City’s incessant attacking ultimately cost them a point. It should be said that the visitors ability to recover possession was also a major factor and they were helped by several illegal interventions as already described.

City’s relief was evident. They ran the clock down effectively – helped, again, by a referee who allowed them ridiculous amounts of time to take injury time free kicks without adding anything on – and the final act was them taking the ball in to the corner resulting in an altercation started by Sané with Van La Parra which continued after the final whistle. True to form, referee Pawson meted out a yellow card for the German and a potentially damaging red for Van La Parra.

It was a stupid, if provoked, piece of indiscipline from the Dutchman (who has plenty of form in this area) and rather soured what had been a remarkable, if unsuccessful, home display.

Similar resilience will be needed against Arsenal on Wednesday who play with the type of intricacy Town largely subdued in this game, but the absence of Van La Parra is a blow.

However, Town can take enormous pride from a great performance against a ludicrously talented team and, hopefully, augurs well for contests against significantly less well endowed opponents in the future.

 

 

 

Disastrous decisions by a truly appalling referee completely upended a very promising, progressive start from a Town team finally allowed expression away from the comforts of home.

As the visitors took the game to the Cherries, excellent build up play was blighted by the now chronic lack of potency in front of goal. A good effort by Van La Parra was saved well, Malone bumbled through on the right before toe poking just wide and Bournemouth blocked out more attempts as Town took control.

The harsh reality, however, is that being on top without translating superiority in to goals renders it pointless, and you become vulnerable to those moments in a game which can determine outcomes.

When it came, the decisive moment was hugely unfair, on several levels, for the Terriers.

Firstly, a dangerous lunge on Hadergjonaj which left the Swiss rolling was deemed fair by Lee Probert and his better positioned assistant.

This left the left wing open for the home side and though Cranie snuffed out the danger he conceded a corner which would have to be defended with one man short.

It also left Mooy to mark the six yard box where Hadergjonaj would have been and neither he nor Lössl covered themselves in glory with their defending of a ball converted by Wilson.

1 down after dominating, a double injustice was to visit Town just minutes later as a decent Mooy tackle – he clearly got the ball – was deemed a foul.

Holding a high line as effectively as they normally do, the linesman’s flag stayed defiantly down as two offside home players attacked the ball with Wilson winning the race to put the home side 2 up with a smart finish.

The assistant – who had already missed a couple of pretty obvious offside calls – may have been distracted by a Bournemouth player being deliberately 5 yards offside who then stepped back so as not to be involved in play, but that hardly excuses another woeful piece of officiating.

Recovering from being just one down has been a struggle since Wagner arrived, so the second blow felt terminal for the visitors.

Unsurprisingly, the Cherries became much livelier after the gifts had been bestowed upon them and their ascendency threatened to overwhelm their opponents, though Town finished the half strongly and had an apparent lifeline thrown at them.

Simon Francis had already been booked for a foul on the lively Van La Parra and when the Dutchman took a ball on the halfway line and threatened an under strength home defence, the full back took him out with a late, ill timed challenge.

Remarkably, but in keeping with his overall incompetence, Probert appeared to play on before his torpor was disturbed (presumably by the fourth official rather than the idiot with the apparently heavy flag) and a free kick and second yellow was signaled.

As West Brom found last week, playing against 10 men – particularly at this level – is not quite the advantage it appears.

Well drilled teams can easily create a defensive block as we did and the extra man can be negated.

To take advantage requires patience and guile but Town possessed little of either in a second half where overwhelming possession created fewer opportunities than in the first half and they compounded their inability to trouble the home defence with complacency at the back leading to 2 further Bournemouth goals and a score line which was cruel but hopefully educational.

Malone, who had shone going forward in the first half, attempted one too many mazy dribbles and in a dangerous area, allowing Arter to dispossess him, turn defenders and produce a finish of some quality.

The relish with which Arter pounced and his conviction that he was going to score sharply contrasted with Town’s uncertainties and propensity to freeze when opportunity knocks.

Town’s desperation for a first away goal since August was an ugly mess and the home side merely had to wait patiently for the chance to break (again, like us last week).

Ake was immense for the home side and looked every inch a £20M defender but Town facilitated his performance with high long balls once Mounié had joined Depoitre to little effect.

If the third goal had been the final nail in the coffin, the fourth shoveled on the dirt.

The excellent Wilson – playing his first game since a long injury – bagged his hat trick with a good finish as Town’s depleted defence crumbled for a final time. Bournemouth should have scored a 5th too as the visitors melted.

It is difficult not to be angry about the appalling decisions which turned the game in the home side’s favour, but the injustices gloss over the major failing of creating too few chances and converting even fewer.

The problem away from home is acute, but despite some good victories on home soil, it would be naive to believe the lack of goals isn’t systemic – relying on opposition errors or wonder goals isn’t sustainable.

Palmer’s return may be the key since it will push Ince right and free up the increasingly effective Van La Parra, but this does place a burden on relatively inexperienced shoulders. It may be a little harsh, but the demotion of Kachunga, sadly out of his depth, cannot arrive quickly enough.

With 3 very difficult games on the horizon – two of which seem wholly insurmountable challenges – a slow descent to a more realistic league position seems inevitable, though the breathing space already achieved should leave us above water as more winnable games reappear.

The traveling support continues to back the team in adversity and instinctively recognizes that Town are falling foul of circumstances away from home, but their patience is not endless and a goal on a foreign field would be welcome.

 

 

Tony Pulis’s band of entertainers rolled in to town on the back of a poor run of form which, nevertheless, failed to persuade the survival specialist to deviate from his strategy of muscular containment, with most of the flair available to him sitting watching his animated arse for an hour.

His team, along with his former club Stoke, are synonymous with gritty survival which eventually turns to drudgery and fear as the joy of the sport is sucked out for the sake of a continuing presence at the top table – a flaw in the Premier League circus as the inherent inequalities between the truly global clubs and the strivers encourages extreme pragmatism and systematically quells adventure.

Should they survive – and 15 points from 11 games increases the possibility substantially – Town may well be forced down a similar path, but, for now, there is nothing but unbridled enthusiasm for a side which harnessed collective spirit, individual talent and dogged endeavour to produce an excellent home record upon which their fate will rest.

The understandable euphoria surrounding the victory over Manchester United was accompanied by the slight concern that the triumph would be the high point of the season but, if anything, there was at least as much to admire in this victory over a club with massive experience of gaining points from the less glamorous top flight fixtures and as the drama unfolded, all of the qualities created by Wagner in his 2 year tenure were displayed.

In the first hour, the Baggies were rarely allowed to settle despite the visitors having slightly the better of the opening exchanges. The best chance they had fell to Rodriguez but his effort was well blocked by Schindler and their threat receded as the half progressed while Town slowly took hold of possession.

With Van La Parra lively and productive, Town had the one player on the pitch with the ability to surprise – his equal ability to frustrate was largely missing, making him potent and the obvious key to unlocking West Brom’s disciplined defending. A decent effort which cleared the bar quite comfortably signalled the Dutchman’s intent to make his mark on the game while the hard working Ince blazed over when the ball fell to him in the area. A better effort was comfortably saved and the ex-Derby man’s hunt for a goal continues.

The visitors’ game plan – conceding possession and looking to free their two front men on the break – was largely thwarted by Town pressing back their two full backs and not allowing them to venture forward to any real effect, but a potentially dangerous break by Robson-Kanu was halted illegally by Schindler to earn the German a soft booking (his Welsh opponent was as guilty of holding and while the free kick was given the right way, the booking was ill deserved).

Up to that point, despite a bizarre denial of an obvious corner to the home side early on, the officials had handled a physical contest reasonably well but that was to change significantly for the rest of the game with Roger East’s inconsistent approach to punishment of foul play enraging the raucous home support (just minutes after the Schindler booking, Robson-Kanu was forgiven a cynical foul on Van La Parra) – as often happens, refereeing incompetence inadvertently assists the aggrieved and an already fully engaged home support ramped up the atmosphere to truly play a 12th (and then 11th) man role.

With opportunities at a premium, it took a moment of pure magic to break West Brom’s stranglehold on Town’s attacking intent. A dubious decision in Town’s favour following a tussle between Hogg and Rodriguez allowed Mooy to release Van La Parra. Despite over running the ball, possession was retained by Malone who found the Dutchman in a little space. Few in the crowd were urging the previously misfiring Van La Parra to shoot but he curled an absolute beauty past a planted Foster who could only watch on as the ball found the top corner.

Momentarily stunned, the crowd’s disbelief turned to joy – as any fool knows, when Town score first, they almost always win.

The goal was just reward both for the player, by far the most progressive on the field, and the team, who had played with great energy and far more adventure than their opponents and coming just before half time, it was psychologically important too.

A low key opening to the second half augured well for the Terriers – Pulis’s conservatism was unchanged and, bewilderingly, so was his team as he continued to leave more talented individuals on the bench.

All was about to change however when the impressive Hegazy slipped past a couple of challenges as he brought the ball out of defence only to be clattered by Schindler on the halfway line. A second booking was inevitable and even the softness of his first does not relieve the normally unflappable German of responsibility for leaving his team a man down, but the enormous amount of goodwill the man has earned over the past year and a bit precludes too much admonition.

Not surprisingly, Pulis turned around to summon his spurned talent – the visiting support must have felt huge frustration that it took his opponent going down to ten men before deciding a little “bravery” was in order.

With Phillips, Rondón and McClean replacing the ineffective Robson-Kanu and a couple of more defensive players, the game took on an entirely different hue. Wagner responded with defensive substitutions – Cranie and Williams replacing Kachunga and Van La Parra – while Schindler was replaced with 3 and a half stands full of enraged Yorkshire men.

Immediately reverting to the deep defensive block which had been so effective against Manchester United, but one man short, the last half hour plus 6 minutes injury time saw Town exhibit enormous resilience to restrict the Baggies to a rather mechanical dominance. Despite the concession of too many free kicks and corners which could have played to the visitors’ obvious strengths, the defence, brilliantly marshalled by the ever improving Zanka, held firm with blocks and clearances while occasionally breaking forward using the strength and deceptive skills of Depoitre.

If they could be criticised, Town should have made more of the couple of times they exposed West Brom’s new found attacking intent, but that would be slightly churlish given the circumstances.

In normal time, the closest the visitors came to an equaliser, and a platform for all 3 points, was a Rondón header which flashed just wide but their dominance was not translating in to genuine chances on the whole.

The atmosphere in this desperate period was scintillating and drove the team in their endeavours. With a referee seemingly determined to assist the away side – only he can explain how McClean’s attempted assault on Ince was not a red card offence and his other decisions were determinedly in West Brom’s favour – and incessant, if rarely penetrative, pressure, the support was ramped up to insane levels and, unprovable as it is, must have given the players added resilience and desire.

As the minutes crawled by, the admiration for Wagner’s adaptability and his players’ bravery grew. Every single one of them strained every sinew to keep the opponent at bay and it rarely looked excessively desperate until natural fatigue set in during the long injury time as minds yearned for the final whistle.

At this point, the previously untroubled Lössl stepped up to make two outstanding saves; the first to his right and the second, even more impressive stop, to his left. After his Anfield penalty save and his heroics to achieve a 5th clean sheet to preserve 3 points, the aberration at Swansea can be consigned to history.

The final whistle brought more than 3 thoroughly deserved points, it brought immense pride in a squad which responded magnificently to adversity – for all the brickbats West Brom are attracting, they remain a hugely experienced team in the Premier League with not a little talent (even if criminally under used by Pulis in this encounter), and Town’s suppression of them was masterly.

The collective effort, from the stands, to the coaching staff and the players made for a memorable experience every bit as important and thrilling as the previous home victory and Town go in to yet another international break in a much stronger position in their quest for survival.

Irrepressible at home, Wagner will no doubt be aware that he needs a better formula for away games and we need to create more and better chances to improve our goal tally, but this was a hugely important victory over a struggling but dangerous outfit.

These are the days.

 

A far from unexpected reversal at the hands of 5 times European champions Liverpool was still tinged with disappointment and regret following the taming of double European champions Manchester United just 7 days earlier.

It is not wrong for Town fans to hope that huge chasms can be bridged every week, and even when stark realities are confirmed, their support remains constant for a club which continues to strive to punch way above its weight and a management team on a steep learning curve.

Anfield, possibly the most anticipated away day of the season, provided perhaps the greatest disappointment. Like their great rivals down the East Lancs road, Liverpool is now a global club attracting bandwagon support in their millions and the impact is painful.

Gentrification appears complete with a staggering amount of fresh out of the bag scarfs and other merchandise adorning wide eyed, selfie taking occasional or first time visitors creating an insipid audience soaking up an atmosphere they simply can’t create.

Between a relatively stirring rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone and celebrating their first goal in the second half; nothing.

It should be said that the apparent high proportion of experience seekers was probably exacerbated by the attractiveness of the fixture. A likely win against the unlikely newcomers wasn’t going to over excite their regular support and the secondary market for tickets would have been more active than normal, but those images of a swaying Kop bristling with humour and vocal support are from a very different age.

Outside the ground, an urchin of around 7 was carrying a teddy bear in a shoebox and asking for a penny for the guy outside the Arkles pub – probably the most authentic sight of the day.

The travails of the home side in the Premier League of late made this a good time to play them. Shorn of two world class players in Mané and Coutinho and the artistry of Lallana, central defensive frailties and goalkeeping doubts suggested a more level playing field for the Terriers though this did ignore Liverpool’s home form which had only been disturbed by Burnley – the only side to score at Anfield so far.

Having subdued Manchester United with a deep defensive block, it was hardly surprising that David Wagner would adopt similar tactics against his friend’s team and replacing Kachunga with the more expansive Van La Parra offered the opportunity to counter with pace.

For much of the first half, the plan worked very well though the counter attacking fizzled out after the first, rather encouraging, 10 minutes and disappeared entirely once Van La Parra had to be withdrawn with injury. With Depoitre left as the only outlet and quality on the ball at a premium for the visitors, Liverpool took complete control.

Despite their overwhelming dominance of the ball, the home side lacked pace and creativity, allowing Town to cope easily with the wave of attacks mounted and restricting their more illustrious opponents to a couple of tame efforts on target. The normally excellent Mohamed Salah was subdued on the right, the Moreno/Milner axis on the left was mundane to say the least and Sturridge starved of service.

Admirable as the visitors’ discipline was, the first free kick of any note was only conceded late in the half (to dramatic effect), offensive threat was non existent. Depoitre won many aerial battles but all were pointless with no team mate far enough up the pitch to capitalise once Van La Parra had gone.

When Town finally conceded a free kick, Kachunga hacking Moreno down on the left, a potential turning point of the game ensued. A floated cross to the far post looked innocuous enough but Kevin Friend saw Tommy Smith tugging at Firmino’s shirt – an event which eluded everyone else in the ground – and pointed to the spot.

The largely disappointing Salah stepped up only to fire his shot too close to Lössl who beat the ball away. Henderson shot the rebound narrowly wide and Town had escaped.

Uninspiring when in possession and unthreatening on the rare occasion we crossed the halfway line, Town’s resilience and organisation was, at least, something to cling to, but the weight of Liverpool’s possession was bound to tell unless the visitors could improve their ability to retain the ball and somehow create problems. The complete absence of away goals since the demolition of Palace on opening day did not augur well.

With the game settling in to a familiar pattern early in the second half, perhaps the hope was to turn the crowd against them but this rather ignored the soporific support attracted to the game and our own offensive frailties.

As it was, the inevitable mistake arrived early when Smith inexplicably headed a nothing ball in to the path of Sturridge. As poor as the erstwhile England man had been, he could barely fail to score and lifted the ball over the exposed Lössl to finally animate Anfield.

Going behind to a soft goal, Town disintegrated rapidly as the Reds found their fluency. Unable to relieve pressure, the rearguard action became increasingly desperate and desperate out balls to the tiring Depoitre were never going to provide breathing space.

Zanka, who was excellent and clearly now finding his feet, had to intervene to prevent a second goal with a marvellous last ditch clearance for a corner only for the set piece to lead to a second and game ending goal for Liverpool. Firmino, who had been largely anonymous in the first half, escaped the attentions of Mooy (who had one of his least influential games for the Terriers) and stooped to extend the home side’s lead.

From that point, it was only a question of how many for the home team who rediscovered their confidence and exposed the (understandable) gap in class between the teams.

Wijnaldum provided the class to finally put Town to the sword as he worked an opening in the box despite the attention of half of the visiting team and slammed an unstoppable shot past Lössl in to the top corner to complete a routine victory.

Mounié was brought on to accompany Depoitre up front to no great effect while the performance of Hadergjonaj when he came on for Smith offered a little positive amidst the gloom. He defended well, attacked with pace and looked a very good back up for his captain and, possibly, a replacement.

The positives were massively outweighed however and the lack of adventure and goal threat on the road is becoming an urgent issue. While a result at Anfield was always unlikely, to barely trouble a vulnerable home defence was disheartening, brave as the first half defending had been.

Thankfully, a traditional English atmosphere will return at home to West Brom next week – results at the John Smiths Stadium will be the key to our survival or otherwise but it is to be hoped that the lacklustre away performances will be tackled by Wagner and maybe the return of Palmer after the international break will give us the opportunity to turn dogged defensiveness in to more expansive displays.

An afternoon to forget, though the Scandinavians can cling on to the memories for a long time to come.

 

 

A routine victory over an error strewn and off colour Manchester United brought Town 3 valuable points and a third victory of a season which had turned slightly sour over recent weeks.

As expected, David Wagner learned quickly from the drubbing handed out in the last home game by a frighteningly superior Spurs side and, assisted by the availability of more midfield options, set up a team brimming with energy, commitment and bravery.

From the very beginning, the illustrious and storied visitors were knocked out of their usual swaggering stride as the Terriers maintained a solid defensive shape and found a near perfect balance between aggression and discipline, even if they collected a couple of early yellow cards which could have proven costly against a side containing an abundance of tricky, pacy players.

Deliberately conceding possession and abandoning the habit of knocking the ball around the back which had undone them at the Liberty Stadium, Town’s rope a dope strategy worked perfectly on an afternoon where the synergy between crowd and team reached new heights.

Up top, Depoitre discomforted the visitors’ back four with a rampaging display which planted seeds of doubt amongst their ranks and those seeds flowered quickly once Manchester were deprived of the services of Phil Jones who succumbed, yet again, to injury.

Despite the probing of Martial, Lingard and Valencia down the flanks, all of United’s play floundered in the last third with Lusaka shackled by the blossoming Schindler/Zanka combination and the tenacity of those around them. Attempts to play through the lines were even more easily rebuffed and opportunities to break began to emerge.

A 3 on 2 break following a Town corner caused the greatest alarm only for the alert Kachunga, whose day was to be curtailed before half time with a back injury, to sprint back and intercept the danger.

Coping comfortably with their opponents’ often crude attempts to break them down, Town always looked capable of springing forward with purpose and the visitors looked unusually vulnerable at the back, particularly with Jones’ withdrawal, and Mata’s uncharacteristic sloppiness in control finally opened the door.

Mooy, playing in a very deep 10 role, intercepted the Spaniard’s attempt to recover from a poor first touch and, easily shrugging off Mata’s attempt to pull him back, burst forward with menace. To his left, Ince had bust a gut to get alongside and was released by the Australian. Twisting substitute Lindelöf one way then the other, Ince’s shot was parried by De Gea but only in to the path of Mooy who swept home the opener.

If Town are extremely vulnerable once they go behind, the opposite is true if they edge in front with exemplary game management allowing them unprecedented numbers of single goal victories. Minutes later their lead doubled when a long clearance was comically cocked up by the hapless Lindelöf allowing the lurking Depoitre to take a fine first touch which rounded the stranded De Gea and the less illustrious Belgian on the field stroked the ball in to an unguarded net.

Town fans were now in dreamland. The manager, rightly, favours vision over dreams, but for folk who have witnessed 1-0 defeats to Orient or Hartlepool on miserable Tuesday nights, relentless ineptitude in seasons of struggle and days where hope appeared extinguished, leading the behemoth of English football by 2 goals, and deserving it, was barely within the realms of possibility.

Manchester United were severely wounded by the self inflicted setbacks and their global fan base must have been rubbing their eyes with disbelief as a club many have barely heard of dismantled their team of elite talent. In this, they had something in common with 20,000 plus Yorkshiremen looking on in awe.

Late United flurries were dealt with comfortably as half time approached and a score line reverberating around the globe was maintained.

Grit and determination, combined with guile at the right times, had created an intensity which the Old Trafford outfit could not match, but the sanctuary of the away dressing room and an angry José Mourinho offered the chance for them to plot redemption.

Slightly improved in the second half – the celebrated if unloved Portuguese withdrew the petulant Martial and the ineffective Mata for Rashford and Mkhitaryan – United still struggled to make an impression on a superbly marshalled home side featuring a defensive midfield duo in Hogg and Williams who broke up the visitors’ best intentions with disciplined aggression, superb awareness and unbridled energy.

Smith and Löwe, with their best displays of the season by a distance, assisted by Ince and Van La Parra (on for Kachunga shortly before half time), coped with United’s wave of attacks down the sides despite the introduction of the excellent Rashford while Lukaku’s influence continued to be suppressed.

Half time had also seen the weather worsen as the outer edges of a storm caused a little bit of a wind and some driving rain, though it is difficult to rationalise how a team that plies its trade in Manchester could complain of disadvantage.

The magnificent Depoitre continued to bully defenders and provide the perfect outlet for his team but, wether planned or in recognition of his extraordinary exertions, he was replaced with 20 minutes to go by Mounié. While it was good to see the Frenchman return from injury at last, he couldn’t perform the same role to the same effect and his languid style had a detrimental impact on the pattern of the game.

Thankfully, Van La Parra, who mesmerised at times without creating enough real danger for the visitors, was a reliable out ball for an increasingly exhausted Town rearguard. His ability to get us up the pitch was invaluable as pressure relief – another feature of Wagner’s remarkable game management since he has transformed the club.

United’s quality had rarely been in evidence, though the touch and pace of Rashford caused occasional palpitations, and Lössl had not been called in to action until he repulsed a Herrera header fairly late on, but was finally seen in the 78th minute when Lukaku, rather than let a ball go out for a corner, chased it down, created half a yard of space and delivered the type of cross he himself must have been yearning for all afternoon. Deep, swinging and undefendable, Rashford couldn’t miss as he arrived at the back stick.

Manchester United’s propensity for late goals, stretching way back to the Ferguson era, should have set alarm bells ringing but, spurred on by a crowd which subdued red celebrations as they sensed the team needed them more than ever, Town found another level of resilience to resist the visitors’ increasingly crude assaults.

Hogg and Williams’ protection of their back four intensified with the former making crucial tackles and interceptions and the latter carrying the ball away from danger with power and grim determination. Van La Parra continued to run down the clock with mazy runs and trickery and could even have set up others for a third and decisive goal had he looked up earlier once or twice.

There was one, final, scare in the four minutes added time the referee had found from somewhere. Yet another cross in to the box evaded defensive head on its way to Smalling, by now playing as an auxiliary front man, only for Zanka to haul his injured body in front of the shot and Town’s historic and hugely significant victory was confirmed.

Mounié’s largely ineffective 20 minutes aside, every player excelled in a monumental performance. A deep midfield trio suppressed United at source, Zanka put in his mot accomplished performance to date alongside the ever superb Schindler, Van La Parra excelled in his role (as had Kachunga), Ince offered pace and defensive discipline and the full backs came of Premier League age.

It is difficult to choose between the performances of Williams and Depoitre as the most influential, surrounded as they were with examples other outstanding achievements, and it is perhaps more pertinent to reflect upon the combined efforts of a magnificent team effort against an elite club brimming with talent.

The discipline required to deny quality players time and space cannot be over emphasised – United were shackled by Town hunting in packs but with discipline and an ability to restore shape effortlessly.

Wagner’s ability to learn lessons, leave the past in the past and create solutions for increasingly difficult challenges remind remarkable and, yesterday, he went toe to toe with, whatever people think of him as a person, one of the finest coaches in the world. Visions, not dreams.

For us mere mortals, and a fair few in attendance could remember United’s last visit including 2 of the 3 scorers on that day, defeating an institution on our resources remains barely conceivable – Wagner will already have moved on to plotting how to outwit his friend next week.

Whatever happens this season, the euphoria of yesterday will be remembered and relived for many, many years to come.

 

It seemed as if Town had got away with a generally poor first half performance before Lössl presented Swansea with the lead by making a mistake which will be punished at Premier League level. It would also be punished at Championship, League 1, League 2 and all the way down the pyramid.

The Swans, more progressive, aggressive and penetrating deserved their half time lead and would have gone in front much earlier but for an excellent Lössl save down to his right after Zanka had given the ball away to Abraham.

Sorely missing Mooy’s ability to dictate play and retain possession, Town strained to contain their hosts threat down the flanks – the widely touted Malone, in for Löwe following a couple of mistakes by the German, was regularly bypassed with balls behind him and his positioning looked on a par with Jason Davidson while his attacking forays rarely threatened.

For 25 minutes, the home side pressed relentlessly – Hogg was typically combative in response but evergreen Leon Brittan totally dominated to build a platform for his side’s first home win.

Leroy Fer was slightly fortunate only to see yellow after crashing in to Lössl very early on, but the aggression should have served as a warning to the visitors who simply couldn’t settle. Passing was either sloppy, too short or inappropriate with players regularly putting team mates under pressure and errors began to flow. Lössl got away with two poor attempts to find a red and black shirt before his costly error, Billing seemed half asleep and was caught in possession too often and the midfield battle was lost.

Perhaps frustrated that their control had not brought the goal it deserved, Swansea began to run out of steam after 25 minutes and Town stepped up their game for quarter of an hour and missed the best chance of the game when Ince, desperately needing a goal, fired well over from 8 yards from a Van La Parra assist. Taking the lead at that point – Ince also had a chance when put through by an excellent Lössl clearance but went down under pressure – would have entirely changed the complexion of the contest against a side who would have begun to feel the pressure of disgruntled home support.

The minimum requirement was to get to half time level, but Lössl’s brain fart – his decision to try to pass out was not only badly executed but unprofessional – robbed Wagner of the opportunity to change things and introduce Mooy’s qualities to a game rather short of composure.

As it was, Mooy replaced Hogg (who had been booked and always liable to attract a second) and one of his very first acts was to put in a tremendous challenge on Fer, only for the ball to bounce kindly for the Welshmen and Ayew lobbed Lössl with some aplomb before Abraham finished from close in and the contest was, effectively, over.

Mooy exerted an element of control over proceedings without reaching his normal heights, but Swansea were able to contain the visitors with increasing comfort. Smith and Van La Parra managed to get round the back to put balls in to the box but they were largely harmless. Van La Parra’s deflected shot rattled the top of the bar, but a goal never looked likely.

Depoitre battled away throughout against a solid home central defence, Kachunga was probably the pick of a disappointing Town side, but most will not look back on their efforts with much pride.

Despite the late first half error, the real turning point was Ince’s miss. Town rarely recover from conceding first but, conversely, they are good at seeing out narrow wins if they score first. The worry, of course, is that goal scoring is becoming a major problem and this needs, somehow, to be fixed.

Still, only Manchester United and Liverpool next.

 

 

A mixture of individual mistakes, some top quality opposition and a rather large dose of naivety condemned Town to the first, and probably not last, heavy defeat of the season.

The visit of Spurs, boasting fine players in all positions and exceptional ones in some, represented the toughest assignment by far of a campaign where challenges come in all shapes and sizes. Town’s first steps have been promising if not wholly assured against largely mundane opposition and built on defensive resilience in the absence of offensive threat.

Moving Ince in to the number 10 role instead of the inexperienced Sabiri, with Van La Parra restored on the left was a fairly obvious choice for David Wagner, but the injury to Palmer is beginning to hurt his plans as neither understudy possesses the Chelsea loanee’s power and, hard working as he is, Kachunga has so far failed to convince on the right where Ince should be.

Tottenham’s system of 3 central defenders and two highly mobile wing backs presented the home side with conundrums they were never able to adequately resolve and with Mooy being largely neutralised from influence, it proved to be a long, often chastening, early afternoon for the Terriers who, nonetheless, did contribute to an entertaining first half.

The visitors started strongly, forcing a corner from their very first attack but gained nothing from it nor from a free kick following a Zanka foul on Eriksen.

Town also imposed themselves on the game early with a good effort by Smith beaten away by Lloris the high point of some promising attacking. The pressure produced a corner on the left following an Ince shot taking a deflection, but, rather cruelly, this was to eventually lead to the Londoners’ first goal.

There seemed little danger as the ball came back to Lössl to clear, but the Dane’s attempt to avoid offside players on the right saw him rather shank the reverse ball he intended for the left wing. A straightforward header by Trippier should have been comfortably dealt with by Löwe, but he misjudged it dreadfully and Kane was in the clear behind him, marginally onside.

The in form (to say the least) England striker strode in to the box and beat Lössl with some ease to extend his remarkable scoring run and all of Town’s early promise was upended by one error and the marksmanship of Kane.

To their credit, Town continued to take the game to their illustrious opponents and strong appeals for a penalty when Kachunga seemed to be pushed in the back in the area were waived away. More joy down the right led to crossing opportunities which were woefully spurned or misdirected and the contrast between the two teams in the final third couldn’t have been more stark.

Spurs’ second goal owed something to fortune but the crisp interplay which unravelled their hosts in the space of seconds between the halfway line and the edge of the box before Löwe inadvertently directed the ball towards scorer Davies was of the highest quality.

Demoralised, the visitors should have gone further in front when Lössl, whose previous assurance seemed to desert him throughout the game, kicked fresh air as he attempted a clearance under mild pressure from Kane and was hugely fortunate that the centre forward’s poise temporarily deserted him allowing the Dane to smother his attempt at rounding him.

Spurs threatened to run riot at this point and stripped their hosts bare again before Dele Alli hit the post when appearing certain to score and the Premier League newcomers were in severe danger of being badly embarrassed.

The third goal arrived before the half hour mark as Kane produced a solo goal of stunning beauty and simplicity. Effortlessly rolling the attentions of both Zanka and Schindler, he curled a perfectly executed shot past Lössl, doubling Town’s goals against column

With the ball, however, the Terriers were still capable of decent play but without asking enough serious questions of their opponents’ back line and delivery in to the box continues to be a major issue for all of the wide players with some sailing behind harmlessly. With the massive frame of the impressive Depoitre to aim at, the profligacy is becoming unforgivable.

The highlight of the whole game for comprehensively outplayed Town came from a surging and powerful and run by Depoitre, reminiscent of Kindon at his finest before the Belgian fired a mighty shot against the bar with Lloris beaten.

Coming just before half time, a goal may have changed the tenor of the contest though this would more likely have resulted in Spurs slipping in to a much higher gear than the one they adopted in a largely pedestrian second half.

Though thoroughly chastened by the manner of the goals conceded, particularly the first two, Town had contributed positively to an entertaining 45 minutes which had seen class prevail over honest endeavour. The crowd seemed to accept the limitations of their team in the face of such superior quality, applauding the effort if not the execution. While some unrealistic souls may wonder how Town failed to quell a forward line valued in the hundreds of millions, most accept that a team destined to finish top 4 would have to be seriously under par not to put a relative minnow to the sword.

Kane’s majestic strike and menacing threat was a privilege, if not entirely pleasurable, to witness. Eriksen was also sublime – his awareness of space and teammates were an education to see live – and Pochettino’s trademark style hugely attractive even at a lower tempo than his team usually achieves.

The second half was pretty forgettable in comparison. Town tightened up and were more effective in denying space but at the expense of producing any threats of their own, while Spurs contented themselves in easy possession with the occasional flash of flair – to the credit of Zanka and Schindler, they acquitted themselves much better and the learning experience should be valuable.

An injury time fourth was a little rough on Town but the type of error made upfield by Kachunga, who had a day to forget, will be punished by a team with Tottenham’s ability on the break. To his credit, Kachunga chased back all the way to help out but Sissoko scrambled the goal in via Schindler to put a gloss on a comprehensive victory.

In between times, Alli dived and was booked (his attempt was possibly more laughable than Van La Parra’s at Burnley), Kane left the field to applause form the home side – a rare event which has riled some but delighted others as an expression of sportsmanship and the home crowd continued to enjoy themselves defiantly in the face of a heavy defeat.

Decent cameos by Billing and Malone may hint at changes for the next game, with the former looking assured in possession and progressive in style.

David Wagner’s teams have never been immune to the odd hammering – when the plan goes awry it can fall apart pretty spectacularly – so it wasn’t a great shock that a highly talented team could emulate Fulham and deliver a beating.

Lessons need to be learned, and they will be, as it will not be acceptable to capitulate so easily in the face of high quality from the top 6 every time we face the challenge, but despite the score line, despite some disappointing performances – Löwe appears to be in a slump and Mooy was unable to dictate play for all but a few moments and the wide men simply failed to do their jobs properly – and despite cruel reality finally hitting home, the experience was still (sort of) enjoyable.

Hopefully, the enforced break will allow Wagner and his staff time to get some players fit for Swansea away – a game, in the scheme of things, of more significance than the glamour on show against Tottenham.