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A rare Jonathan Hogg goal settled an error strewn, and consequently entertaining, derby encounter against a spirited and hard working Barnsley side who fell on the wrong side of the fine margins which seem to accompany most games in the Championship.

In difficult, unseasonal weather – swirling wind and squally, heavy showers intermittently interrupted by bright sunshine – Town faced a very different challenge to those presented by the leviathan beasts of the previous two games.

David Wagner had identified the Reds’ togetherness as their principal strength before the game and as this virtue is fundamental to his own philosophies, the South Yorkshire opponents were never going to be treated lightly; their remarkable campaign to achieve promotion is testament to a club who look to be a completely different proposition to the one which finally succumbed to the drop a couple of seasons ago.

Town’s own progress under Wagner – including, crucially, shedding their debilitating inferiority complex – has been clear for all to see but supporters of a certain experience can be forgiven for believing that expectations will soon be thwarted, particularly in a fixture more obviously favourable than the first 3.

A tentative opening period featuring a new defensive midfield partnership of Whitehead and Mooy with Hogg rested, lacked urgency as players got to grips with the blustery conditions but Town slowly established control.

With Mooy pulling the strings, even if his performance was less assured and fluid than in previous games, Town probed down both flanks and a nervous looking Barnsley back line were finding it difficult to quell the threats.

A sliced attempted clearance fell nicely to the unmarked Kachunga but he could only direct a slightly mishit volley straight at a relieved Davies.

Barnsley’s forays forward were rare at this stage, but a trademark jinxing run by Hammill saw him being challenged in the box only for the ball to squirt in to Ryan Kent’s path. The Liverpool loanee fired over under pressure.

After 25 minutes of increasing dominance, Town found a goal from an unlikely source as the excellent Lowe advanced with menace towards the area, interchanged passes with Kachunga and curled an unstoppable shot past Davies. The German left back took 2 games to find his feet, including the disappointment at Shrewsbury, but has now shown poise and class in all 3 games since and looks like a real find.

Town’s control probably deserved more than one goal but the visitors defended resolutely after the goal and towards the end of the half, their opponents’ propensity for giving away free kicks and throw ins in dangerous areas started to cause concern amongst the home support. Having largely subdued the skills of Hammill and Kent, the greatest danger to Town’s goal was the aerial threat posed by Barnsley and needless free kicks offered the visitors both respite and an increased chance to get back in the game.

While most of the gifts were wasted, Barnsley’s young and talismanic manager clearly noted the nervousness that accompanied dead ball assaults and replaced the ineffective Bradshaw with the raw but potent Stefan Payne – a battering ram of a forward astutely picked up from Dover Athletic.

For now, though, Town could be reasonably pleased with their first half efforts and a deserved if slender lead. While the pairing of Whitehead and Mooy had been unconvincing – the former is too much like the latter and the Australian didn’t quite emulate his previous performances even though he was still influential – the home team had been relatively comfortable and better than the visitors in all areas.

Perhaps complacency played its part, but within 2 minutes of the second half, and for the next 15 to 20, Town were not only pegged back but a resurgent Barnsley could and should have turned the game on its head.

The equaliser came from yet another long throw from the left. Town’s defenders weren’t helped by a rogue whistle blown in the crowd but, in truth, Ward’s attempt to claim the high ball was a long way from being accomplished and Mawson easily out jumped both Hudson and Schindler to level.

Shaken by their damagingly slow start to the second period, Town became increasingly sloppy and a reinvigorated Barnsley began to cause them more difficulties. Payne’s power and presence created different problems for the home defence and all the control of the first half faded along with Mooy who was replaced by Hogg within 10 minutes of the restart; possibly precipitated by an excellent Barnsley move which ripped through Town’s defences only for Kent to waste a very good opportunity with a weak shot easily saved by Ward.

Both keepers were called in to action in quick succession as, first, Wells met an excellent Lowe cross only to see his header clawed away by Davies while at the other end, the lively Kent had a long range effort turned round the post by Ward.

With the introduction of Hogg, Town regained some of their composure in a match which was now much more even. Continuing his excellent form, Hogg added energy and forward momentum and with Wells and Kachunga finding more space, half chances started to arrive again.

The biggest turning point – the very edge of the fine margin mentioned earlier – came when Whitehead casually misplaced a pass to Schindler which was latched upon by Payne. With the German beaten and, wisely, choosing not to take foul action, the big forward curled his attempt round the advancing Ward but agonisingly on to the post.

With just 10 minutes to go, Town would have found it hard to recover from the blow but, to their credit, they regrouped well and pressured the visitors hard as the final whistle loomed.

The winner came as a result of the hard work and persistence of both Hogg and Kerchunga. The midfield man found substitute Bunn with a piercing forward pass and it was then laid back to Kerchunga who battled past his marker before finding the surging Hogg in the area. Hogg’s finish belied his paltry goal scoring record as he planted it in to the top corner with aplomb.

As the stadium erupted, minus the poor souls who insist on leaving early, it began to dawn that the late strike had taken Town to the top of the Championship. While it is very early to take a great deal of notice of the table, it is sure a prettier sight looking down rather than up.

It was difficult not to feel sympathy for a hard working, genuine Barnsley side but, as both clubs know only too well, this is the cruellest of divisions and not taking advantage of the moments in which you are favoured is often fatal.

For Town, the overall performance, while too laboured at times and blighted by a very poor 20 minutes in the second half, probably just deserved the 3 points, though few would have complained had they been shared.

As with all games so far, there were lessons to be learned. In this one, the Whitehead/Mooy combination looked imbalanced with the two too similar in role and positioning; even though his gaffe occurred while in tandem with him, Whitehead was more effective alongside Hogg and the same has applied to Mooy in previous games.

On the plus side, Kachunga worked hard and long and improves all the time, Lowe has quickly acquired assurance and looks classy and, yet again, Wagner makes game changing substitutions with Hogg being the fourth sub to grab a winner in as many games (though he took his time about it!).

The home form had to improve from last year’s abysmal record, so it is so far, so good, though we still look more compact and effective on away soil. Wolves will present a very different and potent threat next week – but there are many reasons to remain cautiously optimistic with our squad depth and momentum.

Top of the bloody league (come on, Ipswich!)

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When asked about Huddersfield Town’s player acquisition strategy, both Dean Hoyle and David Wagner have emphasised the importance of character in decision making; crucial when the easy option of spending large fortunes is simply not available (and for some of us, this is a positive).

In his first couple of months with the club, which has seen him actually on the pitch for less than 15 minutes, Michael Hefele has effortlessly embodied this philosophy. It isn’t just the giraffe kissing, the robe, the sunglasses in a convertible chic or even the two almost predictable highlights of his fledgling career – being booked before kicking a ball in anger and a deserved if bizarre equaliser at Aston Villa last night; it is his effervescent support of the team from the sidelines despite the disappointment at not being on the pitch, his instant rapport with supporters and his adoption of the club as if he had been with us from an early age.

Following a potentially disastrous first half when Town were outclassed and grimly hanging on against a strong Villa side with quality all over the pitch (particularly the excellent Awey), his teammates had to dig deep to keep the score down to one goal but, far too often they were the authors of their own misfortune as the home side swarmed forward with the backing of a loud and emotional home crowd.

The emotion arose from the desperately sad news that Dalian Atkinson had died in horrible circumstances just the day before and a minutes applause erupted in the tenth minute (10 being Dalian’s shirt number) which was sympathetically enjoined by visiting fans.

Having visited one football cathedral on Saturday, Town fans could enjoy another iconic venue just a few days later and, if anything, the experience was even better. The place reeks of history and if there is a finer sight than Villa’s majestic (and surely Listed) frontage in English football, this correspondent hasn’t seen it.

Inside, the stands – pleasingly symmetrical – carry banks of supporters and even the closure of the upper tier on one side failed to detract from a fantastic spectacle on a cracking summer evening.

The similarities to Saturday didn’t extend to the home fans. While the Geordies were quick to turn on their team even before they went behind, Villa fans were in good voice pretty much throughout and there is an air of optimism about the place after such a prolonged period of troubled campaigns.

That optimism seemed well founded as the home team dominated Town from the off with the visitors seemingly incapable of imposing their identity on the game. With a forward line of Gestede and McCormack, prompted by the strength and skill of Ayew and the trickery of Grealish, the home side were irresistible, though sloppy defending – including trying to be too clever by half – contributed.

Ward, who had an excellent game, was called in to action early, turning an Ayew strike round the post for a corner as the Villans probed Town’s weaknesses with relentless intent.

It was a complete mystery how the visitors held out for 25 minutes, during which time they barely ventured in to opposition territory, but a well deserved if somewhat fortuitous opener came from an entirely predictable source.

Bacuna was released by Ayew down the right – Van La Parra caught dozing – and his far post cross found Grealish unmarked and attempting a spectacular volley which, instead, turned in to a slight sliced cross eagerly put away by McCormack, beating a back pedalling Schindler in the air.

As waves of Villa attacks bore down on Town’s beleaguered back 4, Hogg and Mooy tried to stem the flow but were too often out muscled and any attempts to play higher up the pitch were far too easily rebuffed.

The Terriers’ fragile resilience was constantly tested and the monumental efforts of the weekend appeared to have taken their toll. Ward was frequently called upon for saves, though they were often routine and perhaps predictive of later events as Villa failed to add to their score despite their overwhelming superiority. In retrospect, Ayew’s rather weak effort towards the end of the half when Hudson had little difficulty clearing off the line with Ward beaten may have been the real turning point of the game.

At 2 down, the visitors would have been buried and Villa’s nervous and tired last half hour may never have happened.

In an eminently forgettable first half for Town, a weak Van La Parra effort and one or two touches from Jack Payne were all they could muster. Villa fan Joe Lolley, on what was obviously a big night for him, was injured follow wing a decent run but both wide men struggled to make any impact on a Villa defence which barely had to break sweat to contain Town’s predictable and ponderous play.

Clutching the consolation of being only one goal in deficit, the half time break couldn’t come quickly enough for the dysfunctional visitors and reassessment was inevitable and essential for a clearly annoyed Wagner.

With Scannell replacing the injured Lolley, the first ten minutes of the second half continued in the same vein. Villa remained in the ascendancy and worked an opening for Ayew who fired wildly over and their confidence had, seemingly, not been dimmed in the dressing room.

On 56 minutes, Wells replaced Payne and the tide began to turn. Seemingly from nowhere, Town rediscovered their ability to keep possession, Scannell added much needed strength – both attacking and defending – to the right hand side and, crucially, Hogg and Mooy were finding time and space to lock down a previously overrun midfield.

Wells made a big difference and was denied almost immediately when he couldn’t quite control and turn quickly enough and was swamped by Gollini. Inexplicably, it became clear that Villa had peaked and in their frustration, their minds must have turned to how they wasted their first half dominance and their edginess began to grow.

An audacious Kerchunga overhead kick was well saved by Gollini and Town’s resurgence was becoming as increasingly evident as Villa’s brittle nerves.

With the threat mainly coming from the right – the excellent Smith providing fine support to Scannell – the demons of the first half were being exorcised with pulsating regularity and (largely disappointing) corners were being won as the pressure grew.

Villa were not an entirely busted flush, however, and Ward had to make a smart save from Gestede which Hudson cleared up at the expense of a painful knock, meaning he was missing for the resulting corner, but back for the one then immediately conceded which came to nought.

Scannell, Hogg and Wells had opportunities in a particular purple patch for the visitors before a foul following a partially cleared corner gave the Bermudian a chance from a free kick just outside the box which he curled on to the post with Gollini rooted to the spot.

With time running out, it seemed that we would be tackling the horrendous Birmingham traffic with just the consolation of a brave, entertaining but futile fight back to reflect upon. But then the Hef was introduced as a makeshift striker cum nuisance.

As befits his status as a non playing legend in the making, his impact was immediate. Last Tuesday, and through no fault of his own, his first competitive action was preceded by a booking; this Tuesday, he scored with his first touch as he chased down a back pass which should have been cleared straightforwardly. Instead, Gollini crashed the ball on to the Babarian’s big frame and an unusual, but deserved, equaliser sent the visiting support in to raptures.

Hefele’s incredible intervention was followed by a marvellous, exuberant and typically strange celebration as he formed claws with his hands towards the Town fans (he likes lions as well as giraffes, apparently!) and the bond between supporters and club took another leap forward.

Easily playing out 4 minutes of injury time, the team celebrated with the fans as if they had won the game. From the outside, this will have looked odd and, perhaps, betraying of a small minded syndrome, but for those of us who feel the growing sense of how special this squad and this season could be, we understand why the team felt the need to do it.

Playing a grand old, storied club in a magnificent stadium and recovering from a debilitating first half display which we know would have overwhelmed many previous incarnations of our team (particularly of the recent past) are the reasons behind exuberant celebrations of a draw – it is truly a great time to be a Town fan.

Like Newcastle, Villa will be a major force in the Championship this season and despite their faded second half performance they have very talented players, a surprisingly positive and huge fan base (despite the recent horrors) and a hard fought point felt just as, if not more, special than the 3 garnered at St James Park.

Witnessing the emerging, Kindon like, cult hero status of Hefele – readers are urged to seek out his interview with HTTV – was worth all of the traffic tribulations which awaited.

On to Barnsley at the weekend – a club who have had a knack of pricking Town’s bubble in the past. But this is a very different Town.

“All 24 teams can challenge in this division. We don’t have any reason to dream. We have every reason to work and this is what we do.

“I was never a dreamer and I was always a worker which is why I am here at this club, this is a working club. We start again tomorrow.”

David Wagner 13th August 2016.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why there is so much hope and optimism around Huddersfield Town.

Wagner enjoys the moments of triumph, which are hopefully to become more regular now that his squad is both his own and, crucially, prepared in his way, but it isn’t enough for him to produce a relatively large shock against the Championship favourites on their own turf, sit back and bask – he wants much, much more.

He also alluded to the fact that, no matter how rightfully ecstatic we all were with the win, there were elements of luck in victory – Gayle should have done better with a chance just 3 minutes in, there was an extended period when the excellent Ritchie threatened to take charge of the game single handedly and Town’s winner was preceded by more than a suspicion of a push by Palmer.

None of this will matter to the 3,200 Town fans – a number which will undoubtedly inflate as the years pass – as their team put Wagner’s master plan in to operation with possibly as much certainty as they could muster in the chaos of real time games.

Rightfully and thankfully, bemoaning the resources of other clubs and the inherent unfairness of it all which, in turn, became preemptive excuses for defeat is now a thing of the past. However, it remains hugely pertinent to compare the chasm in scale of our opponents yesterday; a little fewer than 50,000 Geordies turned out to see a second tier game with their team boasting expensive players of no little quality lead by a world famous, Champions League winning manager.

Over the past 4 years, we have pitted our wits against some pretty big clubs – Wednesday, Leeds, Derby, Forest etc – but walking up to St James Park was to experience a different level all together. People revel in mocking the lack of success at this North Eastern giant, with regular accusations of delusion, yet Newcastle United dominates the city with its imposing, monolithic presence. The stadium dominates the skyline, hulking over a city centre whose citizens formally and casually wear black and white in huge numbers. If only they could find their own Dean Hoyle.

Given the context, Town’s victory was easily the most impressive since promotion to the Championship and entirely founded on a game plan which confounded pre match musings, including those of David Wagner. The scamp.

The first surprise was the pairing of Wells and Kachunga. As a firm believer in playing one out and out striker, seeing these two on the same team sheet and in the first eleven was an indication that the normal game plan was to be adjusted for the circumstances.

As the game unfolded, it became clear that the trademark high press had been abandoned in favour of a rope a dope strategy which allows the opposition lots of possession but precious little space. As a formation to neutralise the pace of the Magpies and the passing range of Shelvey, it worked for most of the game, though Town needed to hold their nerve following a third minute breach of the system when Janmaat’s ball over the top should really have been converted by Gayle.

For the rest of the half, however, open play was largely under Town’s control despite them having significantly less possession than their hosts. Newcastle’s attempts to find their front man were thwarted time and again to the growing consternation of their supporters – a day which started with an atmosphere building display of large flags quietened down markedly and quickly as Wagner’s game plan became more and more effective.

Shelvey largely came out the loser in his bald head to bald head clash with the excellent Mooy but when he was unshackled from the Aussie for free kicks and the home side’s solitary first half corner, his threat was real.

He put in a dangerous cross from a free kick, only for Ward to be equal to Mbemba’s powerful header and from the subsequent corner, Hayden headed just over. Finally, Ward was forced in to a decent save from his free kick, but that was pretty much the last significant contribution Shelvey made.

Despite deliberately starving themselves of the ball, Town also created chances. In contrast to United’s rather ponderous build up play, the visitors counter thrusts were pacy and direct. An early Wells shot only just cleared the bar and the returning striker then assisted Kachunga to hit the post. Lolley and Van La Parra wasted reasonable chances by firing way over the bar on each occasion but there was little doubt that the visitors posed a threat.

After Shelvey’s free kick, Town sucked the enthusiasm from the crowd with calm authority. Rarely hustled out of possession when they had it and easily frustrating the Magpies forays forward, the home side resorted to speculative balls forward which, more often than not, sailed over heads to safety or were easily cut out by an increasingly comfortable back four.

As the first half entered injury time, the noisy Town fans – sweltering at altitude under a Perspex roof which concentrates rather than diffuses sunlight – could be satisfied with a very solid performance from their team, but it was about to get much, much better.

Picking the ball up inside Newcastle’s half, Van La Parra went on one of his runs which often peter out with lost possession. To the audible annoyance of the baking fans, the Dutchman ignored a good run by Lowe on his left and turned in to what should have been a crunching tackle by Shelvey. The ex- Swansea man was, to be kind, half hearted in response and allowed Town’s winger to squeeze a ball through to Wells who coolly curled a low shot home.

The frustration around St James’ Park was palpable and boos inevitably followed as half time came. Somewhat higher up in the stands, a good half had been turned in to a great one and a raucous following roared their delight – there was a sense that this was going to be one of those good days righteously earned through years of largely uninterrupted disappointment.

The exuberance of some of us with a memory was slightly tempered by the sight of Matt Ritchie readying himself on the touchline as a replacement for the ineffectual Aarons (though he had been better than the woeful Anita). It seemed that Benitez had woken up to the fact that he had spent a lot of money on a very, very good player and perhaps it would be an idea to, you know, involve him (in fairness to Rafa, it emerged that Ritchie wasn’t fully fit though his performance didn’t suggest it).

Town’s first half assurance began to creak a little as the threat from Newcastle’s right increased with Ritchie and Janmaat proving a handful for the over worked Lowe and Van La Parra (eventually, Wagner swapped the more defensively adept Lolley for his Dutch team mate to good effect until Joe’s cramps overcame him).

Inevitably, the home side’s new found impetus on the right lead to an equaliser. Janmatt’s cross eluded Hudson, who may have been impeded and the ball struck his hand in the ensuing melee. It would have been a brave referee who would have denied a penalty in front of the Gallowgate End but, in truth, the offence, while unfortunate, was clear.

With hopes pinned on Ward, the Welsh keeper didn’t have to do much more than guess the right way to dive to stop a pretty awful penalty by Gayle; unfortunately, the ball looped up for the ex Palace man to head home his first Toon goal.

In the following 15 minutes, Town’s play became less and less of a game plan and a more desperate rearguard action.

Sitting a little too deep by now and with legs tiring in the middle, the home team had the opportunity to go for the jugular but, again to the consternation of the black and white hordes, lacked any real guile to trouble Town’s last line of defence.

In and amongst the ineffectiveness, however, a rare attack involving passing and moving found Dummett who put in an excellent far post cross which the otherwise excellent Ritchie should have buried.

By then, Wagner had rung the changes. Wells, just back from a long lay off and increasingly superfluous as Town defended deep, was replaced by Palmer with Kachunga moved forward.

Between half time and the equaliser, Town’s counter attacks were rare – Lolley forced Sels in to a routine save early on in the half – and though the impressive Hogg and Mooy continued to frustrate their opponents, phases of possession were few and far between.

Van La Parra, anonymous as an attacking force and already replaced as defensive cover and exiled to the right was taken off for Scannell.

The substitutions seemed to settle Town in to a better shape; while desperation was never far from the surface, Kachunga was a more visible outlet for pressure than Wells and Palmer added a little more guile.

Newcastle were restricted to shooting from range, badly, and the intensity from their right started to ebb.

In these slowly changing circumstances, Wagner was forced in to his final substitution as Lolley succumbed to a second bout of cramp (reflecting just how difficult it had been to contain Ritchie) and Kachunga was pressed in to a more defensive role as Palmer moved forward. Jack Payne, a rather unfortunate victim of Wagner’s revised game plan, came on to take the number 10 role.

The little Essex lad was about to burn his name on the memories of the Town faithful just one minute after his introduction.

A clearance was fought for by Palmer on the left, with a hint of illegality, and the Chelsea loanee wriggled away before playing a perfect ball to the scampering Payne. Slowing his advance slightly, he bought himself vital seconds before striking an unstoppable shot in to the far corner past the hapless Sels. It was the only way.

Pandemonium in the Gods ensued as a famous victory loomed and, probably anticipating backlash, a demoralised home team couldn’t muster much of a response before a rapidly depleting crowd.

A generous – to us – 4 minutes were added on but the story was written. That narrative, of course, was Newcastle’s defeat rather than Town’s win (stop moaning, that IS the story) but their opprobrium was of little concern to the delirious Yorkshire men loudly celebrating in the far flung corner.

Wagner, delighted at the way his charges had carried out his plan (even if they rode their luck a little at times), joined in the celebrations by standing back to allow then to take the acclaim.

It would, of course, be far cooler to just take the win as if it was routine, but we all know it was actually pretty momentous and, in any case, the importance of the connection between supporters and the team has been extensively stated since the German takeover and there is a genuine hope that this season may well turn out to be a special one.

After a performance where each and every player contributed, it is a little unfair to pick out individuals, but the Hogg/Mooy axis was hugely responsible for the win. Hogg was everywhere protecting his colleagues and Mooy’s class is unmistakable.

With another fallen giant to face on Tuesday, recovery time – emotional as well as physical – is short, but we can rely on Wagner to make the right decisions for a game where the pressure is off following a perfect start to the season.

Newcastle will click, and probably sooner rather than later, but Saturday provided a welcome example of how organisation, innovation and belief can overcome huge financial disadvantage – Dean Hoyle’s plan is starting to bear fruit, even if it is very early to make any assumptions in this enormously challenging division.

For now, let’s enjoy the result and performance and remember “I was there!”

Having broken their opening day demons on Saturday, a strangely disjointed Town successfully maintained their cup run avoidance strategy last night with a poor second half display against League 1 giants Shrewsbury Town.

Sometimes in defeat, sunlight shines on the inevitable conundrums facing managers over the course of the season. In this case, the seemingly odd decision to continue selecting a slowing and ageing centre half and captain began to make much more sense. His potential replacements are not ready, his leadership was sorely missed and his organising ability and footballing intelligence is perhaps under valued (including by this correspondent).

The League Cup first round is becoming an annual and reliable graveyard for Championship clubs; the regularity of so called shocks (6 fell last night) is debasing the romance of it all and is seen as an easy opportunity for rotation and experimentation.

This is not to excuse a shambolic second half performance by Wagner’s men who should have settled the tie by half time but couldn’t translate almost complete dominance in to the goals which would have rendered the goal they conceded after less than a minute a mere aberration.

The dozy start, featuring weak attempted clearances, a pathetic attempt to tackle and some good movement from Shrewsbury shocked the visitors in to a decent, occasionally vibrant, first half display with Town pinning their hosts in to their own half for prolonged periods.

While the Salopians defended stoutly for much of the half, they struggled to contain the lively Payne and Van La Parra, while Kachunga continued his hard working role up top.

Twice, Jack Payne skipped past defenders with his quick feet and turn of pace, but he should have done much better than putting one chance wide with only the keeper to beat and firing another straight at the custodian when again clear. A late header was also a half chance, though you suspect aerial ability isn’t his forte.

Putting aside his finishing, however, the manner in which he created the two one on one chances provided more evidence of a growing talent which will deliver more positive results over the season.

With temporary captain Hogg protecting a largely untroubled defence, Town finally equalised with Mooy latching on to a clever ball from Van La Parra, turning past a defender and hanging up a perfect cross for Kachunga to score his second in two games.

And that was where the good news stopped.

Hogg collected a booking and, sensibly, he was replaced at half time by Paurevic – a chance for the big German Croat to shine which, sadly, he didn’t take.

Almost unbelievably, Town started the half as sloppily as they had the first and a Shrewsbury chance duly arrived before the half time tea was drained.

Unlike the first half, however, Town’s response was unstructured and messy. Attacks broke down in front of a newly resilient Shrewsbury who played much better as a unit, disrupted Town’s attempts for fluency and were well served by their new loan signing from Newcastle, Toney, who provided a much improved focal point for their counter attacks.

Without the busy Hogg, Town’s midfield became increasingly slow and static and far too many forward thrusts ended up in front of an increasingly dominant home back four.

Other than one decent run and pull back (intercepted by a defender), Scannell’s influence on the game receded and while Crainie is trying to get forward in the full back role Wagner clearly demands, his efforts look unnatural in comparison to Smith and attacks down the right were rendered ineffective.

Paurevic was weak in the tackle at times, too immobile and a poor fit with Mooy and Payne. His indecisive display exposed his central defenders and Stankovic in particular who became uncomfortable on the ball – it also exposed the reason why retaining and playing Hudson is not a blind spot of Wagner’s, which has been suggested, but a necessity until the understudy is ready.

Playing a little higher up the pitch and reducing the swathes of space they had allowed Town in the first half, Shrewsbury grew in to the game with increasing confidence and were able to restrict the visitors with a rugged and more dynamic style while creating the opportunities they could not before the break.

In between a decent effort from eventual match winner Dodds and a spurned opportunity for Sarcevic, where he should have done better, Paurevic fired a long range shot just wide.

On the hour, Palmer came on for Payne who hadn’t been able to replicate his first half display. The Chelsea youngster had a busy half hour, including a decent free kick which was, none the less, routinely saved, but even his skills were always eventually thwarted by the hosts’ solid defending. His strength in possession is, however, going to be a real asset on bigger stages than the Greenhaus Stadium.

Too many attempts to play in Kachunga were easily thwarted and Shrewsbury’s fast breaks were becoming naggingly worrying.

Eventually, the home side got the reward their efforts deserved as further midfield weakness allowed substitute Jones to feed the ball in to Toner who showed good strength to feed Dodds who fired a shot at Ward who may have done better than the Joe Hart impression he actually performed.

Increasingly desperate and unable to find a way through in normal style, Town turned to Hefele to add height up front. Incredibly, but totally in keeping with his status as a would be legend despite never kicking a ball in anger for the team, he was booked for entering the field without permission.

Let that sink in. Booked before he had actually started his debut.

The new agricultural tactics bore little fruit – Kachunga latched on to a flick on from a defender and his volley was saved but, otherwise, disappointment that we reverted to blatant panic was probably matched by relief from a Shrewsbury defence well equipped to deal with it.

The home side saw out 4 minutes of injury time with relative ease (indeed, they could and probably should have sealed the victory earlier as they broke with threat against a depleted Town defence missing Stankovic and Schindler who were pushed forward) and fully deserved their victory.

In time honoured fashion, Town are now out of a cup. More seriously, several squad members were not only unable to stake a claim for a league start, some of them looked worryingly inadequate. Paurevic in particular was brittle, belying his size, and Stankovic unconvincing.

It will be interesting to see how Wagner responds as his team swap the rural idyll of Shropshire for a St James’ Park cauldron – what a contrast for players and supporters alike – but perhaps the somewhat overblown conclusions from a decent opening day win will be reassessed more in line with realism.

It is, however, increasingly tedious trying to avoid crowbarring the phrase “cup of woe” in to reports, season after season.

Opening day defeats have become a staple diet for Town fans since promotion to the Championship – the first, at Cardiff, was more than a little unlucky and presaged a good start to the season, while the Bournemouth disaster 2 years ago predicated a season of struggle ultimately overcome.

It isn’t a new phenomena either; wins are rare over the past 30 years, even in the lower divisions, and can have the effect of pricking any balloon of optimism and the deflation can be debilitating.

The admirable marketing of the “Wagner Revolution” may be a little overblown to us cynical and gnarly Town fans of a certain age, but the galvanisation of the club is indisputable – an intelligent and strategic coach, a rightly revered owner and a revitalised and growing fan base are providing the foundations of a project to overcome financial disadvantage which seems to grow every year.

The philosophies behind Wagner’s identity idea, coupled with an ethos of transparent hard work, appear theoretically unimpeachable, but many acid tests await.

Thankfully, and in front of an engaged and sizeable audience, the first of many hurdles was negotiated successfully with a deserved but never straightforward victory over a talented Brentford side who had ran amok against a thoroughly unprofessional Town just 3 months earlier.

Only three Town men survived from that debacle and two of them, Smith and Van La Parra had huge impact on the contest. The other, captain Hudson, was rather fortunate not to influence events in a far less positive manner and it seems inevitable that his place in the side, with other options available, will come under severe scrutiny as the weeks go by.

Overall, Town’s performance was good but contained flat spots betraying a little ring rustiness, though it should be said that their opponents, some way below what you would imagine will be their peak, have some very talented players who will cause most teams problems.

In the first 15 minutes, little of this talent was allowed to shine through as Town went forward at will and pressured the Bees in to regular error. Van La Parra, in particular, created mayhem with his dribbling and strong running.

The finishing, however, didn’t match the intent and several attempts by the Dutchman sailed high and wide along with a weak effort which was collected, rather than saved, by Bentley in the visitors’ goal.

Jack Payne, who was to grow in stature as the game went on, also missed an opportunity but despite these failings, Town carried the game to the Londoners with no little intensity.

Mooy, a calm and influential presence in midfield, Hogg and Payne dominated their opponents and it seemed certain that the abject display in May would be put firmly in to history.

Hogan, our nemesis that day, was largely isolated in the first half but still managed a (weak) shot straight at Ward and then created trouble for the two central defenders only to see the ball across he had fought hard to deliver going to waste as no colleague had taken a chance to get in to the box.

While play drifted in to sloppiness at times, the runs of Lolley and, especially, Payne were added to Van La Parra’s, creating excitement and opportunities, all spurned (the hard working Kachunga didn’t so much fire wide his only first half chance as slice it weakly wayward).

Sluggish Brentford occasionally sparked in to life but Town had largely controlled the first half. However, the twin concerns over Hudson’s lack of pace and careless distribution which provided the visitors with their best moments and doubts over where goals were to come from without the injured and possibly departing Wells cast something of a pall over the more encouraging aspects of the home display.

The latter concern was partially dispelled early in the second half. A bright and inventive start put Town decisively on the front foot and after a spell of territorial dominance, the excellent Tommy Smith – a stand out in an occasionally jittery defence – delivered a fantastic cross from the right which curled away from Bentley and allowed Kachunga to head home at the back post for his debut goal.

The lead was a deserved one and with Mooy’s calm prompting and the trickery of Lolley and Payne again to the fore, Town threatened to overwhelm the disjointed Bees. The irresistible Payne jinked past despairing tackles to fire in a great effort which was turned away by Bentley, his erstwhile Southend colleague.

Dean Smith made a double substitution in an attempt to change the fortunes of his charges – Saunders and Yennaris coming on for the ineffective Kerschbaumer and McEachran (who had actually shown a fair amount of quality in the first half when given the opportunity), and the visitors slowly came back in to the game.

MacLeod and Hogan had half chances they were unable to convert and Town’s back line were once again harried in to error and panic at times.

The game defining minutes arrived at the three quarter mark with a very good chance inside the box for Van La Parra, who was denied by the excellent Bentley at close range. Immediately afterwards, a soft free kick was conceded just inside Town’s half and, for once, midfield cover went missing as Brentford restarted play quickly. A mixture of good movement from MacLeod latching on to an incisive pass forward and his intelligent flick to Yennaris freed the substitute to fire through Ward’s legs for an eye catching if rather undeserved equaliser.

Wagner immediately withdrew Payne – who received a very well deserved ovation – and introduced Chelsea prodigy Palmer to a team in danger of crumbling with the setback.

A traditional Town capitulation didn’t follow, however. A promising attack which ended with a weak Van La Parra effort was the immediate response and following a mix up at a Brentford throw in on the half way line, Joe Lolley released Van La Parra with a great ball. His teammate surged at an alarmed visiting defence and made his way (rather too easily from the Bees’ perspective) past two defenders before firing a shot too close to Bentley. With commendable alertness having been on the pitch for just two minutes, Palmer snapped up the rebound with his first touch taking him away from the keeper and defenders and his second restoring the lead.

It was no less than Town’s display deserved and a pivotal moment for a young man making his first steps (literally!) in the adult game.

In the last 15 minutes, including 5 minutes injury time, Town largely controlled events with good possession but conceded a free kick late on which was fired over. Before the kick was taken, 3 Brentford players deliberately obstructed Ward’s attempts to line up the wall – something they had also done earlier to the crowd’s displeasure – prompting discussions about the legality of the tactic which appeared to be in contravention of the game’s spirit and, arguably, ungentlemanly conduct deserving of bookings.

A late half chance put over the bar by Yenarris was the only other moment of concern, and, at last, Town had collected 3 points on opening day.

With two considerable challenges away from home on the horizon, the early collection of points relieves some pressure from Wagner’s team, though they are undoubtedly going to have to be better defensively in those games.

A decent display was flawed at times but several players produced very encouraging performances. Van La Parra, though sometimes erratic, caused Brentford many problems with strong runs, the best of which lead to the winner and Lolley was lively and less profligate than he can be.

Jack Payne provided sparkling effervescence with his turns and direct thrusts. He adds a dynamism which should allow us to forget Paterson and looks destined for crowd favouritism.

In his short and, for the opponents, devastating cameo, Palmer looks ready for the fray even at a tender age – Wagner will, no doubt, manage him sensibly, but the potential is exciting.

Mooy’s composure and passing ability should be a huge asset, even if he was wayward at times – a calm and creative presence is another positive for a team with potential to be quite a lot better than this opening display.

Ward was confident and competent and looks a step up from Steer in the Wagner system.

Finally, the unflappable Tommy Smith produced his best performance in a Town shirt. His cross for the opener was the highlight, but his contribution was significant throughout and hopefully he can sustain the level and dispel the nagging doubts which persisted last season.

Cautious optimism can be derived from the day. The flaws at both ends of the pitch are solvable and Wagner has a good sized squad from which to choose options.

Up and running.

An abject, worrying and unacceptable last day performance sucked the air out of any optimism that may have flickered throughout a strange and very patchy season where the goal of avoiding relegation was achieved but the limitations of a weak squad was regularly exposed.

Nobody had told Brentford that it was time to take the foot off the gas and they ruthlessly exploited a listless home side very impressively.

The rot set in early. Very, very early. The odd decision by Wagner to experiment with the exclusively right footed Cranie at left back was exposed in less than 30 seconds when rather than carrying out a basic clearance, he responded to a call from Steer, shinned an attempted back pass in to the path of Canos and Town were 1 down before anyone had drawn breath.

Town had little in response. Makeshift centre forward Van La Parra tried to inject some pace and urgency and was assisted by some bright work by Matmour (both were to fade out alarmingly in the second half) but too many were either completely off the pace – Paterson’s persistent inability to control the ball was baffling for a player of his ability – or simply embarrassing; the impressive Hogan (apparently being watched by Roy Keane for a Euro spot) ran Hudson ragged, Cranie looked like he had his feet on the wrong legs (having been put in an invidious position by his manager) and there were others who should look back on their efforts with shame.

The only surprise from a dreadful first half was that Brentford didn’t punish their woeful hosts further, particularly when novice keeper Allinson had to replace the injured Steer. It would prove to be a harrowing experience for the ginger custodian, but he pulled off a couple of decent saves before the break to postpone the eventual agony.

A blocked effort by Van La Parra was the only remotely decent moment in a half where Town were comprehensively outplayed. And things were going to get much, much worse.

Before an epic collapse, Town found an unlikely equaliser when Whitehead’s quick thinking at a free kick released Paterson. For once, the ball didn’t bounce off him and as some sort of muscle memory kicked in the on loan man finished with aplomb.

Seemingly affronted by being level to an inferior team in all areas, Brentford soon reasserted their authority and what would become a recurring theme of missed tackles, weak relinquishing of possession and poor positioning, the Bees found yawning gaps to ruthlessly exploit.

Hogan tucked two away past the inexperienced and criminally exposed Allinson before being replaced by Vibe who did the same to make it 4-1.

A fifth and final nail was hammered in by Swift and the humiliation complete.

One had to feel sorry for the poor bugger who had to pick a man of the match from such a listless, disjointed and embarrassing display and the only consolation for supporters being promised the hope of revolution was that a woefully inadequate back four – and there will be few who believe Davidson in place of Cranie would have made much difference – will be largely disbanded over the summer.

The scale of Wagner’s challenges have been starkly illustrated in the performances since the Leeds game which have garnered one win against a terrible Blackburn side and a massive collapse in the final 2 encounters.

A weary squad, some with little or no playing future at the club, have finished the season with a whimper, dampening the expectation regularly touted by the club. It must be infuriating for Dean Hoyle that his season card initiative has been undermined by poor displays but, fortunately, many were sold before the players downed tools entirely.

So, yet another season fizzles out with very, very little to celebrate – the home form has been pretty dreadful on the whole, the league position has deteriorated and crowds actually in the stadium will continue to be depressed until the fare served up is both attractive and winning.

New faces, a good pre-season and room for Wagner to instil his philosophies with a squad more of his making may change around our fortunes but those hopes have been unnecessarily tarnished by the late performances.

Thank you for reading these reports this season (with apologies for the winter break!) and have a great summer.

Thanks to my older brother, Howard, I get in to all Town’s home games gratis and get to sit in one of the best seats in the house in box 16 at the JSS. He also gets invitations to the odd away game by HTFC (thanks, Tracy!) and invariably takes his freeloading sibling along.

To recompense, and in an attempt to salve my conscience, I do a man of the match sponsorship each year, and today v Brentford is the day (with the added bonus that an early kick off extends drinking time considerably).

Having no company, product or service to plug these days, it seems like a good idea to donate the sponsorship publicity to a cause and this year I read and heard about the daughter of a Town fan, Gareth Price, who sadly died aged just 4 of a brain tumour in 2013.

Gareth and his family and friends organised a 150 mile relay walk around 18 Yorkshire sports stadiums in April to raise funds for Candlelighters in Leeds and Forget-Me-Not Children’s Hospice in Huddersfield; 2 institutions who were greatly supportive through Holly’s illness.

The walk has been done and details of the event, Holly’s story and how to donate can be found at http://www.redwoodevents.co.uk

I know there are a handful of people who trudge through my match reports on this site during the season and, if you liked them, hopefully you can give some thought to donating and help Gareth and his family and friends reach their target of £20,000.

Thanks

Martin

With safety assured – mathematics finally catching up with reality – an uninspiring fixture against Birmingham City, themselves disabused of slim play off ambitions many weeks ago, signalled the dog days of a season which began with despair and foreboding but ends with hope born of witnessing a fresh and very different approach turning an apparently poor squad in to a reasonably competitive outfit.

With at least 2 and possibly 3 huge clubs descending from above, the Championship will remain very challenging even with increased spending, but supporters could be forgiven for distracting themselves with thoughts of what Wagner can achieve with a full pre-season and a squad bolstered by his own selections.

To the unbridled delight of the visiting fans, who even carried out a mock funeral of their rivals, replete with claret and blue draping a home made coffin, one of those huge clubs is Villa where poor decisions and a remote ownership has relegated the bigger of the second city’s clubs with little sign that an immediate revival is likely.

It was, perhaps, inevitable, that the distracted moods of both set of fans would be mirrored by a game which was intermittently entertaining but lacking the intensity of more meaningful competition.

With Paterson and Huws restored to the starting line up, Wagner handed Dempsey another chance at right back while his team had an opportunity to improve what has been a disappointing home record over the season. It was also a chance to do the double over the Blues – the away victory in early December was Wagner’s first and signalled both a change in fortunes and, with the performance, vindicated his appointment even though their hosts had a severe striker crisis at the time and perfectly suited Town’s away style in their weakened and vulnerable state.

Gary Rowett, who has proven himself a very astute manager, has marshalled thin resources (compromised by yet another foreign ownership model) and kept Birmingham in the top 10 all season and, this time, could call upon Clayton Donaldson, Lafferty (who was rather oddly coveted by Championship clubs despite high wages and a poor scoring record in England) and Fabbrini, who was to prove a poor man’s Forestieri with less talent but all the drama.

It was hardly a surprise that the visitors proved rugged and resolute, in the image of their manager, but this was to be a day when Town’s failure to convert large expanses of possession in to enough chances and those that were made were largely wasted.

Kicking off, Town managed to maintain largely pointless possession for nearly 2 minutes before a misplaced Hudson pass let in Lafferty to blast over wastefully – the captain made several errors in the first half but, on the whole, the defence coped comfortably with the visitors until Steer had to save sharply from Davis mid half.

Before then, with Paterson lively and with Town playing some decent balls between the lines, Lolley fired an effort wide – despite several efforts throughout the game the Villa fan couldn’t add to his record against Brum or, indeed, trouble the keeper.

Many corners were wasted during the afternoon – Town had 15 – but an early one saw a Hudson flick elude defenders to allow Huws a headed effort only for the keeper to make a good one handed save while changing direction.

The best chance of all, though, fell to Wells when an incisive passing move set him clear of his marker. With too much time to think, however, the in form striker mishit his attempt and it screwed wide.

With Steer under employed and Town dominating possession, there were occasional passages of good play but they fell a little short in intensity – no matter how hard you try to guard against the dulling impact of games of little consequence, even the small blunting of sharpness is noticeable.

Huws, who Dean Hoyle confirmed was too expensive to buy before the game, and Paterson, who, it seems, possibly isn’t, pulled most of the midfield strings allowing Van La Parra, in particular, to provide decent if ultimately thwarted thrusts at the opposition. He was well supported by Davidson down the left, though the Australian’s well known flaws persist defensively.

Sometimes pleasing on the eye, Town found the visitors resolute in defence once the final third was reached until Wells’ chance just before the end, which would have changed the game and yet again emphasised the importance of scoring first.

More chances were created in the second half than the first, despite the slightly odd substitutions just on the hour with Van La Parra and Paterson making way for Mitmour and Bunn, a seemingly weakening of Town’s creativity. The Dutch winger had set Wells on his way only to be upended trying to support him – alone in the area, Wells shot wide from too an acute an angle.

Lolley, fed by the hard working Wells who had stolen the ball from a dilettante defender, had a shot deflected wide when he may have done better and then, when Wells was felled dangerously near the area, Lolley fired the free kick,over the bar.

Matmour’s half hour was, again, very encouraging. While his footballing intelligence and poise is sometimes let down by hesitancy, once free and in space, he looks dangerous and difficult to dispossess. His best run, starting with a dummy and continuing with tight control as he ran at Brum’s back four was followed by a sublime ball with the outside of his right foot which bent around the retreating defenders only for Bunn to just fail to connect.

Had that chance been converted it would have completed a comeback following the concession of a lead the visitors barely deserved. Whitehead, booked yet again in the first half, halted the progress of a Birmingham attack with an unnecessary foul and the sloppiness continued with a badly constructed wall inviting Cotterill to fire through a gap; a slight deflection wrong footed Steer, but an attempt at a save would have been nice.

Scannell’s introduction offered a different approach and the winger, who has had a regularly interrupted and largely ineffective season, looked more like the rejuvenated player of last season. It was his typically clever run which lead to an equaliser the home team deserved when a rather weak shot fell to Lynch in the area. The impressive centre back pivoted and coolly slotted home.

Just before the end, yet another corner was poorly delivered and spun up in the air off Lynch. Matmour executed a good overhead kick which took a slight deflection and brought a good save from Kuszczak and the points were shared.

A patchy performance largely let down by a familiar lack of ruthlessness in the final third was a little disappointing, though there were some good performances.

Huws’ calm patrolling and passing through the lines, Wells’ work rate and movement and Paterson’s lively prompting was complimented by Matmour’s obvious class.

Dempsey’s apprenticeship at right back was moderately successful – his energy and willingness to get forward are tempered by his rawness but he offers a good alternative to the less fluid Smith and has plenty of time to mature and develop.

Perhaps more important than a game a little blighted by its dead rubber status was Dean Hoyle’s reported excitement at the prospects for next season; excitement predicated on the arrival of new players to a squad which will allow us to “go for it”.

Seasoned Town supporters may well counsel people to retain some cynicism given the regularity of disappointment, but there is nothing wrong with hope – indeed, it has often been all we have had, however forlorn they turned out to be; at least we seem to be creating our new future on sound principles.

Neil Warnock’s admirable and quite remarkable transformation of a club seemingly doomed to relegation when he arrived has provided one of the stories of the Championship season.

To the surprise of no one, he has done it with a style which owes far more to the philosophies of Charles Hughes than anything the 21st century has had to offer, but needs must and even route one football demands the discipline, organisation and fitness not usually found in abundance in a squad which looked to have accepted their fate by January.

With both clubs on the verge of mathematical safety before kick off, the game represented a new, interesting and difficult challenge in David Wagner’s English football education. Thankfully, aerial bombardment is a rarity in the Championship but as a test of resilience, countering the Millers style was an opportunity for the German.

It is one thing to prepare for a direct style of play, but quite another to experience it. In the first 15 minutes, Rotherham rattled Town regularly and with some force – the visitors struggled to cope and seemed determined to hand the initiative to their hungry hosts.

Free kicks and corners – bread and butter to Warnock’s game plan – were freely conceded and with long, spearing throw ins adding to the Millers’ artillery, it seemed we were all in for a long, neck stretching night.

Ugly as it is, the methodology is effective when done well and there was a sense of inevitability when the home side took the lead with a rare moment of beauty. Not really – a corner awarded by an extraordinarily inept linesman who looked as shell shocked as the visitors was won at the back post, the ball squirting to Halford who took credit for a goal which owed far more to a big deflection off Whitehead.

Having imposed their style, the home side continued to dominate and a long night seemed inevitable. Any attempt by Town to get the ball on the grass was easily and regularly thwarted and the next chance soon followed with Ward, (G) not (D), latching on to a long ball behind Davidson only to be thwarted by a decent Steer save.

Another corner caused more consternation, with 3 home players in contention to score on the back post when a partial clearance came back with interest, but a tame effort was easily gathered by Steer.

At this point, it was easy to see how and why Rotherham’s season has been turned around so dramatically – though not easy on the eye, the bombardment creates chances and defensive panic and confusion; the game can be put beyond you in double quick time.

Fortunately for Town, and quite significantly against the run of play, the otherwise rather disappointing Van La Parra won the ball back after initially losing possession, the ball fell to Bunn who then slipped in Wells to fire in under Camp (who should have done much better).

Goals change games, they say, and the cliche held firm as the home side visibly deflated at the blow. A torrid 20 minutes for the visitors was left behind as they took a grip of a game they were rarely to let go, even if fluency was at a premium for much of the time.

Wells, who played well all night against a typically robust defence, latched on to an excellent long ball from Lynch (you will notice that our long balls are described as the epitome of accuracy while theirs are a bombardment!), but could only fire against Camp from a tight angle.

Defensively, Town began to comfortably cope with Rotherham, Lynch and Hudson easily dealing with long balls and, crucially, now finding the time and space to get the ball to their midfield to build.

Other than the Wells effort following the goal, however, chances were at a premium for both sides and an interesting half, short on sustained quality but not incident, ended all square.

Town dominated the rest of the game with just a little more composure in possession. While the aerial route still caused minor difficulties at times, it was the visitors’ style which largely prevailed, helped by the early introduction of Paterson and Matmour.

Many supporters are undecided on the latter, but they should be patient – he added a touch of class to proceedings with good movement and intelligent passing; though he still needs further acclimatisation to the rigours of 2nd tier English football, he is beginning to look more at home and he is unlikely to face much more of a culture shock than the New York stadium experience against a Warnock team.

A Joe Lolley dribble and shot brought a good save from Camp – tellingly, he was named man of the match by the home team despite his weak attempt for Wells’ goal – with Paterson just unable to pick out a colleague from the rebound.

Matmour set up Wells for a decent long range effort which went just wide as Town’s grip on midfield tightened, and the two combined again only for Camp to keep out the Bermudian.

A Lynch effort from distance drew some oohs and ahs, but it wasn’t troubling Camp who let it drift wide before Town’s final effort ended up in the net but ruled out by an offside flag. Wells had retrieved a ball to the corner with a deft, first time ball back to Paterson but the on loan man’s clever return ball found Wells just beyond the last man.

A creditable draw against in form opposition, mathematical safety achieved and a new learning experience for Wagner added up to a reasonably satisfying night for the Terriers who can now turn their thoughts towards an important and potentially exciting pre season.

For Rotherham, safety is yet to be entirely secured but their transformation under Warnock has been one of the stories of the Championship season. At the risk of patronising them, it is good that they will remain in the division – their compact ground can generate a decent atmosphere, their fans aren’t delusional like many in the division and beating the budget odds is always an attractive narrative.

Wagner now has the luxury of experimentation time having achieved his number one objective – and supporters can finally stop bloody worrying about a relegation which was never going to happen!

Following a run of tough games against top 6 sides with, last weekend and at last, the collection of a single point from one of them, Town began their season run in against teams that are, for the time being, considered their peers.

Much was made pre match of Town’s record at Ewood Park, where they haven’t won in 30 years. Hardly ever playing there until recently rather dilutes the already pretty pointless statistic and our record since returning to the Championship has been a narrow defeat and 2 turgid goalless draws.

There is also the unmistakeable stench of decay about the famous old Lancastrians. Absentee Indian owners appear to be losing interest and Lambert’s lightly veiled ultimatums over transfer funds look likely to be ignored and it is far from inconceivable that the, ahem, chickens are coming home to roost for a club never far from FFP sanctions scrutiny.

Rovers’ team to face Town contained little to fear; the departures of Gestede and Rhodes and the arrival of the ageing and never prolific Danny Graham has significantly weakened a club who have never really convinced as potential promotion challengers since their demotion.

With the increasingly remote possibility of relegation receding to theoretical mathematics following last week’s results, all of the apparently invincible top 6 having been played and a better, if far from perfect display in the last game, Town could go in to this game with reasonable confidence.

A dire first half was intermittently brightened up by the skills of Van La Parra who tormented Blackburn’s defenders and midfielders without being able to penetrate what appeared to be a solid home back line. While Town took control of possession, their progress up the field was either too laboured or they were forced in to trying long balls to be comfortably dealt with by Hanley.

The best move of the half was the home team’s. A short corner was cleverly worked between Gomez and Marshall with the former being freed by the latter’s back heel to the byline, but the resilience Town’s defenders showed regularly against Hull came to the fore as Graham’s shot was charged down before the ensuing melee was cleared.

A free kick was also well blocked by the wall but the rest of Rovers’ attacks, which became increasingly sporadic, were easily dealt with.

For their part, Town created little of note and yet another foray forward appeared to fizzle out as a cross from Bunn was intercepted by Marshall only for the hapless Duffy to attempt a headed back pass to his keeper. Wells, creditably alert, latched on to the ill advised and slightly loopy attempt and cleverly diverted past Steele with an instinctive finish.

Duffy was also to provide a comedy moment beloved of all football followers when he was slammed from close range in the nuts in the second half. Horrible when it happens to you (ladies, you are just going to have to take our word for it), but a rare joy as a witness.

Shortly after Town’s opener, Steele presented the ball to Van La Parra when trying to find Marshall. The opportunity came to naught but betrayed a fragility in the home team which was to be exploited in a marginally better second half.

Having scored with their only attempt on target shortly before half time, Town’s recent Ewood Park drought had finally come to an end and a vital platform had been established. Somewhat fortuitous and a little more than a tepid first half had deserved, it was, never the less, a welcome advantage which had the added virtue of being well timed as the break loomed.

It had been a half where Town’s ability to keep possession better than their hosts became quickly apparent, even if there was virtually no potency in the final third. Whitehead – very fortunate not to be booked for a late challenge – and Huws dominated midfield and provided an effective shield for a largely comfortable defence ably marshalled by Hudson and Lynch.

Moving the ball more quickly must have been on the agenda for Wagner’s half time talk as Town took control of the early stages of the second period, and they were rewarded by a second goal before the hour.

Bunn swung in a near post corner which was met by Hudson and diverted in to his own goal by Killgallon. A welcome but scruffy goal, in keeping with a very ordinary game, gave Town a solid basis for victory but it preceded Rovers best spell of the game.

Sparked in to some sort of life, the home side finally began to add some crispness to their passing and exerted what should have been game changing pressure.

Ben Marshall, a quality player who had been quelled far too easily in the first half, put in a great ball after skipping past Davidson only for Graham to miscue his straightforward headed opportunity badly wide. It was difficult not to imagine what Rhodes would have done with the chance.

The same player was thwarted by a Tommy Smith block soon afterwards but alarm bells were ringing for the visitors – a goal at that stage could have drastically changed the nature of the game.

The temporarily lively Marshall then found the byline in the box and his cross was headed out by Davidson in to the path of Gomez whose goal bound strike hit Hudson and cannoned off him for a corner. Desperate appeals for a penalty were easily turned away – Hudson had no alternative but to let the ball hit him, made no movement to suggest an attempt to keep out the ball illegally and it had struck him from fairly short range.

A routine save down near his right hand post by Steer – the only save of note he had to make – signalled the end of the home side’s brief revival and they were never to look like getting a foothold in the contest again.

Re establishing control, Town kept the ball comfortably and looked more likely to add to their score, particularly with the lively Van La Parra drawing several fouls as he threatened to break, but they were largely content to run down the clock with a calm collectiveness which thwarted and frustrated their lethargic and unimaginative hosts.

The uncertain glory of an April day saw sunshine turn to dark clouds, winds and a little snow to add meteorological drama to a game largely bereft of excitement – a late penalty appeal when Wells was shoulder charged was rightly turned down, but the win had rarely been in doubt.

A good, if not particularly inspiring, win against opponents you suspect are in dangerous decline gives Town some impetus to finish the season strongly and further persuade Dean Hoyle – if such persuasion was needed – to back Wagner with summer signings to improve a side which has a decent philosophy in the making, if not enough quality to translate it in to significant movement up the table yet.

In case you were wondering, the additional hole to those noted by Lennon appeared in Blackburn’s back four, which leads us to the promised quiz;

There are 4 UK towns and cities named in Lennon/McCartney lyrics. Blackburn is the obvious one – what are the other two? No googling now! Answers below – need to scroll down a bit.

Answers.

Southampton and London – The Ballad of John and Yoko (thanks to Pete Watson for pointing out that London appears late on)

Kirkcaldy – Cry Baby Cry.