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Streaming from the hollowed out husk of Ewood Park – Blackburn’s support appears to have dwindled to the ultra loyal who attend even in the face of the vandalism their club has been subjected to over the past half decade – Town supporters were scratching their perplexed heads over another dominant, often exhilarating, performance which could only garnish a single point.

With Mooy providing the artistry, Hogg the steel and Van La Parra the excitement, the visitors had ripped in to their hosts from the kick off and would have been good value for a 3 or 4 goal lead by the interval but for their now familiar profligacy once the relentless possession reached the important end of the pitch.

Instead, a bewildered Rovers, who had barely threatened and were denied even the briefest opportunity for a platform to build a performance, shuffled off the pitch level courtesy of a soft but awardable penalty after being comprehensively outplayed in all areas. It can only be hoped that their level of embarrassment was equal to their opponents’ frustration at not having beaten them to a pulp.

The conundrum of a team which can master all elements of the game between the penalty areas – the passing, movement and aggression overwhelmed an increasingly bewildered home side – yet becomes afflicted by hesitation and doubt in sight of the goal is baffling and becoming an urgent problem to resolve.

It certainly didn’t help that last season’s top scorer managed to be entirely anonymous as his team mates ran amok. Seemingly both uninterested and disinterested at the same time, Wells’ display was lethargic at best and no better illustrated late in the second half when Kachunga, from much further away, was the first to try and capitalise on a Steele spill. That he lasted beyond half time was a mystery; his contribution to an otherwise superb team performance was minimal to say the least.

The ferocious start by the Terriers saw them take the lead early. Only 6 minutes of complete domination were needed to force a couple of corners, some attempts on goal which were scrambled away and create palpable fear in the home ranks.

Lowe delivered an excellent corner – he was far better at them than Mooy who invariably hit the first defender – and Palmer timed his run to perfection to score easily from a few yards out.

Rather than adopting entrenchment to defend the early lead, Town turned the screw and tortured Rovers with an insatiable appetite for the ball, a hugely improved tempo from the Wigan game and a determination to keep their opponents on the ropes.

An inordinate amount of corners reflected the dynamics of the game. The incessant probing of the visitors, almost entirely on the front foot, was met with a mixture of defensive resilience – often desperate – fatal hesitancy and rank bad finishing. Delight at Town’s intoxicating style was tempered by the rising frustration at their inability to turn their prodigious play in to match winning goals. Even just one more, in a half which deserved to see them open up a chasm would have buried their hugely inferior hosts.

Chances came and went with monotonous regularity. Oddly, these chances often seemed to fall at the feet of defenders, with Hefele denied twice and Cranie – who was excellent throughout – blazing over when he really should have scored, and hitting the bar with a header.

At one point, it seemed that everyone bar Ward and Wells would be given opportunity to score and, predictably, retribution for the wastefulness was just around the corner.

Having created virtually nothing – one harmless header following a free kick fully 30 minutes in – a rare venture forward by Blackburn resulted in a throw in which was directed towards Danny Graham who let the ball run past him to evade Hefele’s attentions. Sadly, and it is a toss up between naivety and recklessness, the recalled German put a hand on the striker who went down to win a penalty.

Though soft, the contact was entirely unnecessary; not only was Mooy covering and would dealt with the routine threat easily, Graham simply isn’t quick enough to have capitalised on any error.

The much travelled and constantly over rated Graham scored from the spot. It was the only conceivable way he could have scored in a game where he and Gallagher had to feed from meagre scraps largely involving hopeful punts upfield to relieve pressure.

The penalty decision served to heap more frustration on to the shoulders of the away support as, with one mind, thoughts drifted to the travesties on Monday. It is enough to fuel illogical conspiracy theories about the way Town are falling foul of refereeing absurdities this season.

Further chances were spurned in the remainder of the half, and to their credit, the comical injustice of being level with a very poor home side didn’t quell Town’s ambition or desire, but execution remained elusive.

In truth, the second half rarely hit the heights of the first. While Town maintained their dominance and continued to create promising situations, the chances became scarcer and less threatening as, to their credit, Blackburn’s defence coped better with the visitors’ thrusts, which were perceptibly less intense.

A rising drive by Mooy narrowly missed the target and the Australian forced an excellent save from Steele followed by yet another good block from the rebound, while Palmer’s silky skills took him in to good positions but less good decision making.

Town’s pressure remained robust and unrelenting but the guile of the first half dipped and as the game wore on, the home side looked increasingly dangerous from breakaways.

Late on, Hogg had to intervene to stop what looked like a certain goal as Blackburn’s increased pace (introduced by substitution) exposed Town’s attacking intent in the manner exploited by Wigan in the last game.

Thankfully, the travesty of a home winner was avoided, but even a point seemed like a defeat following a hugely encouraging and commanding display where the statistics were as remarkable as they were frustrating. With just short of 70% possession – a figure untainted by inconsequential passing as has been the case on too many occasions- and 29 efforts on goal, it barely needs a report to point to the chronic goal scoring problem which has blighted an otherwise hugely encouraging season.

Late breakaways and a stupid decision in the area aside, Town’s defending (as a team) was much improved. In part, the quality of the opposition determined a much easier away day than in the recent past, but this would be to ignore an ability to largely smother the intent of that opposition with hard work, smart possession and good discipline.

One point from two games which should have garnered six is, of course, irritating to the point of vexation, but both games showcased the inherent ability of a squad which, while lacking essential ruthlessness, is worthy of patience to see how it blossoms in the second half of the season.

After yesterday, however, the future of Wells is clouded with doubt. It was almost perverse for him to perform so badly in such a team display – his heart simply didn’t look in it and a replacement in January is surely the priority for the club, however much that is easier to say than do.

That aside, however, Town were a joy to behold for large segments of the game and the faith in Wagner’s philosophies should have been revived among those there to witness it.

Jam

In a display which echoed many from the golden period of the season when in possession, Town’s slump in form was extended by habitual failure when out of it.

Lacking the essential slices of luck which permeated the rise to the top of the league, this was still a self inflicted defeat which will test the manager’s search for an answer to persistent defensive frailties which extend beyond the nervous and naive home debut of Stankovic, however bad his performance.

David Wagner’s search for central defensive solutions saw two new combinations tried in a confidence sapping home defeat to a physical, tactically astute Wigan who were, nevertheless, grateful to a shockingly lenient referee who waived away two eminently awardable penalties with brazen incompetence.

Captain Mark Hudson and Stankovic were paired together for the first time, presumably on the basis of their limited culpability for recent defensive debacles, but Hudson’s hamstring injury put paid to the brave new world after just 7 minutes, forcing yet another new pairing as Schindler joined the Slovenian when a revitalising spell on the bench would have been hugely more preferable; particularly as it forced the German onto an unfamiliar right side of the pair.

Starting well, Town pressed the visitors relentlessly and created presentable chances, particularly for Kachunga, whose slightly mistimed header just cleared the bar following good work from Van La Parra.

Though often infuriating, Van La Parra is, at least, direct and his running at defenders is a contrast to the painfully slow build up practised by his team mates, and a well drilled Wigan side were given far too much time to set up defensively for most of the game.

They were nearly caught out by an excellent move which released Smith to fire a cross in which just eluded Kachunga at the back post. A goal at that point would have capped a very good opening, with little seen of Wigan as an attacking force.

While there were to be a few more notable attacks worthy of overwhelming possession statistics, they were to be oases in a desert of painfully laboured movement sadly lacking in spontaneity and littered with damaging, basic errors.

As the game matured, so did Wigan. Their defensive resilience improved, helped by some lame crossing of the ball from both wings (not helped, in any way at all, by the lack of presence in the box) and when they had the ball, they used it with intelligence and, crucially, pace.

The warning signs of the visitors’ ability to exploit a high back line arrived after 20 minutes. Twice, Wildschutz’ pace saw him carve out two good chances; the first he screwed wide and the second brought a comfortable save from Ward – neither finish was worthy of the opportunities.

However, with the vulnerability exposed, Town’s nervousness without the ball ratcheted up and a collective neurosis descended on the frail back four which was not to be dispelled for the rest of the game.

Kasey Palmer, his inexperience shining through at times, tried one trick too many just over the halfway line in a futile attempt to find space – a fault which surfaces too often – and he lost possession. Van La Parra’s insipid challenge set Wigan free and Wildschut swatted away Stankovic’s equally weak attempt to stop him marauding down the right, with most of the home players stranded further forward. Mooy, to his credit, tried hard to do what he would be called upon to do again later in the game, but he was unable to catch the fleet footed Dutchman.

With only Hogg making a concerted attempt to cover, Wildschut’s ball in to the box clipped off him and set up Burke for an easy conversion.

As much as the goal was against the run of play, Town’s inability to heed the previous warnings of Wigan’s ability to break quickly and smartly was a huge frustration and the (admittedly rather wild) early season optimism drifted away into the cold night air.

A first half which promised much but delivered too little after the first quarter prolonged the late Autumn misery around a club on such a high just a few short weeks ago, and Wigan finished the stronger side with another chance for Wildschut spurned.

In mitigation, the central defensive disruption hadn’t helped and a disgraceful tackle on Scannell after just 3 minutes by Warnock (a serial dirty bastard) saw the winger limp through to just before the end of the half before finally succumbing. It did seem strange that he carried on for so long, however.

Town were in a hurry to make amends in the second half and applied intense pressure on the visitors from the whistle in the second half. A weak Wells header was scant reward for a dynamic start, but the Bermudian made up for it with an excellent turn that took Wigan’s defensive line out of the game for a crucial few seconds having been fed by Stankovic in space. His delivery was also excellent, just eluding Smith before finding its way to Mooy who finished with some ease.

With almost a full half to play, this was Town’s opportunity to turn the screw on their opponents, and the best spell of the game for the home side extended until the hour mark with much quicker play, good interchanging and a more convincing intensity.

At this point, there seemed to be only one winner but a clear cut chance couldn’t be created for all the improved approach play and self immolation wasn’t far away.

Another promising spell of pressure was ended when Wells gave up possession cheaply. The slight danger appeared to be easily dealt with by Stankovic, but his winning tackle fell to the wonderfully named Max Power whose clever chip released Wildschut’s pace against a flat footed home defence. Putting his previous rather feeble efforts behind him, the speedy front man finished with cool ease and accomplishment and all the frustrations temporarily banished by the equaliser came roaring back to the surface.

With the platform for victory diminished considerably, Town reverted to the nervous, slow build up that improves possession statistics while not affecting the one that counts.

For all Mooy’s quality, and he was easily the best performer on the home side, including stopping two dangerous first half breakaways by the visitors, the play lacked cohesion again and Van La Parra’s decision making frequently negated his positive running with the ball and the overall standard of balls in to the box by him and others was poor.

In the Championship, as we have seen on many occasions, moments turn games and the sight of a stubbornly unmoved referee and linesman (who was in a far better position to see) as Wells was clipped from behind in the area was baffling and massively frustrating in equal measure.

When Kachunga was charged in the back and felled was met with a similarly insouciant response, it was hardly surprising that Warnock’s clearance with his upper arm while on the floor wasn’t even spotted.

Town’s defensive weaknesses were, undoubtedly, the main cause of this damaging defeat – Wigan had quite a few negligently assisted breakaway chances in the game, not just the two chances they converted – they were clearly robbed of golden opportunities to equalise and have another platform to go for a confidence boosting win.

Had one of the penalties been given, the outcome may well have changed, but the yawning defensive cracks which have condemned the club to a grim run of form would still be dominating post match discussion; a team which struggles to convert possession in to goals will always have to rely on resilience at the back and the current fragility is extreme and not obviously solvable in the near future with injuries, loss of form and suspension (Smith) complicating matters and reducing options dramatically.

There is, without doubt, a lot of talent in the squad and while overwhelming possession is easily mocked when not accompanied by results, it does, at least, provide some hope that the rather mechanical, over engineered performances are capable of being turned around.

With the benefit of hindsight, too many changes to the central defence have merely compounded problems. The lack of pace afflicting all the choices – with the possible exception of Hefele, though he is hardly lightening – is worrisome to say the least. Playing higher up the pitch against a team intent on defence was understandable, but persisting with it against Wildschut’s pace was horribly wrong.

The problems up front are less acute but more entrenched. Wells is clearly unsuited to the role despite his one bit of good play which lead to the equaliser and his burst through which should have lead to a penalty – it was unfortunate that Wagner’s decision to bench him in favour of the stronger Kachunga had no real chance to flourish with Scannell’s injury, though the availability of Bunn made more sense as a substitute.

A depleted squad now takes on a resurgent Blackburn – replete with 2 big forwards and an excellent set piece exponent in Marshall, and it is difficult to see a reviving result at Ewood Park in the current circumstances.

As Sean Morrison soared above a typically inert Town defence to put Cardiff in to the lead on another miserable away day for the Terriers, all the plans to quell set piece concessions – which now included playing 3 centre halves, rather than the more obvious recall of Hudson to match Lambert’s lack of pace with equivalent slothfulness – not only crumbled; a new level of terror and fragility was introduced.

Wittingham’s delivery, to the surprise of no one, was excellent; deep, inswinging and crying out to be attacked, but the Bluebirds had already softened up the visitors’ defence with dangerous corners and a free kick from out wide and the infliction of a familiar wound was horribly predictable.

For the third away game in succession, the inability to exert control – a quality which defined both early successes and failures on the road – proved fatal and, despite the eventually slim margin of defeat, Town were condemned to defeat just after the half hour when Schindler was swatted away by Morrison to tee up Lambert for an easy chance to restore the home team’s 2 goal cushion.

In between Cardiff’s first and third, they had doubled the lead on 28 minutes when a routine effort by Pilkington was pushed in to Hoillett’s path by Ward, who will rue a weak arm which should have pushed the ball to safety, even at the expense of another panic inducing corner.

At 2-0 down, and like at Fulham, Smith had the chance to bring Town back in the game. Unlike at Fulham, the right wing back took the opportunity and finished off an excellent Town move with a good left foot finish, adding his name to the long list of single goal scorers.

The ball through to him from Palmer – who was Town’s main, perhaps only, positive in a torrid first half – was made possible by Smith’s movement and enterprise; as we were to witness in the second half, for all Town’s possession is easy on the eye, penetration remains elusive and the flow inhibited to the point of inertia in the final third.

Smith’s goal should have provided the platform for Town to impose their ability on the ball against their more physical hosts, but, instead, Cardiff were able to bring their strengths to the game too comfortably – epitomised by their third goal.

It is forgivable to succumb to the quality of delivery involved in the opening goal; Whittingham’s skill should be acknowledged and respected. It is quite another consideration for a ball which travels many, many yards to a back post area, high in the air and pathetically defended.

Compounding Schindler’s wholly inadequate leap, Lambert was left in far too much space by Hefele who failed to reposition once the high defensive line had been breached by Morrison’s beasting of his teammate.

Any hope of Town building on their goal, establishing the type of control of which they are capable (demonstrated in the second half) and turning the momentum of the game disappeared with a display of rank and ill disciplined defending.

With the away support tucked in to a corner, and perhaps in fewer numbers than expected, and a home crowd depleted by the attraction of a Wales rugby international just down the road, there was little atmosphere in the Cardiff City stadium and the contrast with the pre game buzz in the city centre for the Millennium Stadium event was stark.

A dank November day collided with the reality now facing the travelling support at half time; Wagner’s new plan for the team’s enlarged Achilles’ heel had palpably failed, a first 3 goal haul of the season was needed for a point and an even more unlikely 4 for a win, assuming that Cardiff didn’t continue to push their fingers in to the gaping wound at the heart of their opponents’ defence.

The opening exchanges of the second half suggested that another heavy defeat was on the cards as corners, high balls and lightly conceded free kicks peppered Town’s fragile defensive line. A combination of increased resilience, which was to their credit, blocks and a propensity for infringement by the home attackers saw Town weather the early storm until Wagner abandoned his 3 central defender idea, withdrawing Schindler for Scannell and introduced much needed height with Billing replacing Hogg.

The substitutions worked to the extent that Stankovic and Hefele looked more comfortable as a pair, Billing added more grace to the midfield and the Scannell/Smith combination offered a little more threat down the right.

For the last 30 minutes, Town dominated possession and at least looked capable of creating chances. Unfortunately, for all their excellent build up play, the visitors rarely troubled Morrison and Bamba and failed to get down the sides of Cardiff often enough.

Hopes were raised by a Billing thunderbolt on 70 minutes. Wells made a good run in to the area – a rarity, unfortunately – and the ball was half cleared to the Dane who instinctively swung his left foot through the ball which flew in to the top corner.

The game at this point barely deserved such an excellent goal, but if it precedes the talented Billing’s full return to the team as a useful resource it will be looked upon doubly fondly.

With redemption at least a possibility, Town showed some of the quality which had seen them storm the league before Autumn. Comfortable on the ball, more movement off it and crisp passing returned, interrupted only by some over fussy refereeing by a man apparently bent on inconsistency.

While the referee’s performance was distinctly average – he had become worse the longer the game went on and his reserves of benefit doubt for the home team appeared inexhaustible while seeing transgression in every Town challenge – he wasn’t to blame for Town’s inability to breach Cardiff’s back line with the kind of incisive pass Palmer had found in the first half.

Away from home, the weaknesses of Wells seem heightened. Too easily outmuscled, he then falls back in to the midfield too often and most of his good touches are far too far away from goal.

It is surely time for Wagner to push Kachunga up front in to Wells’ role. He offers greater strength, better ball retention and more potency. Van La Parra’s exile must also be surely coming to an end – frustrating as he can undoubtedly be, he adds a spontaneity to our attacking lacking in too many others.

However, Town scored 2 excellent goals away from home which should, and usually does, deliver reward but the defensive frailties cruelly exposed in recent weeks away from home have condemned the Terriers to a meagre points haul since Preston and a slide down the table is looking ominously likely unless resolved, and quickly.

Town may also reconsider wearing the red/orange change kit in favour of the more luminous yellow and black – increased visibility may help our attacking play. This is less frivolous than it sounds.

A typically resilient, well organised and gnarly Birmingham left Huddersfield with a point they barely deserved, but the hosts’ recurring flaws contributed significantly and, ultimately, they only had themselves to blame for not converting a much improved and at times excellent performance in to a win.

With Jonathan Hogg back in the side, Scannell on the right and Hefele continuing his metamorphosis from fringe comedy act to serious footballer, Town looked better balanced on paper than they had at the Fulham debacle and this translated on to the grass to a large extent.

For the most part, Town also matched the physicality of their opponents, hopefully consigning the weakness of a week ago and, until the last few minutes, always looked the more likely to win a game which provided good entertainment after a ponderous start.

Encouragingly, the Terriers showed few signs of frailty following their recent chastening experiences away from home; a quality which should not be easily dismissed and testament to the spirit of the squad and the skills of the management.

As ever, the overwhelming positive on an ultimately frustrating afternoon was the quality of Town’s midfield. Mooy was back to his best alongside the industrious Hogg, allowing others to create and providing excellent support for the back four.

Mooy’s vision, touch and intelligence has made him the stand out player of an excellent season and his ability to translate virtually any type of ball played in to him in to space, time and momentum continues to astonish at times.

Wagner, however, continues to have problems out wide with both injuries and lack of form. Scannell, always a great threat until he gets to the point where it matters, doesn’t resolve the problem of creating too few chances, Van La Parra’s substitute appearance was hugely disappointing and with Lolley and Bunn unavailable, Kachunga’s considerable contribution to the team is diluted as he fills in out wide instead of taking the striker role to which he is better suited.

It was important for Town to stand up to Birmingham’s muscular approach from the beginning, and ensure that the aerial threat of Donaldson and Jutkiewicz was neutralised. Hefele, in particular, proved up to the task and bullied Donaldson so effectively that the dangerous front man was reduced to a semi permanent state of whinging and falling over.

Though it took time for him to distribute the ball effectively from the back – too many balls intended for Smith/Scannell were over hit – Hefele grew with the game and was a more than adequate replacement for the rested Hudson and Wagner’s reluctance to expose him away from home is surely coming to an end. Offering greater mobility than the captain, he even over shadowed Schindler in a much improved, though not flawless, defensive display.

On the ball, Town were occasionally pleasing on the eye in a first half largely devoid of thrills, and created the better chances.

Kachunga met a Palmer corner with a volley which Donaldson did well to clear over the bar, a viciously swerving Wells effort from range was batted away by Kuszczak and when Palmer created a dangerous counter attack with a lovely turn just inside his own half, Wells could only shoot straight at the keeper having been released.

These were rare highlights, however, of a largely turgid first half more notable for individual physical battles and a succession of Town corners which, after the first one finding Kachunga, caused the visitors few problems.

As ever with this Town team, there were good moments of interplay but Birmingham’s strong back four coped easily once the ball reached the final third. With the visitors rarely passing up the chance to throw the ball up high, style comparisons tended towards the tedious rather than the fascinating.

Perhaps most importantly, Town’s feeble opposition to high balls so devastating at Fulham had not been replicated – other than one half chance at the back post, both defenders and goalkeeper stood up well to Birmingham’s tactics and, on the whole, seemed to have recovered from last week’s mauling.

The second half was a much more entertaining affair, particularly after Gary Rowett (surely one of the most under rated managers around) introduced the creativity of Fabbrini to cause Town more problems on the floor through the middle.

A blocked Wells header and a decent effort from Smith which curled just over gave notice that Town were to play with more penetration and tempo, while Birmingham looked more dangerous when they got chance to loosen Town’s grip on possession, though there seemed little danger of them breaking through with dazzling football.

On the hour, Wagner made changes with Van La Parra replacing Scannell and Payne coming on for Palmer. Given Scannell’s lack of matches over the past few weeks, the change was unsurprising and Palmer, one excellent piece of skill aside, had given the ball away too much and his rawness had rather overshadowed his obvious talent.

For once, the substitutions didn’t really work. Van La Parra was dreadful and looked disinterested for most of his time on the pitch – while Bunn is a man you like to see being introduced, VLP seems more effective as a starter. Payne was slightly more influential and worked hard to get in to the game without really succeeding.

Despite this, Town’s grip on the game tightened and they were soon in front. A raking ball from Mooy found Smith who cut inside and left Kachunga to finish for a deserved lead.

With the momentum with the home side, Wells hit a fierce shot against the bar with the keeper well beaten – a moment which summed up his season of misfortune to date. At 2-0, Town would have coasted to victory but a cruel twist was to thwart the Terriers.

Mooy made an excellent sliding tackle down Birmingham’s right only for the over fussy referee to award a free kick in what, for Town, was a dangerous position, and for Birmingham, probably the only route back in to the game.

A decent delivery saw Lowe beaten to the ball which looped to the back post for his fellow full back and captain for the day Smith to be similarly out muscled. Jutkiewicz couldn’t miss from 8 yards and the Blues had an undeserved equaliser.

They nearly repeated the trick from a free kick from an identical position but the ball drifted wide. Nevertheless, having defended well against the lofted ball until the equaliser, the defence became visibly nervous until the end and the crowd even more so.

Having spent all afternoon blowing up for any innocuous challenge – and it should be said that Birmingham were on the wrong end of several dubious calls in the first half – a challenge on Wells in the area was deemed perfectly acceptable. While the award of a penalty would have created debate, the referees’ previous decisions were rendered ludicrous by not giving it.

Town’s final chance of the afternoon fell to the excellent Hogg. Unfortunately, he was unable to repeat his late winner against Barnsley and dragged a weak effort wide when he could and should have found Wells instead.

In the final minutes, the visitors came closest to a winner and, inevitably, it was from a corner and a header which flashed wide. The very last play of the game saw Hogg thwart a final attack with a last ditch tackle; illuminating just how much he had been missed at Craven Cottage as he dug Schindler out of a hole.

A winner for the visitors would have been a travesty but not altogether surprising in this cruel league but Town could take positives from an ultimately disappointing draw against obdurate opponents.

The quality of Mooy, Hogg’s industry and Hefele’s excellent 90 minutes partially erased the bad memories of 7 days previously, which can now be consigned to history.

Lack of goals and vulnerability in the air remain the greatest concerns, though the signing of an appropriate striker in January may solve both – if some height is the objective, which it must surely be, then it adds to the capability of defending set pieces.

With yet another international break next weekend, Town continue to cling to 3rd place despite a very average run of results; a week in Marbella for the players and their families is the next stage of the master plan.

It is worth reflecting that after exactly one year with Wagner in charge, we have a team and squad unrecognisable from the ones who fought relegation annually and there is a faint air of disappointment that the lofty position is a little precarious.

Just when we thought the days of ignominious collapse in what is admittedly a tough division were over, Town capitulated badly in the face of a fine Fulham side who ripped the visitors to shreds with a performance of power, control and intense purpose.

Worryingly for David Wagner, his side were pushed aside with ease for the second time in a row on the road with defensive frailties cruelly exposed – frailties we barely new existed until this month.

Post mortems will no doubt focus on the return of Hudson in place of Hefele – and there is an apparent discrepancy between Bunn’s reward for a good substitute performance against Derby and the immediate return of the Schindler/Hudson partnership after a clean sheet – but the captain was the least culpable defender in the rearguard horror show, even if his display wasn’t good enough either.

Mid table Fulham are a strange side. Their away performances have been excellent, by all accounts, but home surroundings have delivered displays every bit as shambolic as Town’s yesterday, and a combination of them fulfilling their potential on home soil and a shapeless, careless and ill disciplined showing by the visitors saw them, finally, overwhelm an opponent.

A large, expectant Town following provided the only relief on an afternoon of unrelenting gloom as they sang for their team from beginning to end. In their collective determination to enjoy the experience despite what unfolded before them, the supporters seemed to be forgiving an over achieving group for a dark day in an otherwise hugely positive season and it is to be hoped that the squad and management will reciprocate with better performances in the future.

Defeats in this unrelenting and cruel division are to be expected, but the manner of the two setbacks in recent weeks are a major concern with solutions urgently needed, both tactically and in personnel or combinations of personnel. The return of Hogg will be a boost – he was sorely missed today as the Whitehead/Mooy combination was unable to quell Fulham’s lively and inventive midfield – but it is becoming painfully obvious that Wells’ strengths are not suited to the style of play employed and he needs to be sacrificed to allow Kerchunga a free role at the apex, though the absence of Lolley and Scannell is currently restricting Wagner’s choices.

It would be churlish, nay, impolite, not to acknowledge just how good Fulham were on a day when their hard work, invention and power translated in to an almost flawless display.

With our perennial pain in the arse Chris Martin tormenting Schindler in particular, Aluko destroying Lowe throughout and the excellent Cairney dominating the midfield, the Cottagers were a joy to watch and the only question mark about their performance was how they didn’t score even more against the traumatised Terriers.

As early as the 3rd minute, Fulham picked Town apart to free Piazon only for the Brazilian to shoot tamely at Ward.

It was the portent of things to come however, and when a cheap free kick was awarded to the home side – Mooy won the ball fairly – Schindler misjudged the far post ball to allow Siggurdsson to lay the ball on a plate for Martin to sweep home. The set piece frailty had returned.

Despite the early goal, the game settled for a time and while the home side were clearly dominant, their forays forward carried little threat for the next 20 minutes; indeed, the best chance in that period came from a Smith header which was directed just wide from a corner.

The collapse, from about half an hour in, began with a disputed corner (from the away end, a dead ball was pretty clear, but you could forgive the linesman looking from side on giving the decision). Palmer seemed to have cleared the danger, but the ball was worked back in to the area towards Lowe who inexplicably failed to clear and managed to present an easy chance to Kalas, who swept in the second.

Within minutes, Aluko turned two Town players on the halfway line, skipped by Hudson and an indecisive Schindler failed to stop a cross being delivered to Piazon’s head for another easy put away.

All three goals had been preventable and with half time looming the game was all but gone.

Had Bunn scored an easy headed chance just before half time, the momentum may have turned and interrupted the understandably buoyant hosts, but the recalled winger planted it wide with the goal at his mercy having met an excellent cross from Kachunga.

Town also pressed in the opening minutes of the first half to temporarily raise spirits behind the goal, but Fulham snuffed out the attacks effectively other than when Palmer brought a regulation save from Button.

With the freedom of a 3-0 lead, the home side soon reestablished dominance with Cairney running the show – at times he was taking on 3 or 4 Town players and leaving them in his wake, simultaneously opening up space for his colleagues to tear at the visitors’ crumbling defence.

The fourth arrived courtesy of a lunge by Schindler on the quicksilver Aluko – the penalty was despatched in to the corner by Martin and any lingering hope of rescuing even a little dignity from the game was extinguished and it was now a question of how many the rampant Cottagers would rack up.

While the answer was just one more – Aluko undressed Lowe yet again before setting up McDonald to finish with a flourish past the beleaguered Ward – further chances could have embarrassed the Yorkshiremen even more than they were already suffering.

An astonishing miss from 2 yards late on meant that Fulham had to be satisfied with a nap hand, but they had delighted their supporters with a vibrant display against an admittedly shambolic Town side, who barely deserved the exceptional support they received from their own, shell shocked fans.

It should be said that virtually everything that could go wrong did, indeed, go wrong for the Terriers, but rather than riding out ill fortune with determination, they simply compounded it with negligent, weak defending.

No player came out of the game with much credit – Palmer tried to inject some urgency and Kachunga worked hard – and a response against Birmingham next Saturday is vital if the club is to maintain it’s unlikely top 6 status for much longer.

A perfect Crave Cottage storm enveloped Wagner’s men – poor individual displays and mistakes, a hungry and talented opposition taking full advantage and the malaise of conceding two goals towards the end of the first half overwhelmed Town, and the manager faces a tough week to find solutions to a myriad of problems. He has done it before, and the marvellously loyal support can expect a reaction next Saturday.

And when everything was over, Town remained third – Norwich suffered an identical shellacking- a position unthinkable in August.

Since returning to the Championship, games against clubs of the size and stature of Derby County have been seen as defining; indeed, yesterday’s opponents seem to have been particularly worthy of such definition given their spending power and perceived superiority.

For David Wagner’s predecessors, such tests were often gruesome trials with the wealth gap pointedly asserted most of the time with the occasional plucky performance offering little comfort in the greater scheme of things.

Despite back to back defeats – one slightly unfortunate and the other chastening if wildly overblown – Town’s elevated circumstances, and great potential, put them at least on a par with their struggling opponents whose expensively assembled squad had only just begun to splutter in to some sort of form in the past couple of weeks.

In the nature of a long, often arduous, season, an inevitable dip in form had seen the Terriers lose their leadership of the division with the accompanying worry that the sheer hard work which had delivered a remarkable opening quarter of the campaign could implode in a crisis of confidence.

This squad, however, lead with deep intelligence and passion by Wagner and his team, has not and will not crumble in the face of setbacks and, to their credit, the supporters were more than willing to accept and forgive the blip – another large, enthusiastic crowd provided excellent encouragement to help them recover from it quickly.

Wagner made several changes following Wednesday’s disappointment with Hudson and Mooy on the bench, replaced by Hefele and Whitehead, while Palmer returned in place of Payne. The Wells/Kachunga partnership was restored at the expense of Scannell and, once again, the manager signalled his belief in the whole squad to deliver when called upon.

With a midfield axis of Whitehead and Hogg, it seemed that the emphasis would be on stifling Derby’s undoubted midfield talent – Hughes, Butterfield and Ince don’t become bad players because their club is disorganised and troubled and Bradley Johnson is an experienced battler – with Palmer providing the creativity behind Wells and Kachunga.

A fairly entertaining first half was long on promise but rather short on delivery with neither keeper called upon to make a serious save.

Ascendancy oscillated between the teams; Town’s bright forward movement, largely instigated by the blossoming Palmer and, to a lesser extent, the enigmatic Van La Parra, was invariably thwarted by a resolute Derby defence and then undermined by carelessness in possession giving the visitors too many opportunities to get their own creative players on the ball.

An early Town move saw them open up their opponents’ left side only for Van La Parra’s effort to be well blocked, and a similar situation later in the half thwarted Wells.

The best moment of a frantic opening 45 minutes came when Hughes, having smartly interchanged passes with Vydra, saw a delicate and clever lob float narrowly past Ward’s far post.

This was during Derby’s best spell of the game – helped in no small measure by too many lapses in possession by the home side (Van La Parra, in particular, was caught out too often) – and another Hughes inspired foray saw the disappointing Vydra fire a first time volley high and wide when put through.

On the whole, however, Town’s industry quelled the Rams’ ambitions with Hogg and Whitehead covering a lot of ground to harass and discomfort, ably assisted by the hard work of all of the rest of the front 6. Despite finding it difficult to conjure opportunities, Wagner’s oft cited identity had returned and created the foundations for a second half of much greater promise.

The pick of the home side up to the break was Palmer. His touch and power belie his years, and with his individual battle with Johnson largely won the ex Norwich man’s influence was significantly reduced. His frightening potential – raw edges, not unnaturally, remain – should be a joy to watch develop over the season.

At the back, Hefele was solid (even if, at times, he seems to be on the edge of a mistake) and adds greater mobility than Hudson, if not the experience. Time will tell if Wagner will now make Hudson the understudy – it seems unlikely at this stage – but in his two full games, the popular eccentric has played well, bar one or two panics towards the end.

Smith, ably assisted by work horse Kachunga, largely extinguished the threat of Russell and Lowe was excellent on the left.

Town ended the half in the ascendancy but tame efforts from Schindler at a corner and a weak Smith effort rather summed up proceedings.

The second half followed a similar pattern. Town’s attacking threat was rather muted and Derby struggled to gain a foothold in the face of Town’s pressing of the ball. The visitors did create a chance for Ince when the dangerous Christie played him in beautifully only for his shot to be routinely pushed behind by Ward. From the subsequent corner, Ward had to tip over a header from Keogh, though it may have gone over the bar in any case.

It was after this point, with about 20 minutes to go, that Derby’s ambition seemed to be hauled in. Eating up time with delayed throws, dead balls and spurious injuries, gaining a point became their priority.

Town’s ambition increased in direct proportion, and Wagner’s shrewd substitutions – Mooy and Bunn had replaced the excellent Whitehead and frustrating Van La Parra respectively – started to swing the game in the home side’s direction.

Sharpness and movement increased inexorably and chances began to flow, with Mooy’s class and Bunn’s direct energy posing different and increasingly difficult questions for their visibly wilting opponents.

Carson had to be at his best to thwart Wells and Bunn efforts, while Lowe fired narrowly wide on one of his adventures forward, before a final substitution – Payne for Wells – added more creativity in the search for a winner.

In full flow, Town piled on the pressure – Bunn and Lowe combining far more effectively than Lowe does with Van La Parra – and Derby’s time wasting became more and more blatant.

What seemed to be the best chance was created by Payne releasing the rampaging Smith, but the full back had to come inside on to his weaker left foot and blazed over.

A none too generous 3 minutes were added and most had settled for an encouraging point from a decent performance. The deserved winner, however, was on its way.

Lowe fed Bunn with an excellent touchline hugging ball and the winger tormented Keogh on the left (Christie, the usual full back, was stranded further forward) before delivering a fine cross. In the centre, Kachunga’s movement took him in to space between defenders and he planted a classic “where it came from” header past Carson.

Scenes ensued, in the popular vernacular, with Wagner sprinting to the corner flag to mount the celebrating clutch of players and a deserved win banished all thoughts of wobbling wheels coming off.

Wagner will no doubt serve a touchline ban at Craven Cottage next week, but the enduring image will be worth it – the win had all the hallmarks of the man with substitutes disproportionately impacting the game and another late, late winner to add to those from earlier in the season.

Derby were not afforded any time to respond – the parsimonious injury time was gloriously turned against them. Perhaps not for the first time this season, they had come up against a team greater than the sum of its parts and failed pretty miserably through lack of ambition. It is not difficult to see why their goal tally is so hopeless – only 7 to date – but the decision to farm out Chris Martin is wholly inexplicable.

Jacob Butterfield’s return was not a happy one either – peripheral would be too much praise for his contribution. By the final quarter, and unforgivably, he and many of his team mates looked remarkably unfit.

Despite the late goal, this was no fluke win. Town never stopped trying for the 3 points and while the difficulties of turning possession and movement in to goals remains a concern, their spirit and togetherness was emphasised in a thoroughly satisfying afternoon’s work.

Heady days are here again.

(This was an ill considered attempt at humour from my mobile phone alluding to my absence from a poor performance. It worked neither as a joke nor a “report” as the text didn’t make it through).

A disappointing and rather feeble defeat against a solid, unspectacular but professional Sheffield Wednesday should not over shadow what remains a remarkable start to a season of great promise, but neither should the flaws of the performance be dismissed.

It seems inconceivable that David Wagner will ignore the shortcomings, since they have never been far from the surface in games won and lost and merely emphasise his mantra that the work he is doing remains nascent.

Wagner’s systems have improved defensive performances beyond recognition, but the final third play is glaringly under powered – while Wells’ displays have been good (even in a quiet showing against the Owls, he showed great awareness at times and is technically much improved), chances are rarely falling to last season’s top scorer and he too often finds himself too deep.

Kachunga, despite a below par and less influential display in the defeat, seems more suited to Wells’ role in the current team as he has more power and ball holding ability, though Lolley’s long term injury and the (hopefully shorter) absence of Scannell restricts Wagner’s other wide option to Bunn, who hasn’t grabbed his opportunities so far this season.

The paucity of Wagner’s striking options is further exposed by the increasingly bizarre, and in the context of his normal style, painfully jarring employment of 2 centre halves up front when chasing a game.

The crude tactic simply does not work; neither Hefele, who largely fails to compete in the air when pushed up nor Hudson, who looks even more a fish out of water, affect proceedings in any meaningful way regardless of Hefele’s strange, probably unrepeatable, equaliser at Villa.

If some defensive shape is going to be sacrificed in such situations, perhaps adding Payne’s guile to the blossoming talent of Palmer could be utilised as an alternative plan; Wednesday’s disciplined and resolute defensive banks may have been more effectively tested by a more surgical approach than the blunt instrument employed.

The in form visitors, who appear to have put their early season struggles behind them, combined a highly effective game plan which severely limited Town’s ability to probe in their normal style with dangerous forays forward when the home team’s patience became exhausted.

A reasonably entertaining first half saw the visitors threaten to draw first blood in the early stages but Town survived with frantic defending and the help of the woodwork before the game settled in to a pattern of largely unthreatening home possession seemingly afflicted by the joint difficulties of finding ways to penetrate a tight and disciplined Wednesday rearguard and trying to avoid over extending in the face of the Owls’ dangerous front men.

With Kachunga largely subdued on the right, most of Town’s threat came from Van La Parra, whose ability to beat defenders and create space was invariably undone by poor decision making or lack of bodies in the box to hit.

The Dutch winger, restored to the side in place of Bunn, could have been the key to unlocking a resolute defence, and his runs roused the record home crowd at times but his delays in delivery, reluctance to shoot and disregarding of some excellent over lapping by Lowe constantly frustrated.

Ironically, one of VLP’s worst examples of indecision created a chance for Kachunga. Put in to space by Palmer, he attacked it with pace and could have delivered to any one of 3 well placed colleagues outnumbering defenders but chose to extend his run. In fairness, his eventual pass found Kachunga whose shot took a deflection which made Westwood’s save significantly more difficult.

The only other source of meaningful thrust was provided by Palmer. Sometimes, and excusably given his meagre experience, he can be naive in possession, but his grace and power emphasise his massive potential and but for another smart save by the excellent Westwood, he could have opened the scoring with a good run across the edge of the area.

These two efforts proved to be the only ones on target for the home team and, in truth, apart from a good rising effort from the subdued Mooy, the off target attempts lacked anything like conviction.

Never the less, Town had probably shaded the first half even if their difficulties in breaking down their opponents were all too apparent.

After the break, Town found the going even tougher and Wednesday strangled any momentum they tried to build and should have gone in front early in the half when Forestieri brought down a high clearance with consummate panache before an exquisite lob over Ward slightly over curled on to the post. It was the moment of the game.

With open play creating little danger – passes between the lines were invariably unsuccessful with Mooy an unusually regular transgressor – Town’s best opportunities came from set pieces. Corners proved of limited value but Lowe did hit a decent free kick just over the bar.

Halfway through the second period, Wednesday were gifted the lead when Town failed to deal with a regulation corner. Hogg’s attempted headed clearance flicked the ball in to danger, Mooy swung a leg at the ball but could only slice it in to the path of Lees, whose shot hit Van La Parra’s arm from close range. The decision could have gone either way but was far from controversial.

Forestieri, a perennial thorn in Town’s side, put the penalty away with some style and the visitors now had a precious lead they were always unlikely to relinquish.

Payne came on to replace Palmer but was unable to unpick the increasingly comfortable visitors who shut out the home side with increasing authority and once the aforementioned centre halves as centre forwards ploy was adopted, they exploited Town’s self imposed defensive frailty and should have wrapped up the game with a couple of opportunities. One was denied by a good Ward save – he had been largely under employed until this point – and Smith managed to head over with Ward stranded to deny Hooper.

A paltry 3 minutes added time – it should have been at least double – saw some desperate punts forward but the game was long over in reality.

It will be surprising if the expensively assembled Wednesday are not challenging for automatic promotion again this season, and there can’t be much of an argument against the contention that Carvalhal won his tactical battle with Wagner, so concern over the first home defeat needs to be tempered.

Somehow, however, solutions need to be found to increase goal scoring opportunities- there is a sense that the main weakness hasn’t been as damaging as it could have been in the early part of the season, but it threatens to undermine the team if the opposition can stifle us as well as Wednesday did.

An odd goal defeat against one of the higher quality sides in the division is no cause for panic, disappointing as it was for the expectant record crowd – so long as that disappointment doesn’t translate in to a lack of confidence. This seems unlikely under Wagner.

(No Preston report – plans made earlier around the original Tuesday date mean missing my first game of the season).

The myriad challenges of the Championship come thick and fast for David Wagner, but none seem to faze or surprise him.

When the story of this already remarkable season is written, little time will be wasted on an encounter largely devoid of flair or thrills, but disregarding an ugly but hugely effective win against supremely awkward opposition misses many of the central tenets of Town’s rise to the top of one of football’s most difficult competitions.

Mick McCarthy’s reputation for dour, functional and grinding football is well earned, and he is a past master of this utilitarian style to the point of parody. He is damned good at it, and has never seemed particularly bothered that others don’t see a great deal of beauty in his methods while pointing at the results his philosophies have achieved.

Reuniting Hogg and Whitehead as defensive midfielders and releasing Mooy further forward to replace the exciting but inexperienced Palmer in the number 10 role, Wagner added a rugged edge to his team and largely sacrificed the emphasis on controlled possession.

The adaptations largely worked against a home side struggling for goals and heavily reliant on set pieces for opportunities, but the compromises made adversely affected Mooy’s influence, though his class was never far from the surface.

A scruffy spectacle ensued as both sides concentrated more on containment than creativity, though an early corner found Hogg unmarked and just a few yards out only for him to head straight at the keeper.

A competent but slightly over fussy referee didn’t help the flow of the game, though his interpretations could rarely be faulted. From one such free kick, conceded by Scannell, Lawrence fired a decent attempt wide but the rest were defended in some comfort.

There were occasional glimpses of Town’s usual style going forward, but with Smith and Lowe more restrained the tendency to attack through the crowded middle reduced opportunities and threat. Ironically, it was a rare, poor Mooy pass which presented Town with their best moment of the half as the ball was cut out only to fall to Kachunga to fire against the post. From the follow up, Bialkowski saved smartly from Wells.

Ipswich’s best chance of the half came towards the end when a smart flick by Best – otherwise a lumbering, slow throwback – was latched on to by Ward only for his curling effort to miss the target when he should have done better.

On the whole, the first 45 minutes had been an unedifying spectacle but Town had matched their hosts all over the pitch and Wagner must have felt that the foundations had been built for a possible away win as he replaced Whitehead (who had done his job effectively) with the more progressive Van La Parra and Mooy moved back to his more familiar position.

With the Australian having more influence from deeper, Town were better in a gruelling second half without ever suggesting they would hit the heights of previous performances.

Little was coming from the hosts in the early stages of the second half as Hogg and Mooy tightened their grip on midfield, and the defence was largely untroubled. Any hint of threat was snuffed out quickly and Town slowly imposed themselves on a still relentlessly drab match.

On the hour, an inexplicable attempted headed back pass by Chambers went for a cheap corner. There had been signs in the Rotherham game and earlier in this game that a poor source of goals for Town may have been getting closer to reward, and Mooy’s perfect delivery was met by Schindler’s excellent movement to the near post and the German defender planted the ball perfectly beyond the Ipswich keeper for a vital lead.

In the process, Schindler – again exceptional until a cut eye forced him from the game – became the tenth different goal scorer for the club, serving to emphasise the team approach crafted by Wagner and executed by the whole squad. Tommy Smith, who had another good game, could have been the eleventh but his shot shortly after the goal just cleared the bar.

With their defences breached, the home side embarked on an increasingly desperate and, in truth, predictably forlorn, search for an equaliser.

It was telling that their first, and as it transpired, only attempt on target was greeted with ironic cheers from the depressed Portman Road faithful. Their gloomy disposition is thoroughly understandable given their team’s robust but basic style – not helped by injuries, it should be said – and despite one or two flurries of corners and pressure, there was never any serious doubt about the result once Town got their noses in front.

Hefele replaced the injured Schindler and performed well under pressure with discipline and strength. The back four was helped for the last 15 minutes (including 7 minutes injury time) by the introduction of Cranie, who added good experience in to the mix.

As the minutes ticked down, the visitors employed the usual spoiling tactics – disruptive “injuries”, running to the corners and general time wasting – but none of the 800+ away support cared or cares.

Yet again, Wagner, his lieutenants and his squad faced a new and very different challenge and came up with a winning, professional display. It will not live in the memory for long, and the return visit by Ipswich is not anticipated with a great deal of enthusiasm, but successful teams negotiate difficult encounters with good solutions; precisely what Town did in Suffolk.

Winning ugly. Got to love it!

Martin Sykes
Chairman
Beaumonts Group

Sent from mobile device

In a performance which ranged from scintillating to skittish, Town overcame a spirited if limited Rotherham side as each club ended the night occupying opposite ends of a maturing Championship table.

Shorn of 3 regulars through suspension (pointing, perhaps, to a discipline problem which is worth tackling given that 2 of the players missing were being punished for needless offences) and the necessity to rest Hogg after his indomitable efforts against Reading, Wagner could take some comfort that the first major disruption to his team came against the struggling Millers.

Nevertheless, it was far from ideal to be playing a pair of untried defenders given the unity of the previously unchanged back 4 along with a new central midfield pairing.

In a dominant first half display, such concerns as there were dissipated as Town overwhelmed their fragile opponents with suffocating and controlled possession, menacing intent and individual flair. Palmer, in particular, blossomed around his hard working team mates with an elegant touch and powerful running; only his decision making let him down from time to time in his attempts to create danger.

A very early goal – Kachunga was in the right place to capitalise on some pinball defending – could and probably should have signalled a goal rush against a bewildered and disorganised opposition, but Town’s indecisiveness in sight of goal came once more to the fore.

With the new back 4 virtually redundant – any threat Rotherham possessed was snuffed out before they had to become involved – and Mooy pulling the strings in his unruffled fashion, the long awaited goal glut seemed inevitable but Town’s lack of thrust on too many occasions was to come back to haunt them later.

The relentlessness of this team, however, when both in and out of possession is a joy to behold and must be extraordinarily difficult to both play and plan against. Being constantly on the move, smoothly interchanging positions and having a growing telepathy between pairs and groups of players, Town create complex conundrums for opponents and few have been able to consistently stifle the Terriers’ ambition.

The vulnerability, however, is the (current) inability to translate their superiority in to commanding leads. This was amply illustrated just after half an hour of prodigious superiority when Palmer glided through the midfield with astonishing grace only to delay his pass to Kachunga just enough for the linesman’s flag to nullify his good work.

Immediately afterwards, and to the astonishment of the crowd, Rotherham equalised with an incisive move ending with Ward finishing smartly from a Taylor cross. That it was the visitors’ first coherent passage of play of the game only served to emphasise the lack of Town’s ruthlessness (a flaw which will not have escaped Mr Wagner’s meticulous attention).

To their credit, the setback was immediately dismissed and the lead restored just 4 minutes later as a blistering and typically strong run by Scannell enabled him to release Wells to angle a fine finish past Camp from just inside the area.

Wells has worked very hard to get back on the goal trail and it is to be hoped that he can build on the relief which will have accompanied his strike.

A single goal lead was scant reward for Town’s mastery of their opponents, but far from unfamiliar territory. However, strong performances by the understudies, a sparkling display by Palmer and Mooy’s magisterial presence augured well for the second half.

Hefele’s widely anticipated debut had gone well. There was always the nagging suspicion that his cult status could be tarnished by his actual performance, but he stepped in with confidence and assurance and, thankfully, without entirely shedding the aura of eccentricity surrounding him.

For 15 minutes after the break, Town’s superiority prevailed but a scattering of corners and a high and wide attempt by Palmer was the sum of the threat posed to the visitors.

Hefele did add a new dimension to Town’s generally mundane set pieces, however, and the disruption he causes is a tool which may well prove useful as the season progresses.

From the hour mark, though, Town wilted. The exertions of a 10 man effort at the Madjeski started to bite as possession became much more difficult to maintain, even against very ordinary opposition.

Rotherham could sense an opportunity; though they were never likely to dazzle their way to a point, it became much easier to apply rudimentary pressure on their tiring hosts. Tareiq Holmes-Dennis, who had performed competently on his debut, began to suffer and was not helped by a knock late on which rather opened up a flank for the Millers to exploit.

Palpably nervous, the home side had to dig deep for resilience and should have been undone 5 minutes from the end when Forde’s clipped cross was headed wide by Adeyeme.

While Town comfortably saw out the game following the let off – Hogg, Payne and Stankovic were introduced to quell Rotherham’s quest for an unlikely and undeserved equaliser – the earlier profligacy had created the pressure they were now feeling.

At full time, another single goal victory had been achieved and with Norwich not playing until Wednesday, Town restored their place at the top of the table with a barely believable 22 points from the first 10 games (it took until Christmas to achieve the same points tally last season).

As disjointed and occasionally brittle as the second half had been, this cannot diminish the vitality of the first half, particularly with enforced changes, and though a Millers’ equaliser would not have been altogether surprising, it would have been something of a travesty.

With his wisdom, David Wagner will have learned a lot from the victory. He has capable, competent replacements for his preferred eleven but a ruthless streak needs to be grafted on to the hard work and consummate skills of his squad.

Top of the league and with room for improvement is a very, very good place to be.