Sweet Revenge
The revolving door to the manager’s office at Huddersfield Town has rather taken the lustre off the traditional introduction of the next victim to take charge, and this was doubly so in the case of Liam Manning, whose announcement was rightly overshadowed by the genuinely moving tribute to Terry Yorath.
Supporters of both clubs joined enthusiastically in their tribute to a man whose achievements at three of the four professional West Yorkshire clubs spanned decades and included genuine bravery on that tragic day in May 1985, along with his footballing and coaching exploits.
If his pre-match introduction was subdued, however, Manning’s first game was a perfect start to a tenure that surely must last longer than far too many of his predecessors if the club is to reverse the spiralling misfortunes of the past few years.
In a first half which should have blown away the Bantams, it was as if the shackles had been discarded as Town put on a display of relentless energy and probing, seemingly free of restrictive instruction.
Though far too much credence is given to statistics in the modern game, the data from the first 45 minutes was stark, reflecting the almost total dominance of the hosts, with the visitors having little meaningful activity in the Huddersfield half as they were constantly pinned back, with only pressure-relieving hoofs as an option.
First to everything, aggressive and playing with genuine verve, Town laid siege to Bradford’s defences and, unlike at Valley Parade earlier in the season, didn’t collapse after 20 minutes of dominance.
Ledson, with his best performance by a distance in a Town shirt, and McGuane, who was excellent until he let himself down on the hour, dominated midfield, allowing Harness and May ahead of them to cause City problem after problem.
With Radulovic having another good outing as the focal point, a goal looked inevitable from the off but took rather too long in coming, as chances were spurned by Gooch, Harness, May and Ledson.
The most egregious of these misses was the American’s. Harness played May into the box, who brought a good save from Walker when he should have scored, and the parry fell at the feet of Gooch only yards out, the keeper stranded and the whole goal to aim at. He screwed his effort wide and into the side netting.
Radulovic was rightly, if marginally, called offside latching on to an excellent ball from Harness and, though he finished well, the defender already knew the decision had been made.
When it inevitably came, the goal was a result of quick thinking at a throw-in — a rarity in recent years — as May got behind the City defence yet again with an intelligent run, and his cross was met by Radulovic and another good stop from Walker, but this time his save fell straight to Harness to poke home.
It would be crass to draw too many conclusions from the first 45 minutes of a game for which motivation shouldn’t be needed, but it is hard not to speculate that Grant’s overthinking couldn’t have produced such a performance. Players looked lighter in step, more confident in execution and natural in intent, with several of them playing a few levels above their previous standard — notably Low and Ledson and, perhaps, Harness and May.
The dominance continued after the break, and Alfie May spurned another opportunity after Harness had harassed Tilt out of possession before cutting back, but the ball got caught under May’s feet and his effort was easily blocked.
From a corner won by a Gooch sortie down the right, Low headed just wide and another half of dominance seemed inevitable.
The busy May, whose goals will flow soon, turned a defender with a gloriously impish flick and eventually fed McGuane for a mazy run and shot which was too close to the keeper, who saved easily.
It was to be the ex-Barcelona man’s final contribution before a minor mix-up in Town’s own half saw them lose the ball, and a very bookable lunge saw him see yellow again after a first-half confrontation which saw him impetuously push over an opponent.
As one of the main reasons for Town’s massive improvement, and surely too good for the third tier, his absence presented a very real challenge for the team and the new manager just one hour into his reign.
Having spurned opportunities to turn their overwhelming superiority into a healthy lead, the Terriers were now an influential man short and, their history — including recent history — of playing with and against ten men being entirely negative, the omens were ominous.
Thankfully, tenacity, resilience and a solid shape, combined with Bradford emulating the worst of Town’s own efforts against reduced opposition, made for a rather more comfortable final 30 minutes than expected.
Indeed, shortly after the sending-off, Town fashioned a good chance when Ledson played a lovely ball into the box for Radulovic, who spun and fed May for a shot which was too easily saved. The ball was slightly behind May, which made the effort technically more difficult than it appeared, but a second at that time would have totally demoralised the visitors.
Including injury time, Town had to keep Bradford at bay for just short of 40 minutes and, despite the natural anxiety of a crowd which had backed the team loudly throughout, it was navigated unexpectedly comfortably.
That isn’t to say there weren’t scares, and there were little periods where the team were too deep, but City’s penetration was flaccid, to say the least.
In retrospect, an hour of domination followed by 30–40 minutes of resilience made for a hugely enjoyable derby and a perfect start for Manning.
He will now have to inspire another performance against Luton, and without the excellent McGuane, but the depth of the squad available to him was emphasised by the players he didn’t use, in Miller and Alves, and the flexibility that offers him.
Perhaps he should have replaced the tiring McGuane before his second yellow, and the withdrawal of Harness, May and Radulovic seemed excessively negative, but the result was secured and his decisions were vindicated.
As the old cliché goes, it is the hope that kills you, but it is preferable to the absence of hope when Burton and Stockport outplay you.
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