Huddersfield Town 1 Stockport County 0 ( Football League 1) Thursday 26 December 2024

 

 

County`s visit to Yorkshire today ended in frustration as Dave Challinor`s team  lost their battle against promotion rivals Huddersfield Town- the slender nature of Towns margin of victory -1-0  serving to make the wound hurt all the more!

The blues dominated possession, particularly in the second half but without once making their time on the ball count.

The second half saw County take a firmer grip on possession , and chances came their way being sadly spurned.

County simply lacked quality where it counted , the stark reality of their plight having been underscored heavily before most spectators inside the John Smith  Stadium had settled in their seats – County going behind in the first minute.

Town looked lively at that point but never seemed likely to add a second goal- sadly County could not capitalise on this fact.

I kept on thinking that surely with the amount of possession we were enjoying that they would find something from somewhere,  but it was not to be.

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The place was shrouded in mist as the game got underway, but we hardly had time to gather our senses when County went behind from the first attack of the afternoon as Town attacked the end that had been heavily watered pre-kick-off.

Marshall `s cross for Town  found Spencer on the opposite wing.

`End of `maybe, but no …..Spencer hit the ball across the box- Bate getting a touch to deflect it passed Hinchliffe into the County net!

There was more than a hint of handball in the build up to that but neither liner or Ref acknowledged this ,and the goal stood- County were 1-0 down well within the first minute.

It took County 3 or 4 minutes to reply and home keeper Jacob Chapman saw to it that Bailey`s through ball could not be put away by Tanto.

That looked just what Tanto needed as far as service goes, but would we see more of the same as the game progressed?

One minute on and County hit Town again through Barry whose run to the by-line resulted in a County corner.

The large County following under the Cowshed roof was excited and noisy about it until it all went a tad sad when County`s corner ended quickly in a pass back to Hinchliffe!

Of more concern though was the loose play from County under pressure from the Terriers at this point, and we were distinctly fortunate to see Ben Wiles foul Lewis Bate as he entered the County box, thus saving their bacon.

Town were not done  Josh Koroma Koroma shimmying his way through the right side of County`s back line into the box , whereupon he ruined the moment and his team`s chances of a second goal by falling to earth as if  in death .

The referee bought a lot today but not this - there was no penalty!

Town continued to look a dangerous side when the spirit moved them- one or two tasty fouls by them were difficult to be reconciled to , especially as they went unpunished, yes, County looked to have a game on their hands.

Bate did his best to start something worthwhile next, but having fed Barry , County`s soon to be ex striker lifted the ball over the bar.

That took us to the 20 minute mark, and 5 minutes of lively pressure came County`s way from their hosts- Herbie Kane disappointing locals by lifting his shot over the bar after County had partially blocked  an incisive run by Koroma.

Miles followed this up for Town testing Hinchliffe with a stinging shot – Ben made the save!

On it went with Miles in the van again for Terriers , and this run had County pressing the panic buttons as he cut inside to the edge of the box where he was brought down.

We really should have been punished for that one as the free kick was well scorable , but instead Town sent the kick right down Ben`s throat- chance gone!

Five minutes stretched to 10 with Town still trying to double their tally of goals without success- their latest effort seeing Marshall`s shot deflected for a corner from Spencer`s pass.

Again, Town might have viewed this as a good opportunity to embarrass County but in the event  Horsfall headed the kick out and Tanto did excellent work to draw a foul in the aftermath and bring the relief of a County free kick.

County came back at Town next with Barry to the fore- Bate picking him out at one point with a neat pass . Barry`s run saw him then pass on to Tanto who ushered Bate into play , but thereafter it all went sadly awry as Town got possession.

That was not the last we would see of County in this half- Tanto doing well to force a corner with just 7 minutes to half time, but again this worthy effort was wasted when the kick failed to put any pressure on Chapman`s goal.

Eventually Town put the pressure back on County, and they struggled to cope- a foul by Pye upping the angst for the blues from the free kick which again was  definitely scoreable.

I winced to see County had assigned Lewis Bate to marking duties on bean pole Michal Helik, but I need not have worried as the kicker sent his effort into the Cowshed- again Town had not delivered when they might have!

We needed to tighten up and get a grip on our discipline in what remained of the half.

The only action of note before the break came via another impressive run by Koroma for Town, that saw David Kasumu struggle in vain to force the ball home at the back post as the half drew to a close!

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When the game re-started ,County had Wootton and Diamond on for Bailey and Connolly.

I was hoping for a turnaround in the second half- a County revival, and 2000+ under the Cowshed roof were in full voice trying to bring that about-their actions seemingly rewarded , 2 minutes in, when Will Collar found himself 1 on 1  with the keeper.

Collar was arguably favourite ,but his shot hit Chapman and stayed out – chance gone!

Add another 4 minutes, and we had another County raid in full swing expertly directed by Louie Barry who slipped a delightful ball along the ground across the box to where Collar lurked. The moment had `redemption` written all over it but Lady Luck swung her preferred fashion accessory in Collar`s direction hitting him amidships – he slipped….. did not reach the ball and another chance was gone!

It was end to end for a while after  this, and County did well to keep Town at bay – doing good work at the other end also Bate winning a free kick  that ended with the kicker Southam-Hales getting booked probably for verbals!!!

The Away End was alive with supportive chants and songs at this point- would County respond?

Well….the immediate outcome was encouraging – they saw a corner headed clear by Helik – and more followed as a terrific run by  Barry  culminated in a lethal looking shot that Chapman got down to….saved by could only parry the ball.

A momentary glimmer of hope emerged with the sight of the ball running loose in Wootton`s direction. It was travelling at no great speed but neither was Kyle and before he could react Chapman had regained his composure and the ball – another chance was gone.

Still, I thought we might just put matters right and score- the volume of possession we enjoyed suggested this was not that outlandish a thought, we had now seen us produce that telling final ball but then failed to add a required finish!

Inevitably Town responded and it came from Herbie Kane with less than 20 minutes left to play- his run was impressive- his finish ( a neat chip) was on target , but so was Hinchliffe`s answer- a reassuringly solid save to deny Kane.

County now had Norwood and Knoyle on for Bate and Southam-Hales as still County had a firm grip on the home team- they just could not find a goal to seal the deal!

Norwood did give us a brief glimpse of his attributes lifting a dangerous ball into the box , but Wootton`s header from this was held comfortably by Chapman.

County continued to pile the pressure on without the tiniest shred of good fortune to show for it- Knoyle in behind the home back line and looking as though he had never been away – his cross headed behind for a corner .The corner became a throw and Knoyle was back again gnawing at Town`s perceived vulnerabilities- another cross from him looking likely to tip the game`s balance until from nowhere the liner saw `offside` to stop the rot for Town!

County continued to press into 3 minutes added time…….the mist descending …relenting…descending again in ever greater thickness- through it I could see Barry emerge at speed and he was not alone- his run cut off as the game came to an end.

Nothing more to add- pretty bushed after that!

See you Sunday for Rotherham !

 

Huddersfield Town line up :-

Chapman, Lonwijk (Pearson, 79), Helik , Lees,  Koroma ( Ladapo 82), Kasumu, Kane, Wiles, Spencer,  Marshall, Ward (Turton, 63)

Subs not used: Maxwell; Headley, Iorpenda,  Falls

Stockport County line Up:-

Hinchliffe, Connolly (Diamond 46), Horsfall, Pye, Southam-Hales (Knoyle 71), Collar, Bate (Norwood 71), Rydel, Bailey (Wootton 46), Olaofe (Camps 71), Barry.

 Subs not used: Addai, Touray.

Attendance : 21657 ( 2199)

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