Huddersfield Town 0, Barnsley 2

Sep 20 2004 By The Huddersfield Daily Examiner

ANYONE watching Town for the first time this season must wonder what all the fuss has been about.

Encouraged by thumping wins against Hull City and Port Vale, over 12,500 Town fans in a season-best Galpharm crowd hoped for more of the same on Saturday.

They were desperately and sadly disappointed.

An abysmal first-half display - in which Peter Jackson's side were outplayed in midfield and overpowered in defence - cost them dearly.

Barnsley were only too eager to pounce, going ahead through Barry Conlon on nine minutes and exposing Town's shambolic defending further with a David Mirfin own goal 11 minutes later.

While Town improved as a 4-4-2 unit with Junior Mendes introduced on the right flank for the second half, they couldn't force the goal which would have made so much difference to the tenor of the game.

And frustration was complete in stoppage time at the end when team captain Efe Sodje - frustrated by Conlon's niggling all the way through was sent-off for elbowing Nicky Wroe.

By then, many Town fans had headed for home and it was the 2,228 Barnsley contingent in a gate of 14,794 who were making all the noise. Rightly so.

Their side took control thanks to the excellence of the returning Stephen McPhail, who directed operations to such effect that Town managed only two shots in the first half - Danny Schofield's deflected wide for a corner which Steve Yates fired straight at keeper Nick Colgan.

Chris Brandon and Andy Holdsworth did their best to stem the Red tide, but Town had no answer to Wroe on the right and Chris Shuker supporting the front two and it was all too easy for Paul Hart's previously hit-and-miss side.