Huddersfield Town 3, Bournemouth 2

Jan 24 2005 By The Huddersfield Daily Examiner

O'Connor flashed a shot wide as Town seemed unable to regain their composure and, when Fletcher and Hayter both touched crosses narrowly wide, it seemed only a matter of time before the scores would be level.

While keeper Neil Moss made a brave block to keep out Abbott's fierce drive on a rare Town break, Bournemouth kept up the pressure and should have been level with only six minutes left.

Hayter, once again, was on the end of the move but Paul Rachubka stood tall for long enough to stop his first effort, got a hand from Efe Sodje to block the follow-up from Spicer and then, when substitute Derek Holmes had a final bite for the Cherries, Rachubka was down to complete the escape.

By then, Town were camped in their own penalty area - but they were unfortunate not to seal the points from Rachubka's clearance, with Booth teeing up Beckett for what appeared his hat trick goal, only for the offside flag to be raised very late indeed.

It didn't matter, in the end, as Town secured only a third win in 16 outings thanks to the dominance of their first-half display.

With the back line very solid and the midfield three all working hard, Town had Bournemouth on the back foot and flourished after Shaun Maher grabbed Booth's shirt to concede his third penalty of the season with only seven minutes on the clock.

Abbott became the first Town player since Ronnie Jepson in November 1994 to score from the spot in successive games and, with Booth prominent in only his second start in 14, the whole team looked confident.

Free-kicks by Tony Carss and Fowler created pressure and the workrate was emphasised when skipper Jon Worthington robbed Stephen Purches of possession in the 34th minute to set up Beckett's first goal after rounding the keeper.

Rachubka made a brilliant save from Hayter on the break, but it looked like much of the good work would be undone when Hayter scored from Elliott's cross in the final minute of the half.

Fortunately, Town hit back straight away with Carss finding Booth on the run to square for Beckett's excellent finish.

It proved the winner and Beckett punched the air in delight before sharing high fives with Jackson as the crowd chanted "sign him up."

Here, here . . .

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