Blackburn Rovers 3, Huddersfield Town 1

Sep 22 2005 By Mel Booth, The Huddersfield Daily Examiner

TOWN'S magnificent support will be the lasting memory.

Make no mistake about it, few teams in the Premiership will receive such outstanding vocal backing at Ewood Park this season.

Around 4,000 Huddersfield voices dominated the atmosphere despite many fans arriving late because of hold-ups on the motorway.

Such unity was wonderful to hear - the fans were a credit to the club and the town - and the noise was never louder than 11 minutes from time when Pawel Abbott pounced for his ninth goal of the season to put the tie right back in the balance.

With Town trailing only 2-1 and another grandstand finale on the cards, the fans cranked up the decibels even further in the hope of a shock late equaliser.

Their efforts were to no avail, however.

Craig Bellamy, who had opened the scoring in the 11th minute before watching Zurab Khizanishvili increase the advantage from a corner on 59, nipped through to grab his second of the night with seven minutes left on the clock.

It was typical of Blackburn's skill, movement and passing quality all night while the pace of the Welsh international - who dribbled neatly around Paul Rachubka before rolling the ball home - was just too hot for Town to handle in an entertaining second round tie.

In fact, the gulf in class between the sides was evident from the very earliest exchanges, even though Town covered themselves in as much credit as the fans for their gutsy approach and determination to build play through a new frontline including Andy Booth and Junior Mendes.

It was tough going, however, as Blackburn's impressive fluidity illustrated the massive strides Town will have to make in the next few years to progress to the Championship and to even think about challenging for the Premier League.