Huddersfield Town 0, Southend Utd 0

Dec 19 2005 By Mel Booth, The Huddersfield Daily Examiner

It was a scary moment, especially as Andy Holdsworth, David Mirfin and Nathan Clarke had all earlier been required to make excellent covering tackles as Southend exploited the pace of Wayne Gray and James Lawson.

The welcome introduction of McIntosh for injured Tom Clarke, who had raided forward well from left-back, brought an unexpected free-kick attempt by the substitute and, after Booth had been unable to get enough power on an Abbott cross, it was McIntosh who went closest from an Adnan Ahmed free-kick.

His header, however, was clawed away by the alert Darryl Flahavan and, with only two minutes left on the clock, everyone knew the last chance of victory had disappeared.

Town's point, therefore, owed much to the form of the back line in which Mirfin was strong and Nathan Clarke inspired.

He was quick into challenges and fearless in the tackle and, while the team may not have lived up to the high standards previously set, the elder Clarke certainly did.

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