Huddersfield Town 4, Rotherham United 1

Mar 20 2006 By The Huddersfield Daily Examiner

ELEVEN years on from becoming the first man ever to score a stadium hat trick, Andy Booth reminded everyone at the Galpharm he's still the head of the class.

Three classic headers stopped improving Rotherham in their tracks to give Booth a fifth career hat trick and Town greater credence to their automatic promotion claims.

Substitute Gary Taylor-Fletcher put the spectacular seal on victory six minutes from time - Rotherham had led with Jonathan Forte's excellent 13th-minute breakaway strike - but it was Booth who stole the show in front of the biggest Galpharm crowd for four months, 15,264.

A driving performance from Jon Worthington, some tremendous crossing from recalled right-back Andy Holdsworth and the taunting trickery of Danny Schofield were also a feature, but Booth's finishing meant Rotherham will have to add to the 42 years since their last victory in Huddersfield.

The 1,781 who travelled from Millmoor - including those on a sponsored walk for their cash-crisis club - suspected Booth or David Graham might be their undoing as ex-Sheffield Wednesday players always seem to deliver against Alan Knill's men.

That was the case again, although Booth's equaliser after 32 minutes was a big relief to the man himself as he'd not netted since the New Year's Eve draw at Barnsley.

The build-up - a sweeping pass from Mark Hudson and a brilliant cross by Holdsworth - set the pattern for Town's day after a sloppy opening half hour in which they lacked tempo.

Holdsworth supplied Worthington for Booth's second on 38 minutes - the bounce beating defender Shaun Barker and causing an argument between Colin Murdock and keeper Gary Montgomery which almost came to blows.

Rotherham then dominated long spells of the second half, with Town sitting too deep, before Booth delivered the killer blow eight minutes from time with another crunching finish to Holdsworth's cross.