Port Vale 1, Huddersfield Town 1
Mar 27 2006 By Mel Booth, The Huddersfield Daily Examiner
Man of the Match: Nathan Clarke
While his distribution still causes much debate among fans, his class invariably shines through and such was the case at Vale Park. Clarke's defending was of the highest quality.
Turning Point:
The major turning point was Town going behind to Michael Cummins' header on 59 minutes because, after that, Peter Jackson's side started to play more like a team at the top of the table.
Town completely dominated the last half hour and deserved their equaliser through Andy Booth 10 minutes from time.
How they rated:
Phil Senior Made two excellent close range saves to deny Constantine but misjudged the corner from which Vale scored Rating: 7/10
Andy Holdsworth Looked to be struggling with an injury and not at his fluent best but made one superb covering tackle on Birchall Rating: 7/10
Danny Adams Busy throughout, he covered a lot of ground, defended solidly and provided the cross from Boothy equalised Rating: 7/10
Martin McIntosh Hobbled off with a hamstring injury after only 17 minutes but his deputy, David Mirfin, played really well Rating: 6/10
Nathan Clarke Defended superbly once again with a number of terrific challenges, including a great one on Smith Rating: 8/10
Danny Schofield Struggled to get into the game in the first half but much more effective when he switched wings in the second Rating: 7/10
Jon Worthington His strong running from midfield caused Vale problems and he almost had a penalty when fouled by Cummins Rating: 7/10
Mark Hudson Missed a great chance in the first minute and later tested the keeper with a crunching 35-yard free kick. Grafted and did well Rating: 7/10
Chris Brandon Kept Craig James on his toes with some clever running and skills and was `taken out' by Pilkington on one break Rating: 7/10
Andy Booth Went top of the scoring chart on 14 with his late equaliser and should have had a penalty when felled by Goodlad Rating: 8/10
Gary T-Fletcher Back for illness victim David Graham, he missed a clear first-half chance but otherwise linked the attack well Rating: 7/10
Spotlight on the ref:
Graham Laws had a very poor game, getting quite a number of decisions wrong to frustrate both teams. How he failed to give a penalty for keeper Mark Goodlad's trip on Andy Booth still remains a mystery - it was as clear as they come. Several corner and goalkick decisions were wrong, as were numerous free kicks
Port Vale: Goodlad; McGregor, Pilkington, Fortune, James; Cummins, Togwell (Lowndes 85), Dinning; Birchall, Smith, Constantine. Subs not used: Brain, Innes, Husbands, Walsh.
