Huddersfield Town 0, Swindon 0

May 8 2006 By The Huddersfield Daily Examiner

THIS was definitely not the play-offs!

Low key and low quality in the main, it was only in the final 20 minutes that Town's excellent army of 1,600 fans had action to get moderately excited about.

Most of that, it's fair to say, was from the outstanding Paul Rachubka and his dogged defence when Town were down to 10 men following the 69th-minute dismissal of Tom Clarke.

But in two precious moments of inspiration at the other end, however, Town's much-changed line-up went within a whisker of grabbing all three points.

The first came on 62 minutes when Pawel Abbott - back in the starting XI for the first time in three months - took aim from 30 yards and was denied only by the fingertips of Swindon's Player of the Year Rhys Evans.

Town's fans behind the goal were already `up' in celebration, thinking the shot was heading for the top corner, but it seems Evans has been in remarkable form all season for a club determined to regroup in League II next term.

If Abbott's effort wasn't good enough, substitute John McAliskey went even closer to breaking the deadlock with five minutes to go.