Huddersfield Town 0, Swindon 0
May 8 2006 By The Huddersfield Daily Examiner
Man of the Match: Paul Rachubka
Cracking saves from Jutkiewicz (twice) and Cureton topped a show of fine form in which one accurate kick to Brandon set up Town's best attack
How they Rated:
Paul Rachubka Made three outstanding saves and his kicking was top class on a skiddy but bumpy pitch. Excellent contribution Rating: 8/10
Tom Clarke Played right wing-back and centre-back before being sent-off for two cautions and will miss the play-off semi-finals Rating: 6/10
Danny Adams Took the captain's armband in the second half and made one brilliant goal-saving block on Cureton Rating: 6/10
David Mirfin Played left in the three centre-backs and made a fantastic last-gasp tackle to halt Jutkiewicz in the closing stages Rating: 6/10
Nathan Clarke Easily the pick of the outfield players in the first half but taken off after a booking and stern words from the ref Rating: 6/10
John McCombe A welcome first League start of the campaign for the strong defender. Got on the end of one Ahmed free-kick Rating: 7/10
Adnan Ahmed Made adventurous forward breaks in the first half and dug in well defensively when Town were down to 10 men Rating: 6/10
Danny Schofield Playing in the `hole' he had a couple of decent first-half runs without end product. Taken off at half time for Chris Brandon Rating: 6/10
Michael Collins Always willing to make runs for his colleagues, he was fouled off the ball several times but continued to work hard Rating: 6/10
David Graham Struggled to control up front in the first half but produced a stunning 20-yard drive just over. Better second half Rating: 6/10
Pawel Abbott Like Graham found the ball difficult to hold onto but went close with a top 30-yard drive which fans thought was in Rating: 6/10
Spotlight on the Ref: Graham Salisbury made home groundstaff fill in a number of potholes before kick-off but then failed to allow for the state of the slippery, bumpy surface by letting players slide for the ball. Nathan Clarke was also lucky not to be sent off considering his brother's tackles on O'Hanlon and Cureton were both given yellows
Turning Point:
When Swindon right-back Ricky Shakes hit the left hand post with a header from Aaron Brown's cross. Sixty three minutes had gone and, while Tom Clarke was sent-off only six minutes later, the Shakes miss inspired a strong rearguard effort from Town in the closing stages in which Paul Rachubka was excellent
Swindon:
Evans; Shakes, O'Hanlon (Wells 39), Smith, Ifil, Brown; Whalley (Cureton 65), Comyn-Platt (Diagouraga 65), Pook; McPhee, Jutkiewicz.
Subs not used: Benjamin, Stroud.
