Huddersfield Town 1, Notts Forest 1

Aug 28 2006 By The Huddersfield Daily Examiner

PETER JACKSON urges Town fans to believe in the faith, but this was as much about restoring it.

The manager demanded a major improvement after the miserable midweek Carling Cup defeat by Mansfield - and got it.

Town didn't register the win they deserved, but still played better than they did in beating Rotherham and Bristol City in previous League I games at the Galpharm.

As Giants fans headed down the M1 to Twickenham - the exodus being reflected in a Galpharm attendance of 11,720, some 5,650 down on the corresponding fixture last season - Nottingham Forest came the other way with their sights set on a fifth league win in five.

They must have been relieved to depart with a point.

The first half was pretty even, with Forest taking a 34th-minute lead through Grant Holt as Town once again fell victim to a free-kick.

But after the break, it was one-way traffic, with Forest's resistance finally broken on 72 minutes, when Gary Taylor-Fletcher nodded home after being quickest to react after Danny Schofield's curling shot bounced back off the angle of post and bar.

Forest boss Colin Calderwood's response was to bring on substitutes to beef up his defence - he had dropped his normal three centre-back formation in favour of 4-4-2 - while Jackson put on Pawel Abbott in place of Luke Beckett in a bid to inject some extra pace.

A second goal failed to materialise, but Jackson will still take plenty of satisfaction from the performance as he prepares for successive away trips to Crewe and Cheltenham.

Particularly pleasing on the eye were the performances of midfield duo Michael Collins and Schofield and defender Danny Adams.

Collins, the only man to come through the Carling Cup clash with any credit, was once again a lively force while Schofield produced plenty of trickery and a string of efforts on goal.