Huddersfield Town 0, Blackpool 1

Nov 13 2006 By The Huddersfield Daily Examiner

Desperate for a win on home soil after first-hurdle exits in the Carling Cup and Johnstone's Paint Trophy, little came fluently and everything seemed a massive effort.

There were bright interludes from Danny Schofield, Fletcher and Mark Hudson without ever really opening the Blackpool defence, while shots from Jon Worthington (53 minutes) and Michael Collins (63) were only inches off providing a lead which would have given Peter Jackson's side an enormous boost.

Playing 4-1-4-1 until after the penalty, however, infuriated some sections of Town support, especially when Luke Beckett landed a shot on the roof of the net just a minute after going on.

It all became desperation stuff after that, with Matt Glennon - who had earlier saved smartly from Keith Southern's header - going up for a series of late free-kicks and corners.

It was to no avail, and when Schofield's last-minute volley fizzed into the side netting rather than the target, even the faithful who had stayed knew Town's Cup campaigns for the season were over.

Fletcher, Clarke and John McCombe, who stepped in for the injured Martin McIntosh, all had reasonable games but the pick for Town was 17-year-old left-back Joe Skarz, who again looked steady.

Indeed, his 24th-minute clearance from Andy Morrell, after the tricky Hoolahan had raided to win a corner, showed maturity beyond his years and plenty of confidence.

His peers now need to follow suit because if Town don't start to perk up, their League position within striking distance of the top six will quickly disintegrate too.

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