Match report: Huddersfield Town 0 Coventry City 0
Jul 27 2009 by Mel Booth, Huddersfield Daily Examiner
Huddersfield create best chances against Coventry
HARD-WORKING Town got better as the match went on and showed encouraging steel for the second successive outing against tough Championship opposition.
Manager Lee Clark tried different formations in each half – changing from 4-5-1 to 4-4-2 – and saw his side create the two best chances of the match in front of 3,886 at the Galpharm.
That strikers Robbie Simpson (against his old club) and half-time substitute Theo Robinson didn’t go for the jugular to test keeper Kieren Westwood was by far the biggest disappointment of the performance.
Because despite a slow-running pitch and an equally sluggish tempo in hot, dry conditions, Town put together some attractive attacking moves at times and maybe ought to have capitalised more against a Coventry side whose pre-season has been disrupted by injuries and departures.
After the previous excellent passing display against Morecambe, Clark will now put the lessons gleaned from combat with Newcastle and Chris Coleman’s Coventry to full use in the final friendlies at Macclesfield (tomorrow) and Wrexham on Saturday.
With Lee Peltier recovering from flu and Chris Lucketti (heel) ready to return to running, only knee-injury victim Jim Goodwin will be missing as Town wind up to the League I opener against Southend at Roots Hall on August 8 – and that’s bright news as Clark continues to bed in his six new faces to the squad.
Coventry, with Leon Best dangerous in the air and on the turn, and Clinton Morrison using his pace to menacing effect, had the better of the first half on Saturday, when Elliott Ward had a 17th-minute strike wiped out for offside and Alex Smithies had to be smart to smother at the feet of Michael Doyle in the six-yard box.
Midfielder Aaron Gunnarsson kept Town’s defence on their toes, creating a chance for Best which was only denied by an outstanding tackle from Tom Clarke, who did excellently as deputy for Peltier.
With manager Clark roaring plenty of instructions for his team to pass the ball, rather than punt it in desperation, Town responded to a poor opening half hour by creating a glorious chance for Simpson, who had earlier curled a 25-yard free-kick just past Westwood’s right-hand post.
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