Match report: Huddersfield Town 2 - 1 Southend United
Jan 18 2010 by Dougie Thomson, Huddersfield Daily Examiner
GIVE him a ball and a yard of grass!
Jordan Rhodes made the most of his return to the turf to tuck home the goals which brought Town victory in their first League I outing of 2010.
The teenage strike star admitted afterwards that he had been frustrated by a snowbound fortnight which forced the postponement at Southampton and meant training on an artificial surface was the order of almost every day.
But he found a release by notching in the 44th and 62nd minutes, both times by from crosses by Anthony Pilkington, to take his season’s haul to 17 and earn a third successive home league win made even sweeter by the fact that two of the sides above fifth-placed Town – Leeds and Colchester – lost.
It was a patchy performance by the Partick Thistle lookalikes, with Town wearing a yellow and red striped strip as a one-off to raise further funds for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.
And the closing stages were made nervy after the concession of a 90th-minute goal to Southend substitute Scott Spencer.
But overall Lee Clark’s side, who hit the bar early in the first half through Antony Kay, were worthy of the three-point tonic ahead of tomorrow’s visit of Bristol Rovers.
Town hadn’t played for two weeks and Southend since December 28, and both looked a touch on the rusty side in the early stages.
But Town settled quicker, coming close in the 12th minute when Kay headed against the bar from Pilkington’s corner.
As the ball was played back in by the winger, Lee Novak’s well-struck shot was blocked by midfielder Franck Moussa.
Robbie Williams, recalled at left-back after a five-match absence, had a 14th-minute shot deflected for a corner.
Then Novak tested keeper Steve Mildenhall with a cross-cum-shot before firing wide from Rhodes’ neat touch in the 18th minute.
Southend, however, gradually worked their way into the game, with lone striker Lee Barnard, a scorer in four of his previous six games against Town, looking lively.
Click below for a photo gallery of Saturday's action, including Jordan's brace and Antony Kay's thumping header.
With midfielder Damian Scannell prominent in build-up play, former Tottenham Hotspur man Barnard came close with two shots and a looping header.
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