Huddersfield Town defender Clarke insists: “We can take heart despite defeat”

Oct 5 2009 by Dougie Thomson, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

NATHAN CLARKE insisted namesake Peter’s sending off was the turning point in Town’s 1-0 defeat at Colchester United and insisted: “We can still take heart from this performance.”

Peter Clarke will miss tomorrow’s Johnstone’s Paint Trophy second-round tie at Chesterfield through suspension after his 75th-minute red card.

Cautioned on 65 minutes for a foul on Kayode Odejayi, the captain was dismissed for a second bookable offence, with referee Gavin Ward ruling illegal use of the arm against John White.

Odejayi, on loan from Barnsley, sidefooted the winner five minutes later and Nathan Clarke said: “There’s no way we deserved that.

“It’s a double whammy, because we’ve lost the game and we’ve lost Pete for a match as well, and I certainly didn’t think it was a red-card offence.

“I saw both incidents clearly and I don’t think either were yellows. Pete’s not a malicious player, and if he caught the player with his arm, I’m sure it wasn’t deliberate.”