Huddersfield Town 4 - 1 MK Dons: Examiner match report

Nov 24 2010 by Mel Booth, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

HUDDERSFIELD Town were desperate for victory and duly delivered to get their League I challenge back on track.

Jordan Rhodes returned to the top of the club goal charts by taking his season’s haul to 10 with a second-half double after Antony Kay and Gary Roberts provided a two-goal half-time tonic.

It meant misery for MK Dons, who suffered a second successive 4-1 defeat after losing to Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday.

But it must have brought a smile to the face of former favourite Frank Worthington, who celebrated his 62nd birthday by watching from the stand as part of the Galpharm ‘seventies night’.

Lee Clark rung the changes, with Alex Smithies, Jamie McCombe and Joe Garner all coming in and Ian Bennett, Lee Peltier and Joey Gudjonsson missing out.

Right-back Peltier wasn’t even in the squad, suggesting an injury.

It was keeper Smithies’ first start in 12 matches and McCombe’s first in the league since he was sent off against Bristol Rovers on October 2.

For on-loan Garner, who was being watched by his Nottingham Forest manager Billy Davies, it was a first start in six and a second in 12.

MK, aiming to bounce back from successive defeats, included former Doncaster duo Michael McIndoe, on loan from Coventry, and Lewis Guy.

But their six-goal top scorer Sam Baldock was absent with a knee injury.

Town, with Scott Arfield at right-back and Kay restored to central midfield after a string of outings at centre-back, made a solid start.

It took a good block tackle by centre-back Sean O’Hanlon to thwart Rhodes as he shot in the third minute.

Then MK keeper David Martin’s hurried clearance let in Roberts in the sixth minute, his rising shot going over.

The visitors had made few inroads, but stretched Town from a 14th-minute corner delivered by Peter Leven and fired goalwards by Danny Woodards, Smithies and Arfield combining to keep the ball out.

Town were still the dominant force, however, and Rhodes ran onto Garner’s clever flick and outpaced O’Hanlon to put in a fine 17th-minute centre for Anthony Pilkington to test Martin with a diving header.

Then Roberts freed Arfield, who picked out Rhodes for a low shot which Martin dived to save.

Town fans rose in expectation when Pilkington cut in from the right in the 23rd minute, but his shot was too high.

They were soon celebrating though, as Pilkington’s cross took a deflection off Mathias Doumbe into the path of Kay, who took his time and picked his spot to register his second goal of the season.

Town were good value for a lead which was doubled within another 12 minutes.