ROD BELFITT got the crucial touch as Huddersfield Town edged a highly entertaining FA Cup first-round clash at Walsall.

Bobby Collins’ side, braving the club’s first-ever season in the Football League’s basement division, produced what the manager described as the best performance since his appointment in the summer of 1974 to get the better of their Third Division hosts in front of 5,506 at Fellows Park.

It was the bravery of Belfitt, a former Leeds teammate of canny Scotsman Collins, which made the difference, the seasoned striker beating two defenders to head home Terry Gray’s teasing cross from the right.

“This tie did not produce as many goals as most in the round, but the one it did must rank with the best,” wrote the Examiner’s Martin Hardy.

“This was a memorable affair between two teams determined to find and provide the magic sparkle which decorates this competition.

“Town’s triumph was Walsall’s heartache and the manager’s eulogy was a fitting comment on a day when everything came right.

“The team lost their old inhibitions and found a new sense of purpose and understanding. Luck played no part in this win. It was down to a disciplined display.”