HUDDERSFIELD Town fans, what a difference four days – and James Vaughan – makes.
Limp against Leicester, Town were bright and bold at Birmingham as they found the perfect antidote to two home defeats by chalking up a deserved third successive victory on the road.
And while Jermaine Beckford stroked home his first goal for the club to seal the three-point haul which put Simon Grayson’s side back into the play-off places, it was fellow loan man Vaughan who was the catalyst for this much-improved performance.
Back after missing the losses to Watford and Leicester because of a groin injury, the Brummie stuck the knife into the club he has supported since childhood.
Vaughan, playing on the right side of a three-man frontline, tore out of the blocks, and home right-back Paul Robinson had a torrid time thanks to the Norwich man’s movement, energy and sheer endeavour.
The rest of the side followed suit and the tone was set inside the first minute when the bustling Beckford outmuscled centre-back Curtis Davies on the left and delivered a penetrative low cross for the eager Vaughan to shoot wide on the turn.
Danny Ward, playing wide left, got in on the act as well, and you sensed Birmingham, and their fans, knew they were in for another difficult afternoon against Yorkshire opposition.
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Mr Blue Sky boomed out as the teams took the pitch (like Vaughan and Jasper Carrott, the ELO leader is a lifelong Birmingham fan).
But former Town boss Lee Clark must be in something of a dark place.
His team needed to impress after a crushing 5-0 defeat by Barnsley in their last home game but looked short on confidence.
They had their moments as Nathan Redmond crashed a bending shot against a post in the first half before Alex Smithies made fine saves from the impressive Chris Burke and Wade Elliott in the second.
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And Nikola Zigic, the tall Serbian striker brought on for the second half as Clark tried to boost his frontline power, proved a bit of a handful before being shown a straight red card for a high tackle on Calum Woods in the 74th minute.
That said, Town could have been out of sight by half-time with Ward firing in shots whenever the opportunity arose, and came mightily close to a second just before Zigic’s sending off when Peter Clarke headed against the bar from a cross by substitute Adam Hammill, back after a four-game lay-off because of a knee injury.
Captain Clarke teamed up with Anthony Gerrard to ensure Birmingham were kept at bay (the pair were never afraid to put themselves firmly in the way of the home team).
And Calum Woods, preferred to Paul Dixon at left-back, had an excellent game against the dangerous Burke.
In the centre of the park, Oliver Norwood provided creativity ahead of joining up with Northern Ireland for their World Cup qualifier in Portugal while Keith Southern and Adam Clayton supplied real grit.
Clayton played a key role in the all-important 25th-minute goal, winning the ball just inside the Birmingham half and passing to Vaughan, whose low cross was sidefooted home by Beckford.
The former Leeds man remains unwilling to share his thoughts, but hopefully there will be plenty more goals to do the talking for him!
