Huddersfield Town were beaten 2-0 by Sam Allardyce’s Everton in the ex-Terrier’s first game in charge of the Toffees.
Gylfi Sigurdsson netted the first at Goodison Park immediately after half time, before Dominic Calvert-Lewin secured all three points for hosts with a deflected effort 17 minutes from the end.
Town controlled the ball for large portions of the match, but couldn’t break through the hosts’ defence and stretched their goalscoring drought away from home to 10 hours and 42 minutes.
David Wagner made five changes to the side which were hit for a handful at the Emirates Stadium in midweek, reverting back to his favoured 4-2-3-1 system after the 3-4-3 experiment failed against Arsenal.
Tommy Smith and Scott Malone were welcomed back into the four-man defence, with Danny Williams, Tom Ince and Laurent Depoitre all brought back in after starting on the bench in north London.
One other notable return was that of Chelsea loanee Kasey Palmer who was named in the Town matchday squad for the first time since suffering a hamstring injury in the Terriers' goalless draw with Southampton in August.
And it looked as though the England Under 21 international would take part in another bore draw, as the first half wound down with no real threat being posed by either side.
Curucao international defender Cuco Martina came closer than anyone to breaking the deadlock after 25 minutes, but Jonas Lossl pushed away his curling right-footed effort with two strong palms.
Both teams had plenty of possession in the others’ defensive third, but Town could not break through Allardyce’s well-organised back four, while the hosts spurned a number of free kicks in promising positions, with Gylfi Sigurdsson only able to pick out the hands of Lossl.
The Iceland international had a poor first half for the Toffees, but redeemed himself immediately after the restart, calmly slotting home after latching on to Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s clever flick in the box.
Town’s response was swift, with Tom Ince striking the side netting with a fierce effort from just inside the box, but the winger remains without a Town goal after firing wide once more in the second 45 minutes.
The visitors dominated the second half, but could not create any clear-cut chances and Everton nearly doubled their lead through Calvert-Lewin after springing a quick counter-attack.
Lossl was there to save, but the Danish stopper could do nothing to deny the 20-year-old Englishman later in the half.
Wayne Rooney sparked another swift counter for the Toffees as Town pushed for an equaliser, with Manchester United’ record scorer finding the youngster running through on goal.
His shot took a wicked deflection off Mathias ‘Zanka’ Jorgensen and the ball looped over the despairing Lossl before settling in the Goodison Park net - handing the points to the hosts.
Town fought hard in an attempt to get themselves back into the match, but once again could not find a goal away from home.
The Terriers have not scored a goal on the road since their opening day fixture against Crystal Palace, but a home clash against Brighton and Hove Albion could be just what the doctor ordered for Town who have not picked up a point in their last four league matches.
