Defensive flaws holding this side back

The narrative of Town's seven-game unbeaten run has almost been flipped on its head by the two back-to-back league defeats heading into the international break.

For all the good work the Terriers have put in place by masterminding that upturn in form, manager Chris Powell approaches the latest two-week hiatus with mixed feelings.

The post-match emotion on his part was one of frustration, primarily for the fact that his side were unable to convert a domination in terms of possession into something more tangible in the final third.

But his aggravation also stemmed from some woeful defending from Town which made their attacking efforts seem almost futile as they looked like conceding each time Fulham crossed the halfway line.

Mark Hudson and Tommy Smith both had days to forget, with the former at fault for the opening two goals and the right-back failing to cover himself in glory for the game-settling third.

One caveat is the strength of Fulham's offensive department, one which most managers in this division would be envious of, but another three goals to add to the goals against column means Town, along with the Cottagers, have the most porous defence in the Championship.

Town have an improved threat from set pieces

Town's defence may have folded like a pack of cards when pressure was applied from the hosts, but the contribution of both Hudson and Joel Lynch in the opposition area went some way to compensating for the collective travails at the other end of the pitch.

Lynch himself would pull Town level in the contest with a brave header to beat Marcus Bettinelli and rewarded a sustained spell of pressure on the Fulham goal in the second period.

Prior to that, though, the warning signs had been planted by Town to their hosts with Hudson seeing a firm downward header scrambled off the line by Scott Parker before Grant Holt steered perhaps Town's best chance of the piece over from a couple of yards out.

Crosses deriving from open play were either wayward or cleared by the towering Dan Burn in the Cottagers defence, which owes a level of credit to the delivery from dead balls and it is something Powell's men are becoming a real threat from.

Against Nottingham Forest last weekend, Jack Robinson's missile-like throw-in - worthy of being deemed a set piece in itself - enabled Lynch to open his account for the season while Hudson netted a consolation at Derby County in the week from another inch-perfect centre.

Butterfield seizes the mantle once more

It was difficult to pinpoint any particular standout performers in the game's embryonic stages, with a combination of poor defending and a lack of clinical edge proving the undoing for Powell's men all afternoon.

Harry Bunn put his name forward initially, committing the decidedly suspect Elsad Zverotic on a number of occasions with his natural mix of strength, speed and staunchness.

But the man who shone most was Jacob Butterfield, whose confidence and influence on this Town side grows with every game.

He is one of the constants in the starting XI because of his ability to knit play together, link a three-tiered midfield with the attack and offers a definite product in the final third.

There were signs just before the interval that he was beginning to feel his way into the contest and after the break he got the better of his battle with opposite creator-in-chief Bryan Ruiz, whose own languid style was the binary opposite to the busy, industrious work of the Town man.

He drifted past Fulham players with ease in the second half, hit the side netting with a free-kick before swinging the ball in for Lynch to nod an equaliser in an all-action showing.

Holt cuts a lonely figure without Wells by his side

They say selection dilemmas are always welcome ones for managers. Perhaps not this one.

Town were outnumbered at Derby in midweek and it was clear that Powell was craving the presence of Jonathan Hogg to help quell the triple revolving threat of Will Hughes, Omar Mascarell and Jeff Hendrick but his absence, owing to a thigh injury, left him hamstrung in his selection process.

He was more or less cornered into going with two up top but rightfully chose to revert to a three-man central midfield for the trip to the capital, particularly given the threat of Ruiz, with the addition of new loan signing Diego Poyet also offering him more options in that area.

But with Hogg back in at the expense of Nahki Wells, it had a direct correlation on Town's attack lacking the same sharpness and incision which has been one of the major facets to the Terriers' game in recent times.

Holt's tendency to get involved in play often sees him drift into wide areas and leave Town devoid of an attacking focal point, something he can concentrate on more when Wells is on the field, as the Bermudian can make the darts into the channels he relishes.

The Wigan Athletic loanee did not have a particularly bad afternoon, but appeared to be crying out for more bona fide striking support in the form of Wells, something which did not occur until midway through the second half.

Let's not forget this side are still a work in progress

On the face of it, this was not just a second defeat in the space four days, it also represented consecutive three-goal concessions for the Terriers.

But beneath the surface, there were positives to be taken from the defeat at Craven Cottage.

Firstly, Town did create a surfeit of goalscoring chances, enough to at least have taken a draw and possibly even all three points, given the gilt-edged nature of some of the openings.

The fact Fulham fans' celebration for the impressive Lasse Vigen Christensen's goal was as much a sigh of relief as it was actual exultation was a case in point of how rattled Town had their hosts at one stage.

Powell's men controlled large parts of the second half and Fulham's forward play became disjointed as a result, despite their riches in the attacking third.

Ultimately, the manager and his players will rue the inability to keep the scores level for longer than they did and reflect on switching off against top-class individuals at this level.

But equally, this Town side are continuing to learn under their new mentor and while their growth may have been stunted by this loss, they are capable of hitting back at home to Sheffield Wednesday in a fortnight's time and ensuring a hiccup does not become a series of setbacks.