It was Town's first goalless draw of the season but it was played out with passion and skill.

Both clubs looked much better than the division they were in.

The Terriers had the better of the first half in which Andy Booth saw a header go wide and Brynjar Gunnarsson was profligate in terms of chances.

John Thorrington was taken off after just 25 minutes as a precautionary measure after sustaining an ankle injury and his replacement, Chris Hay, did well on the right flank.

The visitors were ever dangerous, however, and the Terriers had Martyn Margetson and Kevin Gray to thank for keeping the scores level just before half time.

Margetson saved from O'Connor and Kevin Gray saved the day after Adrian Moses' poor backpass from half way was intercepted by Andy Cooke only for Gray to intercede and complete the clearance.

Town attacked well but Leon Knight and Andy Booth were being caught offside too often at the start of the second period.

Danny Schofield provided some showmanship from the left flank and Sergei Shtaniuk had to concede a corner before Schofield could try anything.

Bjarni Gudjohnsson and Brynjar Gunnarsson were still failing to hit the target as the second half progressed and Town nearly made them pay for it later on.

Leon Knight turned and forced Neil Cutler into an athletic save, Dwayne Mattis shot wide either side of a Clive Clarke effort.

Clarke hit a 10 yard half volley over the bar while Kenny Irons had also hit a fine shot which went wide following a knockdown by Andy Booth from Danny Schofield's cross.

Despite the entertainment, however, the game seemed set to end in a draw despite an injury time bid by Clyde Wijnhard to score the winner when put through by a long ball from Thomas Heary who had denied Chris Iwelumo a chance on Margetson's goal.

Wijnhard was clean through but he somehow hit the ball wide!

Read Mel Booth's Match report on Monday - let us have your comments by using the email form on the right or the Messageboard below.

MATCH FACTS

Town (4-4-2): Margetson, Jenkins, Evans, Moses, Gray, Thorrington (Hay 28 (Wijnhard 85)), Irons (Heary 78), Mattis, Schofield, Knight, Booth
Subs not used: P. Senior, Macari

Stoke City (4-4-2): Cutler, Clarke, Handyside, Shtaniuk, Gunnarson (Henry 90), Gudjonsson, Cooke (Dadason 77), Thomas, Iwelumo, O'Connor, Vandeurzen (Goodfellow 68)
Subs not used: Rowson, Ingham
Booked: Clarke, Cooke, Thomas

Referee: Paul Danson (Leicester)

Attendance: 16,041 (3,900 Away)

Match points are on subsequent pages

FULL TIME

93 mins: Stoke counter-attacked following a poorly executed Town corner but Iwelumo was denied by Heary who hit it long for Clyde Wijnhard but the Dutchman could only hit it wide!!!

92 mins: Knight was on his feet and almost controlled the ball in the area but Shtaniuk took the ball off him.

91 mins: Wijnhard was thwarted in a genuine chance on goal. Leon Knight was writhing in agony on the ground elsewhere and the game had to be stopped so he could be helped.

90 mins: Wijnhard had already replaced Chris Hay as the game went into 3 minutes of added time still goalless.

85 mins: Clyde Wijnhard was stripped off and ready to come on for the last few minutes as the game remained on a knife edge. Both sets of fans (16,041 attendance) were very vocal in supporting their clubs.

81 mins: Leon Knight exhibited some trickery as the Terriers pushed on.

80 mins: Both sides continued to press as the snow started to fall at the McAlpine. The Terriers had a tactical re-shuffle in order to keep Stoke on their toes.

73 mins: Dwayne Mattis shot wide.

72 mins: The game was heating up and chances were coming for both sides. Clive Clarke took the ball from Kevin Gray and struck a 10 yard half volley over the bar while Danny Schofield carved out an opening from the wing and crossed for Andy Booth who knocked it down to Kenny Irons. Irons unleashed a fine shot which drifted wide.

66 mins: Leon Knight rounded a defender and unleashed an effort which Cutler tipped away for a corner!

65 mins: Andy Booth's cross for Schofield was wayward. The tension was increasing as Stoke were shading the start of the second half.

64 mins: Godjonsson's cross flew to the far post where Vandeurzen kept it in play.

63 mins: Gunnarsson shot wide - he looked clean through.

60 mins: O'Connor dug out a great cross to Iwelumo but Margetson was equal to the eventual effort and stopped the ball on his goal line.

52 mins: Gudjonsson hit the ball wide after a set piece involving Gunnarsson.

51 mins: Shtaniuk conceded a corner after some confident tricks by Danny Schofield.

50 mins: Schofield dragged the ball away from Iwelumo in an unusual left back role and triggered a Town attack which stuttered down the left.

48 mins: Kenny Irons' poorly timed pass saw Leon Knight pulled up for offside yet again.

47 mins: Handyside cleared from Hay's cross.

An entertaining half saw Stoke thwarted by Martyn Margetson and Kevin Gray while the Terriers could not break through the Stoke defence.

45 mins: Kenny Irons lined up a free kick but could only find Gareth Evans in the box.

42 mins: O'Connor's ball into the box was poor with Iwelumo lurking.

40 mins: A very poor backpass from Moses put Andy Cooke in but Kevin Gray got back to make the clearance.

38 mins: Stoke broke free and O'Connor forced Margetson into a sparkling save amidst calls for offside from the Kilner Bank.

37 mins: Kenny Irons' free kick was cleared as far as Leon Knight who passed to Jenkins and went round his man to cause havoc closer to the 6 yard box.

35 mins: Chris Hay tested the 'keeper with a shot/cross. John Thorrington had earlier limped off following a heavy challenge. Cutler had earlier saved from Booth with a header and Knight, with a shot stopped on his goal-line. The visitors looked very dangerous at times.

27 mins: Jenkins found Thorrington who combined with Jenkins to produce a pass for Andy Booth which he didn't capitalise on.

26 mins: Gunnarsson blew his pass after a period of pressure from Stoke.

23 mins: O'Connor intercepted Evans' ball for Knight and Stoke started a flowing attacking move which eventually saw the ball go out of play.

21 mins: A very entertaining match so far, after a slow opening, was punctuated by many moments of skill from both sides. Booth headed wide from a great set piece.

14 mins: Gunnarsson struck a powerful free kick wide.

12 mins: Cutler made a good save from Knight after he was put through by Booth but trhe referee had already blown for offside.

10 mins: Knight couldn't get past Wayne Thomas and Thomas cleared.

9 mins: Clarke's shot on goal was well wide.

5 mins: Leon Knight turned and instinctively pulled the trigger only to see his effort fizz over the bar.

4 mins: Vanduerzen was smartly tackled by Moses as both sides probed in the opening stages.

3 mins: Schofield took up a promising ball and exchanged passes with Irons before he was shoved off the ball. The Terriers eventually won a corner.

1 mins: A thronging McAlpine crowd watched the match get underway with Jenkins sliding in to deprive Gunnarsson.

Town were unchanged after their exploits against Peterborough. Phil Senior recovered sufficiently to take his place on the bench.