HERE are Doug Thomson's player ratings:

ALEX SMITHIES

Towns solid show meant he wasnt that busy, but made a good save from Wood before the Leicester sub scored. 7

JACK HUNT

Restored to his usual right-back role, he tackled strongly and got forward well, winning the penalty. 8

CALLUM WOODS

Looked calm and composed at left-back. Strong in the challenge, he also played a string of nice passes. 8

ANTHONY GERRARD

Provided a firm foundation as Town worked to limit chances for a side who had scored eight against them before. 7

PETER CLARKE

Caretaker manager Lillis has clearly handed the captain a lot of responsibility, and he responded really well. 7

OLIVER NORWOOD

Marked his latest Northern Ireland call-up with a decent display at the base of an effective midfield diamond. 7

JORDAN SINNOTT

The promising 18-year-old made his debut in midfield and certainly didnt look out of place. Great to see. 8

SCOTT ARFIELD

Was always busy on the left of the midfield quartet, tracking back and putting in the hard yards to push forward. 7

ADAM CLAYTON

Many say an advanced midfield role suits him best and he was a key performer in this tie. 8

LEE NOVAK

The industrious frontman finally got the goal his industry merited with a calm and well-struck penalty. 7

JAMES VAUGHAN

Produced an unselfish frontline performance full of energy and also did his usual work defensively. 7

Substitutes:

Sean Scannell (for Sinnott, 66mins) 8, Alan Lee (for Novak, 82mins) 7. Not used: Murray Wallace, Duane Holmes, Paul Dixon, Matt Crooks, Ian Bennett.

Readers' player ratings:

ALEX SMITHIES 6.9

JACK HUNT 7.6

CALLUM WOODS 6.9

ANTHONY GERRARD 7.1

PETER CLARKE 7.1

SCOTT ARFIELD 6.7

ADAM CLAYTON 7.3

OLIVER NORWOOD .3

JORDAN SINNOTT 7.4

LEE NOVAK 6.9

JAMES VAUGHAN 6.8

SEAN SCANNELL 7.2

ALAN LEE 6.0

TOWN seemed to have more possession of the ball in the second half and had more passion to create chances. However, they panicked when Leicester made two substitutions bringing their two best strikers on.

Laura, Huddersfield

MUCH better performance from Town and massive input form Steve Eyre from the bench. There is just a bit more confidence need and let’s get that much need win against Palace. I was proud of the boys, let’s all get behind the Town.

Bradley Blues

THE players have discovered once again how to control a ball and how to pass. We were better than the best team in the division. Hunt was outstanding, Sinnott had a good debut, and Scannell showed he is a bigger menace to the opposition in a more central role.

Russell, Calder Valley

A FAR better performance, which begs the question why have the same players been playing so badly for weeks when they clearly have the ability? It can only have been poor management that lacked structure and motivation – well done Dean!

Mark 3, Kirkburton

MUCH better! We looked like we wanted to win and we nearly did. Novak and Clarke both had good chances to seal it and Leicester were limited to one chance.

Rob, Kirkheaton

IT was a massive improvement. The midfield looked like a Championship midfield passing with confidence and cutting out the ‘hoofball’ we all hate to see. The forwards worked very hard and Novak gave 110 per cent and was good to watch. Great debut for young Jordan Sinnott.I actually enjoyed the game after weeks of boredom and disappointment under Larry's ‘hoofball’ specialists. Keep up the good work.

Tony, Liversedge

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