Huddersfield Town played out a entertaining, if not frustrating, FA Cup Fourth Round draw with Birmingham City yesterday afternoon.
A bullet header from Steve Mounié in the 21st minute appeared to move the Terriers a step closer to the next round before once again becoming masters of their own downfall.
With the SkyBet Championship visitors struggling to make an impact in the encounter, they were gift-wrapped an equaliser from a Michael Hefele mistake.
Lukas Jutkiewicz duly took advantage meaning the sides will reconvene in 10 days’ time at St Andrew’s for a place in the Fifth Round of the competition.
But what can Huddersfield Town take from the result? Below, Examiner Football Writer Blake Welton assesses the frustrating draw...
1. The game was a missed opportunity – in more ways than one...
With suggestions from a number of quarters David Wagner is perhaps too rigid in his approach, a home FA Cup encounter against a struggling Championship side could have been a perfect time to try something different.
Yet the 12,861 in attendance were treated to the usual 4-2-3-1 formation with slow build-up play, too few balls into the box and an insistence on playing it out from the back which ended in disaster.
The late like-for-like substitution of Scott Malone for Chris Lowe as Laurent Depoitre remained on the bench with the game finely poised summed up the afternoon – frustrating.
2. Florent Hadergjonaj needs a regular run in the side...
The Swiss full-back impressed throughout the encounter and it was his pinpoint cross which saw Steve Mounié break the deadlock in the 21st minute.
Since arriving in West Yorkshire, Wagner has been keen to rotate his full-backs but with Tommy Smith out of sorts, it may be time for Hadergjonaj to get a decent run in the starting XI.
Composed in defence, the 23-year-old’s pacy delivery from the right-hand side is something both Mounié and Depoitre have been craving to no avail for the majority of the campaign.
3. Some of the fringe players are simply not good enough...
David Wagner was quick to praise Hadergjonaj, Mounié, Terence Kongolo , Collin Quaner and Abdelhamid Sabiri after the game.
With the German making seven changes to the side who disappointingly lost to Stoke City the previous week, it was a chance for some to make a name for themselves.
Sadly too many fell by the wayside which does not bode well for the rest of the Premier League campaign should one of the main men be out for a long period of time.
4. Some Town fans are too fairweather....
On paper a crowd of 12,861 isn’t a bad turn-out, but when considering Birmingham City brought 2,473 to West Yorkshire you do have to wonder where the additional 10,000 Town supporters normally at Premier League games were.
While the team may be at pains to stress the competition was important to them, too many supporters voted with their feet and stayed away.
A decent performance and victory could have set the side up for this week’s double-header against Liverpool and Manchester United but instead there is a replay that no-one really wants.
5. The Liverpool game is by no means a certainty...
Speaking of Liverpool, although Town struggled against lower league opposition, at least they are still in the competition.
Jurgen Klopp ’s Reds were unceremoniously dumped out of the FA Cup at home to West Bromwich Albion , making it two successive defeats since the heroic 4-3 victory over league leaders Manchester City a fortnight ago.
Defensive frailties remain despite the megabucks capture of Virgil van Dijk earlier this month, and if Town could just recapture some of that early season swagger another upset could be on the cards.
