Huddersfield Town 5 v 1 Wrexham
Huddersfield Town story posted by Phill Rodgerson on 27/10/2001
Town made hard weather of the oppostition early on before going on to romp all over them in the second half by scoring 4 goals and going into 'easy gear'. Quite surprisingly, it wasn't the most thrilling of games for a six-goal thriller but it will have deffinitely have boosted the confidence of everyone around the McAlpine.
Town started the game on the back of a comfortable three-nil victory away at Northampton on Tuesday along with an in-form striker in Andy Booth. It was clear from the get-go that they were out looking for more goals and it certainly proved to be a successful tactic by the end of the match.
Town had a very early chance just 2 minutes into the game. A freekick floated into the area met the head of Andy Booth who knocked it down into the centre for the oncoming loan striker making his McAlpiner debut - Leon Knight. He couldn't find space for the shot and so, set up Boothy who let rip a cracking shot on the half-volley only to have it blocked by the Wrexham defence.
Just one minute later Thorrington made a surging run down the right, as has become familiar to the Mac fans. He made it past the Wrexham left-back Shaun Holmes and shoved in a great ball across the face of the goal to the oncoming Knight. Although the kid has blistering pace he was unable to latch onto John's cross and the chance went begging.
Knight once again showed his pace in the 7th minute when he was given a ball to chase after by Booth. It tested the pace of Goalkeeper Rogers who was quick off his line to clear any danger of the loan striker bagging his first goal in a blue and white shirt.
The good start did look like it might come to an end though, when the so-called 'experienced defenders' Steve Jenkins and Kevin Gray collided with each other after a break in communication allowing the first real Wrexham attack. Lucky for us, young minds were there to clear up the mess in Nathan Clarke.
Just before Wrexham put the ball in the back of the net, it seemed that we had quite a good claim for their goalkeeper being sent off. Once again being put under pressure by the pacey Knight he came to the edge of his area to collect the ball and seemingly caught it outside the area. There were many claims from the crowd but nothing was given -a let off for Kristian Rogers.
Wrexham's 24th minute goal came very much against the run of play. They were awarded a dubious freekick decision on the edge of the area when referee Leake adjudged Thomas Heary to have been tugging Lee Trundle. Wrexham had a nicely worked routine from the freekick with Michael Blackwood backheeling the ball to set up Martyn Chalk who hit the ball low into Margetson's bottom right hand corner leaving him sprawling.
Just 3 minute's later and Town were back in with a shout. Danny Schofield had made a surging run into the box and was upended by Scotsman Willie Miller. It looked like he was going nowhere anyway but the Referee decided to give us the benefit of the doubt.
Up stepped John Thorrington for the freekick.. his second in as many weeks (the last being against Halifax where he cooly slotted home). He did the same, unleashing all his might on the ball leaving it quite near to the keeper but still virtually unstoppable due to it's pace. Town were back level and it was game on!
Danny Schofield, who seemed to have gained a pair of legs today, decided he also had some skill. On the 31st minute he took on 3 defenders quite masterfully only to see his resultant shot quite dismal. He seemed torn between the choice of slipping the ball into the area and shooting, ending up almost passing the ball back to Rogers.
Just a bit later and it was Mattis' turn. Mattis had been working very hard all half and was looking a dead cert for the man of the match award. He weaved in and out of defenders in the area and placed the ball into the keepers bottom corner with his left foot. Unfortunately for Dwayne, he was equal to it and he didn't get his much-deserved goal.
Town had another, more substantial, claim for a penalty on the 39th minute when Knight was hacked to pieces in the box. I think that Mr. Leake had decided it may have been a bit too unfair to have awarded two penalties in the first half and let Wrexham off for it.
It looked, just before the stroke of half time, that Town's injury list may just get another man added to it. Clarke went in for a fifty-fifty ball with a crunching block tackle only to come off the worst. Phsyio Alex Moreno obviously managed to do the trick though as his riving pain soon turned into a smile.
Onto the second half then, and Town were straight out of the blocks! Some good pressure from Mattis on the Wrexham defence panicked them into releasing the ball into an area well packed with Town frontmen. It slipped to the feet of Chris Holland who realised he was in space and took his time to tee-up the shot on his left foot and just curled it away from the reach of the goalkeeper into his bottom left hand corner. A fine goal from the man who, until he came to Town, had never scored a goal in his life!
It was evident after Holland's goal that Wrexham 'keeper Rogers had injured himself in kicking the ball out. It looked like a pulled groin muscle (where've we seen that before then?) and it gifted Andy Booth with a great chance on the 49th minute. He was put through on goal, and knowing he isn't the quickest of attackers he decided to strike while the iron was hot. He tried to lob the ball over the stranded and injured keeper only to see it float into the Panasonic lower tier. Straight after, on came subsitute goalkeeper David Walsh to see out the rest of the game.
He was deffinitely given a good test, when Knight was put down the wing on his own and cut inside brilliantly. On his own he decided it was best to take his chance and he rifled in a shot from just a few yards out. Lucky for Walsh, he had defender Robert's in front of him take the almight blow of the shot.
American winger Thorrington was once again causing his opposing left-back trouble on the 58th minute when he broke clear and sent a low ball (similar to that in the first half) across the box. His speed had been too much even for his own teammates though as the keeper was able to dive just in front of Danny Schofield and claim his first piece of in-game action.
Wrexham managed to conjure up a chance with their skillful attacker Trundle who wonderfully brought the ball down and turned Steve Jenkins all in one swift motion. It didn't seem as though he had his shooting boots on today though as his drive was straight down the middle and comfortably into Margetson's hands. One of Margetson's few saves of the day.
Just 3 minutes later Jenkins was taken off injured. It didn't look too serious but it will probably see him miss the LDV Vans Trophy game this Wednesday. He was replaced by unpopular Barnsley-man Adi Moses who maanged to do a very sturdy job for the remain 30 minutes of the match.
Just a minute later and the defence created a goal. Young Nathan Clarke lobbed a high ball forward for Leon Knight to chase. He easily outpaced the defence and beat the offside trap. Slightly out wide left, he rapped his left boot firmly around the ball spanking the ball inside the goalkeepers front post and into the top corner. It was a fine goal to open his tally with Town.
Just as the Mac was buzzing about Leon's first ever goal in stripes he went and did it again! John Thorrington aimed a fantastic cross into the box which met the open Knight. He cooly used the pace of the ball to nod it just under the 'keepers body and give Town their fourth goal of the game.
Town did have a couple of good chances to greater increase the difference after that. On the 73rd minute Thorrington was once again searching his way through the Wrexham defence. He managed to reach the by-line evading all challenges but his cut-back was lacking. He had Schofield, Boothy and Knight in support but was only able to put it on the boot of a green shirt.
Knight almost grabbed his home-debut hattrick on the 74th minute when he worked a right-footed volley seemingly out of nothing which Dvid Walsh just got his fingertips to managing to just tip it over the bar.
Knight turned provider on the 75th minute when he angled a beautiful ball from about 40 yards out onto the head of the towering Booth inside the area. Booth got into a great position and rose above the goalkeeper but was unable to keep his header under control. It flashed just past the outside post, much to the Wrexham fans relief.
Wrexham did come close to halving the the difference on the 76th minute when a ball lobbed over the top caused a bit of confusion between defenders and goalkeeper. Margetson flapped at the ball and tripped after only clearing it a few yards. It then fell at the feet of subsitute Andy Morrell who saw his shot magnificently blocked by Nathan Clarke. Had he not been there it would have almost certainly have been in.
The day was rounded off brilliantly on the 87th minute when home-boy hero Andy Booth notched up his fourth goal in just 2 games after a recent dry-spell. Schofield attracted the defence away from goal and slipped the ball to Chris Holland who had been switched to the left wing for the end of the game. He chipped the ball into the area for Andy Booth who looped the ball over the goalkeeper with his head to give Town a well-deserved 5-1 victory.
Booth almost nicked a second goal on the 89th minute when Schofield hassled the goalkeeper off the ball and it rolled quite nicely to Andy Booth who turned and tried to lob it over the goalkeeper who was on the floor. To his credit, he was quite quickly up and plucked the shot out of the air.
It was a pretty good performance by Town today. Admittedly, Wrexham looked like a pretty poor side with only the odd skillful player in there who looks like they can turn on the flair at times but with no real support. There were no real bad performances, the defence kept shots down to a minimum and were unluckly not to have a clean sheet and the strike-force seemed extremely sharp. The wingmen created lots of chances and the central players took most of them very well.
Town Man of the Match - Leon Knight-It's difficult on your first day in front of the home crowd. He seemed a little apprehensive in the first half but he was very lively all the way through the second half and got the killer goals that capped off a great performance for Town.
Teams:
Huddersfield Town: (4-4-2)
13. Martyn Margetson, 2. Steve Jenkins (captain) (26. Adi Moses, 63), 12. Kevin Gray, 36. Nathan Clarke, 20. Thomas Heary, 29. John Thorrington, 33. Dwayne Mattis, 32. Andy Booth, 23. Chris Holland, 30. Leon Knight (8. Kenny Irons, 78), 24. Danny Schofield
Subs not used:
32. Phil Senior, 18. Chris Hay, 31. Paul Macari
Goalscorers: John Thorrington (Pen 28), Holland (47), Knight (64, 65), Booth (87)
Bookings: Jenkins (35)
Wrexham: (4-4-2)
21. Kristian Rogers (13. David Walsh, 50), 2. Willie Miller, 3. Shaun Holmes, 4. Martyn Chalk (23. Hector Sam ,66), 25. Keith Hill, 15. Stephen Roberts, 26. Jim Whitley, 10. Darren Ferguson (captain), 20. Michael Blackwood, 8. Craig Faulconbridge, 9. Jason Trundle (17. Andrew Morrell, 66)
Subs not used:
11. Kevin Russell, 5. Brian Carey
Attendance: 9,888
Town started the game on the back of a comfortable three-nil victory away at Northampton on Tuesday along with an in-form striker in Andy Booth. It was clear from the get-go that they were out looking for more goals and it certainly proved to be a successful tactic by the end of the match.
Town had a very early chance just 2 minutes into the game. A freekick floated into the area met the head of Andy Booth who knocked it down into the centre for the oncoming loan striker making his McAlpiner debut - Leon Knight. He couldn't find space for the shot and so, set up Boothy who let rip a cracking shot on the half-volley only to have it blocked by the Wrexham defence.
Just one minute later Thorrington made a surging run down the right, as has become familiar to the Mac fans. He made it past the Wrexham left-back Shaun Holmes and shoved in a great ball across the face of the goal to the oncoming Knight. Although the kid has blistering pace he was unable to latch onto John's cross and the chance went begging.
Knight once again showed his pace in the 7th minute when he was given a ball to chase after by Booth. It tested the pace of Goalkeeper Rogers who was quick off his line to clear any danger of the loan striker bagging his first goal in a blue and white shirt.
The good start did look like it might come to an end though, when the so-called 'experienced defenders' Steve Jenkins and Kevin Gray collided with each other after a break in communication allowing the first real Wrexham attack. Lucky for us, young minds were there to clear up the mess in Nathan Clarke.
Just before Wrexham put the ball in the back of the net, it seemed that we had quite a good claim for their goalkeeper being sent off. Once again being put under pressure by the pacey Knight he came to the edge of his area to collect the ball and seemingly caught it outside the area. There were many claims from the crowd but nothing was given -a let off for Kristian Rogers.
Wrexham's 24th minute goal came very much against the run of play. They were awarded a dubious freekick decision on the edge of the area when referee Leake adjudged Thomas Heary to have been tugging Lee Trundle. Wrexham had a nicely worked routine from the freekick with Michael Blackwood backheeling the ball to set up Martyn Chalk who hit the ball low into Margetson's bottom right hand corner leaving him sprawling.
Just 3 minute's later and Town were back in with a shout. Danny Schofield had made a surging run into the box and was upended by Scotsman Willie Miller. It looked like he was going nowhere anyway but the Referee decided to give us the benefit of the doubt.
Up stepped John Thorrington for the freekick.. his second in as many weeks (the last being against Halifax where he cooly slotted home). He did the same, unleashing all his might on the ball leaving it quite near to the keeper but still virtually unstoppable due to it's pace. Town were back level and it was game on!
Danny Schofield, who seemed to have gained a pair of legs today, decided he also had some skill. On the 31st minute he took on 3 defenders quite masterfully only to see his resultant shot quite dismal. He seemed torn between the choice of slipping the ball into the area and shooting, ending up almost passing the ball back to Rogers.
Just a bit later and it was Mattis' turn. Mattis had been working very hard all half and was looking a dead cert for the man of the match award. He weaved in and out of defenders in the area and placed the ball into the keepers bottom corner with his left foot. Unfortunately for Dwayne, he was equal to it and he didn't get his much-deserved goal.
Town had another, more substantial, claim for a penalty on the 39th minute when Knight was hacked to pieces in the box. I think that Mr. Leake had decided it may have been a bit too unfair to have awarded two penalties in the first half and let Wrexham off for it.
It looked, just before the stroke of half time, that Town's injury list may just get another man added to it. Clarke went in for a fifty-fifty ball with a crunching block tackle only to come off the worst. Phsyio Alex Moreno obviously managed to do the trick though as his riving pain soon turned into a smile.
Onto the second half then, and Town were straight out of the blocks! Some good pressure from Mattis on the Wrexham defence panicked them into releasing the ball into an area well packed with Town frontmen. It slipped to the feet of Chris Holland who realised he was in space and took his time to tee-up the shot on his left foot and just curled it away from the reach of the goalkeeper into his bottom left hand corner. A fine goal from the man who, until he came to Town, had never scored a goal in his life!
It was evident after Holland's goal that Wrexham 'keeper Rogers had injured himself in kicking the ball out. It looked like a pulled groin muscle (where've we seen that before then?) and it gifted Andy Booth with a great chance on the 49th minute. He was put through on goal, and knowing he isn't the quickest of attackers he decided to strike while the iron was hot. He tried to lob the ball over the stranded and injured keeper only to see it float into the Panasonic lower tier. Straight after, on came subsitute goalkeeper David Walsh to see out the rest of the game.
He was deffinitely given a good test, when Knight was put down the wing on his own and cut inside brilliantly. On his own he decided it was best to take his chance and he rifled in a shot from just a few yards out. Lucky for Walsh, he had defender Robert's in front of him take the almight blow of the shot.
American winger Thorrington was once again causing his opposing left-back trouble on the 58th minute when he broke clear and sent a low ball (similar to that in the first half) across the box. His speed had been too much even for his own teammates though as the keeper was able to dive just in front of Danny Schofield and claim his first piece of in-game action.
Wrexham managed to conjure up a chance with their skillful attacker Trundle who wonderfully brought the ball down and turned Steve Jenkins all in one swift motion. It didn't seem as though he had his shooting boots on today though as his drive was straight down the middle and comfortably into Margetson's hands. One of Margetson's few saves of the day.
Just 3 minutes later Jenkins was taken off injured. It didn't look too serious but it will probably see him miss the LDV Vans Trophy game this Wednesday. He was replaced by unpopular Barnsley-man Adi Moses who maanged to do a very sturdy job for the remain 30 minutes of the match.
Just a minute later and the defence created a goal. Young Nathan Clarke lobbed a high ball forward for Leon Knight to chase. He easily outpaced the defence and beat the offside trap. Slightly out wide left, he rapped his left boot firmly around the ball spanking the ball inside the goalkeepers front post and into the top corner. It was a fine goal to open his tally with Town.
Just as the Mac was buzzing about Leon's first ever goal in stripes he went and did it again! John Thorrington aimed a fantastic cross into the box which met the open Knight. He cooly used the pace of the ball to nod it just under the 'keepers body and give Town their fourth goal of the game.
Town did have a couple of good chances to greater increase the difference after that. On the 73rd minute Thorrington was once again searching his way through the Wrexham defence. He managed to reach the by-line evading all challenges but his cut-back was lacking. He had Schofield, Boothy and Knight in support but was only able to put it on the boot of a green shirt.
Knight almost grabbed his home-debut hattrick on the 74th minute when he worked a right-footed volley seemingly out of nothing which Dvid Walsh just got his fingertips to managing to just tip it over the bar.
Knight turned provider on the 75th minute when he angled a beautiful ball from about 40 yards out onto the head of the towering Booth inside the area. Booth got into a great position and rose above the goalkeeper but was unable to keep his header under control. It flashed just past the outside post, much to the Wrexham fans relief.
Wrexham did come close to halving the the difference on the 76th minute when a ball lobbed over the top caused a bit of confusion between defenders and goalkeeper. Margetson flapped at the ball and tripped after only clearing it a few yards. It then fell at the feet of subsitute Andy Morrell who saw his shot magnificently blocked by Nathan Clarke. Had he not been there it would have almost certainly have been in.
The day was rounded off brilliantly on the 87th minute when home-boy hero Andy Booth notched up his fourth goal in just 2 games after a recent dry-spell. Schofield attracted the defence away from goal and slipped the ball to Chris Holland who had been switched to the left wing for the end of the game. He chipped the ball into the area for Andy Booth who looped the ball over the goalkeeper with his head to give Town a well-deserved 5-1 victory.
Booth almost nicked a second goal on the 89th minute when Schofield hassled the goalkeeper off the ball and it rolled quite nicely to Andy Booth who turned and tried to lob it over the goalkeeper who was on the floor. To his credit, he was quite quickly up and plucked the shot out of the air.
It was a pretty good performance by Town today. Admittedly, Wrexham looked like a pretty poor side with only the odd skillful player in there who looks like they can turn on the flair at times but with no real support. There were no real bad performances, the defence kept shots down to a minimum and were unluckly not to have a clean sheet and the strike-force seemed extremely sharp. The wingmen created lots of chances and the central players took most of them very well.
Town Man of the Match - Leon Knight-It's difficult on your first day in front of the home crowd. He seemed a little apprehensive in the first half but he was very lively all the way through the second half and got the killer goals that capped off a great performance for Town.
Teams:
Huddersfield Town: (4-4-2)
13. Martyn Margetson, 2. Steve Jenkins (captain) (26. Adi Moses, 63), 12. Kevin Gray, 36. Nathan Clarke, 20. Thomas Heary, 29. John Thorrington, 33. Dwayne Mattis, 32. Andy Booth, 23. Chris Holland, 30. Leon Knight (8. Kenny Irons, 78), 24. Danny Schofield
Subs not used:
32. Phil Senior, 18. Chris Hay, 31. Paul Macari
Goalscorers: John Thorrington (Pen 28), Holland (47), Knight (64, 65), Booth (87)
Bookings: Jenkins (35)
Wrexham: (4-4-2)
21. Kristian Rogers (13. David Walsh, 50), 2. Willie Miller, 3. Shaun Holmes, 4. Martyn Chalk (23. Hector Sam ,66), 25. Keith Hill, 15. Stephen Roberts, 26. Jim Whitley, 10. Darren Ferguson (captain), 20. Michael Blackwood, 8. Craig Faulconbridge, 9. Jason Trundle (17. Andrew Morrell, 66)
Subs not used:
11. Kevin Russell, 5. Brian Carey
Attendance: 9,888
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