Huddersfield Town 0 v 0 Blackpool
Huddersfield Town story posted by Phill Rodgerson on 31/08/2002
Another day another frustrating point at the Mac. Definitely a well-earned point but once again Town fans are left feeling that we could?ve and maybe even should?ve come away with the top prize. It was a tale of chances gone begging and opportunities missed in this disappointing scoreless affair which plunges Town even further down the table to 19th and still without a win on home soil.
The game started well enough. Town were clearly out to show that the ball could be put in the back of the net and were constantly a threat in the Blackpool half. Some nice interplay early on between Irons and Mattis led to a scramble on the edge of the Blackpool area. At one point it did look like Irons was opening up for a shot but he decided, quite wrongly, on the dummy and ran into a crowd of Tangerines who immediately stopped him in his tracks.
New, and dare I say temporary Scot-striker, Kevin Gallacher was always trying his best to get on the end of things with no real effect. There was a distinct lack of understanding between the strikers and maybe a little bit of match sharpness missing from a striker who has had few games since leaving Sheffield Wednesday last season. They often found themselves too far apart to support each other and passes quit often went astray to the opposing team. The finisher turned creator early on when a bad first touch took him wide, but a superb cross saw the Blackpool keeper at full stretch to tip a McDonald shot destined for the bottom corner narrowly wide of the post.
Just before the attack, Blackpool broke with former Manchester United wingman John O?Kane rounding experienced Town-men Jenkins and Holland without even breaking a sweat and threading a through ball for striker Dalglish who had his shot pounded out by the commanding, if still a bit dodgy, Scott Bevan.
John Thorrington, after receiving early free-kicks for minor fouls was on the end of a negative decision just before the 20 minute mark. A long ball from Jenkins saw the American rushing into the box only to be held back by the Blackpool defence. It seemed an almost certain penalty but after earlier attempts to win the favour of the referee he was having none of it.
A spell of pressure from Blackpool followed this early domination from Town. Both incidents involved the lively winger Danny Coid, who caused captain Jenks no end of problems. He came close to netting the opener when he found himself free at the backpost, meeting O?Kanes cross with a half volley. Fortunately for Town he was unable to keep his effort down. He turned provider just moments later when a deep left-footed cross was met by the incoming Southern who wasn?t able to wrap his foot round for the volley.
Schofield, coming on for Holland on 33 minutes, made an instant contribution he side. A John Thorrington cross resulted in a brilliant shot by Schofield, forcing Phil Barnes into an acrobatic save to tip it wide for a corner. Kenny Irons corner was then met by the hand of a Blackpool defender, or so the Kilner Bank would tell you, but to no avail with the referee. But as the controversy flowed over the decision centre-back Eddie Youds came close to netting his first ever goal for Town just sending the ball the wrong side of the post.
Another set piece had the keeper at work near to the halfway mark. A freekick given on the edge of the area had Kenny Irons licking his lips. He spanked a great shot towards the top keeper, but Barnes, clearly in fine form, was instantly up there to palm it away. The resulting 6-yard-box scramble was ended by Scott McDonald?s poor effort, leading the two teams into half time with no goals.
Both teams seemed decidedly slow to get going for the second half and it took a great piece of football from Town to spark it to life. Some good work down he left wing between Schofield and Thorrington managed to work it?s way to the right where McDonald was free. He put a brilliant low ball along the edge of the 6-yard box but both Thorrington and Gallacher were too far ahead of the cross and Schofield was too far away to connect and the good chance went unfinished.
A good ten minutes of Town pressure continued with chances from Youds and McDonald. A deep corner from Irons found the towering defender Youds at the back but he wasn?t??t able to keep his header down. A great through-ball from Schofield just two minutes later was latched onto by McDonald, but going for glory proved costly. Instead of squaring for a free Dwayne Mattis on the penalty spot, he hit a low shot from a tight angle which was easily blocked by the keeper.
Late on in the game Town were still pushing for the winning goal and it was nearly found when a looping ball towards Thorrington at the back post was spurned by the young-gun causing a rush of Town players into the box. Schofield and Stead both went up for the ball with keeper and it looked like their efforts had been rewarded with a goal when the keeper fell backwards towards his own goal. Unfortunately, Barnes managed to clutch the ball before it went over the line.
A good performance by Town was almost put to waste when a rare Blackpool attack 1 minute before the end of normal time when Scott Bevan?s great save stopped sub Scott Taylor and kept his clean sheet bonus.
Overall, once again a good performance but we?re still lacking a cutting edge. We know how to get there, we now just need to know what to do when we?re there. I also feel that at times we could be a bit more adventurous. Maybe the saying ?Nothing ventured , nothing gained? would come in handy (and a rabbit?s foot in their socks!)
Ratings
Bevan (7): Kicking is still a little off, but on the whole good; dealt with a couple of good shots and some dodgy passbacks.
Jenkins (6): A terrible game by his standards. He always seemed uncomfortable with Coid and his clearances often caused more trouble by ending up in a worse position than before.
Thorrington (6): Again a bad performance. Calls for Simon Baldry were not all that far off towards the end as he often failed to look up for his men and lost the ball too much.
Iron (7): Came close with the freekick. His corners also caused a lot of trouble, he just needs to get involved in open play a little more.
Holland (5): Not much seen of him, due to injury.
McDonald (7): Always searching for a goal. Came close at one point and made the wrong decision at another. On another day he?d have scored the winner.
Sharp (6): Pretty close to a 5, caught sleeping way too many times allowing O?Kane in way too often, saved by his good crosses into the box late on.
Gallacher (6): Not a good debut, but not a bad one. Did nothing wrong, just he didn? seem to connect with the other strikers and often became separated from them.
Mattis (6): Much too lightweight. He was easily muscled off the ball time and time again, played some decent passes when attacking though.
Youds (7): A few dodgy miskicks, but on the whole rock-solid and a key reason why a clean sheet was kept.
Moses (8): I can?t understand how Gray ever kept this man out of the team. My MOTM, he was always keeping cool at the back and made some great saving tackles to stop shots. He helped Sharp out a lot as well, by covering his glaring mistakes.
Stead (6): Little seen of him, a good cross late on. Still needs to gain a lot of experience.
Scott (5): I barely noticed he?d come on until he made a determined sliding tackle late on. Could do much better if brought on earlier.
Schofield (7): A very solid performance. Provided much more of a link between the midfield and the strike-force. Still off the pace a little following his injury though.
Teams:
Huddersfield Town:
1 Scott Bevan
2 Steve Jenkins
10 John Thorrington
8 Kenny Irons
6 Chris Holland (off 33)
15 Scott McDonald
22 Kevin Sharp
12 Kevin Gallacher (off 70)
33 Dwayne Mattis (off 70) (YEL, 50)
17 Eddie Youds
5 Adie Moses
Subs:
35 Phil Senior
14 Jon Stead (on 70)
23 Jon Dyson
7 Danny Schofield (on 33)
28 Paul Scott (on 70)
Blackpool:
1 Phil Barnes
2 Simon Grayson
3 Tommy Jasczun (YEL, 13)
4 John O?Kane
5 Ian Hughes
7 Richie Wellens (off 90)
8 Peter Clarke
11 Paul Dalglish (off 70)
12 Danny Coid (off 57)
16 Keith Southern
25 Richard Walker
Subs:
10 Scott Taylor (on 57)
13 Michael Theoklitos
14 Lee Collins (on 90)
31 Matthew Blinkhorn
30 Jamie Burns (on 70)
The game started well enough. Town were clearly out to show that the ball could be put in the back of the net and were constantly a threat in the Blackpool half. Some nice interplay early on between Irons and Mattis led to a scramble on the edge of the Blackpool area. At one point it did look like Irons was opening up for a shot but he decided, quite wrongly, on the dummy and ran into a crowd of Tangerines who immediately stopped him in his tracks.
New, and dare I say temporary Scot-striker, Kevin Gallacher was always trying his best to get on the end of things with no real effect. There was a distinct lack of understanding between the strikers and maybe a little bit of match sharpness missing from a striker who has had few games since leaving Sheffield Wednesday last season. They often found themselves too far apart to support each other and passes quit often went astray to the opposing team. The finisher turned creator early on when a bad first touch took him wide, but a superb cross saw the Blackpool keeper at full stretch to tip a McDonald shot destined for the bottom corner narrowly wide of the post.
Just before the attack, Blackpool broke with former Manchester United wingman John O?Kane rounding experienced Town-men Jenkins and Holland without even breaking a sweat and threading a through ball for striker Dalglish who had his shot pounded out by the commanding, if still a bit dodgy, Scott Bevan.
John Thorrington, after receiving early free-kicks for minor fouls was on the end of a negative decision just before the 20 minute mark. A long ball from Jenkins saw the American rushing into the box only to be held back by the Blackpool defence. It seemed an almost certain penalty but after earlier attempts to win the favour of the referee he was having none of it.
A spell of pressure from Blackpool followed this early domination from Town. Both incidents involved the lively winger Danny Coid, who caused captain Jenks no end of problems. He came close to netting the opener when he found himself free at the backpost, meeting O?Kanes cross with a half volley. Fortunately for Town he was unable to keep his effort down. He turned provider just moments later when a deep left-footed cross was met by the incoming Southern who wasn?t able to wrap his foot round for the volley.
Schofield, coming on for Holland on 33 minutes, made an instant contribution he side. A John Thorrington cross resulted in a brilliant shot by Schofield, forcing Phil Barnes into an acrobatic save to tip it wide for a corner. Kenny Irons corner was then met by the hand of a Blackpool defender, or so the Kilner Bank would tell you, but to no avail with the referee. But as the controversy flowed over the decision centre-back Eddie Youds came close to netting his first ever goal for Town just sending the ball the wrong side of the post.
Another set piece had the keeper at work near to the halfway mark. A freekick given on the edge of the area had Kenny Irons licking his lips. He spanked a great shot towards the top keeper, but Barnes, clearly in fine form, was instantly up there to palm it away. The resulting 6-yard-box scramble was ended by Scott McDonald?s poor effort, leading the two teams into half time with no goals.
Both teams seemed decidedly slow to get going for the second half and it took a great piece of football from Town to spark it to life. Some good work down he left wing between Schofield and Thorrington managed to work it?s way to the right where McDonald was free. He put a brilliant low ball along the edge of the 6-yard box but both Thorrington and Gallacher were too far ahead of the cross and Schofield was too far away to connect and the good chance went unfinished.
A good ten minutes of Town pressure continued with chances from Youds and McDonald. A deep corner from Irons found the towering defender Youds at the back but he wasn?t??t able to keep his header down. A great through-ball from Schofield just two minutes later was latched onto by McDonald, but going for glory proved costly. Instead of squaring for a free Dwayne Mattis on the penalty spot, he hit a low shot from a tight angle which was easily blocked by the keeper.
Late on in the game Town were still pushing for the winning goal and it was nearly found when a looping ball towards Thorrington at the back post was spurned by the young-gun causing a rush of Town players into the box. Schofield and Stead both went up for the ball with keeper and it looked like their efforts had been rewarded with a goal when the keeper fell backwards towards his own goal. Unfortunately, Barnes managed to clutch the ball before it went over the line.
A good performance by Town was almost put to waste when a rare Blackpool attack 1 minute before the end of normal time when Scott Bevan?s great save stopped sub Scott Taylor and kept his clean sheet bonus.
Overall, once again a good performance but we?re still lacking a cutting edge. We know how to get there, we now just need to know what to do when we?re there. I also feel that at times we could be a bit more adventurous. Maybe the saying ?Nothing ventured , nothing gained? would come in handy (and a rabbit?s foot in their socks!)
Ratings
Bevan (7): Kicking is still a little off, but on the whole good; dealt with a couple of good shots and some dodgy passbacks.
Jenkins (6): A terrible game by his standards. He always seemed uncomfortable with Coid and his clearances often caused more trouble by ending up in a worse position than before.
Thorrington (6): Again a bad performance. Calls for Simon Baldry were not all that far off towards the end as he often failed to look up for his men and lost the ball too much.
Iron (7): Came close with the freekick. His corners also caused a lot of trouble, he just needs to get involved in open play a little more.
Holland (5): Not much seen of him, due to injury.
McDonald (7): Always searching for a goal. Came close at one point and made the wrong decision at another. On another day he?d have scored the winner.
Sharp (6): Pretty close to a 5, caught sleeping way too many times allowing O?Kane in way too often, saved by his good crosses into the box late on.
Gallacher (6): Not a good debut, but not a bad one. Did nothing wrong, just he didn? seem to connect with the other strikers and often became separated from them.
Mattis (6): Much too lightweight. He was easily muscled off the ball time and time again, played some decent passes when attacking though.
Youds (7): A few dodgy miskicks, but on the whole rock-solid and a key reason why a clean sheet was kept.
Moses (8): I can?t understand how Gray ever kept this man out of the team. My MOTM, he was always keeping cool at the back and made some great saving tackles to stop shots. He helped Sharp out a lot as well, by covering his glaring mistakes.
Stead (6): Little seen of him, a good cross late on. Still needs to gain a lot of experience.
Scott (5): I barely noticed he?d come on until he made a determined sliding tackle late on. Could do much better if brought on earlier.
Schofield (7): A very solid performance. Provided much more of a link between the midfield and the strike-force. Still off the pace a little following his injury though.
Teams:
Huddersfield Town:
1 Scott Bevan
2 Steve Jenkins
10 John Thorrington
8 Kenny Irons
6 Chris Holland (off 33)
15 Scott McDonald
22 Kevin Sharp
12 Kevin Gallacher (off 70)
33 Dwayne Mattis (off 70) (YEL, 50)
17 Eddie Youds
5 Adie Moses
Subs:
35 Phil Senior
14 Jon Stead (on 70)
23 Jon Dyson
7 Danny Schofield (on 33)
28 Paul Scott (on 70)
Blackpool:
1 Phil Barnes
2 Simon Grayson
3 Tommy Jasczun (YEL, 13)
4 John O?Kane
5 Ian Hughes
7 Richie Wellens (off 90)
8 Peter Clarke
11 Paul Dalglish (off 70)
12 Danny Coid (off 57)
16 Keith Southern
25 Richard Walker
Subs:
10 Scott Taylor (on 57)
13 Michael Theoklitos
14 Lee Collins (on 90)
31 Matthew Blinkhorn
30 Jamie Burns (on 70)
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