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Chris Brandon saved Huddersfield?s blushes with a second half equalizer in what was a rare moment of quality by Town in what was a poor and dull performance by the Terriers against a Swindon Town team who were rock bottom of League One.

It came on 54 minutes when Brandon nipped in behind the defence to tuck the ball home from an Andy Holdsworth?s cross after Andy Gurney had put Swindon in front from a penalty in which the referee said Nathan Clarke was judged to handle the ball.

Town had no injury worries, Jon Worthington was suspended so Nathan Clarke was made captain.
Swindon, who have former Town player Iffy Onuora in charge of the rock bottom club had midfielder Stefani Miglioranzi back from injury, former town loanee Jerry Ifil was back from suspension and another former Town player Steve Jenkins who made over 250 appearances for Town was in the starting line-up for Swindon.

As soon at the kick off was made, Town just weren?t at the races just as the game at Chesterfield a week earlier in which Town lost 4-3. It was a shock to the 11,000 Town fans that their side didn?t fashion a goal attempt until the 34th minute when Andy Booth, who was presented with a bottle of champagne for scoring 100 league goals for Town before the match, flicked a Danny Adams free kick towards the far post.

Other chances came and went too often Town were guilty of mis-reading in the final third and wasting possession.
Swindon had done their homework on Town and basically packed the midfield and stopped us playing through midfield, Jonny Worthington was sorely missed and sometimes it seem like Swindon were played a 4-6-0 formation.

They were fortunate when only a desperate challenge by Tony Carss on Michale Pook, who had sped away clear on goal, that earned the Town midfielder only a yellow card when a red one might have been brandished by another referee.

The referee was at times shocking, I read somewhere that in just 8 games he had dished out around 34 yellow cards and 4 red.

The resultant free kick was only half cleared and when the ball came back in Clarke was judged to have handled the ball and with 39 minutes on the clock, Andy Gurney hammered in the penalty to the left of Town keeper Paul Rachubka.

While Abbot struggled to find his touch in around the box, Booth had another header hald at the foot of the post by keeper Tom Heaton but the Robins were good value for their interval lead.
With Jackson?s hard words ringing in their ears, the Terriers made a much better fight of it after the break in what has been a very dismal first half show. Below Town standards.

A number of clear cut opening were forced as Town had to venture forward but thankfully when he was called upon, Rachubka proved efficient.

The crowd were clearly far from happy with this Town performance, there were outbursts of jeering but they the boo boys were cheering when Holdsworth, always eager to get forward caught the Swindon defence napping.

His right wing cross was spot-on for Brandon to find space on the far post and level the match from close range to the delight of the Town faithful.

And with more clinical touch, Abbott and sub Gary Taylor-Fletcher might have pinched it for Town but that would have been an injustice.

Dropped points mean Town slipped out the top two in League One, while Swindon?s point, that being their only 3rd on their travels was a triumph for the planning Iffy Onuora.

Teams:

Town: Rachubka, Holdsworth, Mirfin, Clarke, Adams, Schofield, Hudson, Brandon(Collins 74), Carss (Taylor-Fletcher 66), Booth, Abbott
Subs not used: Senior, McCombe, Young.

Swindon: Heaton, Jenkins, O?Hanlon, Ifil, Nicholas, Stroud, Pook (Heath 83), Gurney (McDermott 83), Miglioranzi, Shakes (Comyn-Platt 83), Bouazza.
Subs not used: Bulman, Thorpe.

Referee: Andy D?Urso (Billericay)

Attendance: 11,352